Some middle-income households are finding the benefits are smaller than they anticipated because of how certain tax cuts are structured, according to interviews with workers, accountants and tax policy analysts. Large groups, including many railroad workers and truck drivers, are excluded from the overtime tax savings. The Social Security deduction excludes both very low and higher earners. And the tips deduction is capped at $25,000 — even for couples like Cummings and her husband who both earn a big share of their wages from tips.

Meanwhile, the highest-income households are reaping the biggest gains, with about 60% of the tax savings from Trump’s law projected to go to the top fifth of households earning more than $217,000, according to the Tax Policy Center, which does research and analysis on tax legislation. In some cases, the highest-income households will see smaller tax savings as a share of their overall income, as compared with middle-income households, but the total dollar amount in their refund check will be much more: The wealthiest households could see millions of dollars in savings with bigger tax benefits on everything from private jets to multimillion-dollar inheritances.