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I thought I was unhappy when my 1171 refund got strunk to 326... They are so lucky I am bad in math.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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You've managed to make even my tax refund sound like a bad thing. I am officially having a cranky day.
Posts: 416 | Registered: May 2005
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I tend to think they are a good thing because they used to be... well, big. Big enough to buy a PS2 or something I normally couldn't buy. Now I want to find a way to KEEP more of my money without owing them any money. As I NEED my money...
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Yeah, the whole idea that the government gets an interest free loan from me ticks me off. Sure, it's like a no-interest savings account where you actually get a big chunk of money at the end, but it's better just to save that money yourself. But that takes discipline.
I'm too scared to change the amount they take from me, though. I definitely don't want to have to pay at tax time.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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If you have enough money to buy a PS2 with a tax refund, then you would have enough money to buy one without a tax refund, should you choose to.
If they would let me, I would have them take no money out of my paycheck, and then I'd just write them out a check for the entire year on April 15th.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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mph, they won't let you do that? I thought you just had to fill out the right forms with your HR department.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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At the very least you can up your deductions enough so that you're paying much less or not at all. But I'd recommend putting money into a savings account so that you have extra to pay taxes at the end! But then, you're probably not like me. Very bad with saving money.
If they didn't take taxes from me, I would spend it all every month. (Especially since our basic expenses far exceed our income.)
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Me I'd spend more and save at the same time... I'd have to talk myself out of so many things like, "No, you do not need to buy computer parts... So don't even think about it." Of course, back then I got EIC. I just want to find a way for it to balance out. The last thing I want is to have MORE money taken out of my check. I only just figured out that I'm not making a whole lot of money even though it's thrice the amount I made last year!
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I did my taxes by myself this year. Then I decided I wanted to e-file, so I tried Turbotax's supposedly free online program. They are listed on the federal government's and my state's site as being places to file free IF you meet the requirements. I met the requirements. So, I got all the way to the end and preparing and filing the federal return was free, and filing the state return was free, but they wanted 19.95 for "preparing" the state return.
Can you say SCAM!? Most people would just say screw it and file them anyway. I got angry, cleared out all of my information, and decided to just mail in the return I had prepared.
Later, my husband suggested I just get it over with and e-file. (I was having to go to extra trouble to find the stupid address, and sending a letter is a big deal to me, since I don't even have stamps.) So I went to H&R Block's site and redid the return. Turbotax had come up with the same return I had. H&R Block had me put in information for a school credit--got me a couple hundred extra for my return. Very cool.
Just thought I'd mention it...
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Tax refunds are a bad thing.
And the worst thing about them is people think they're a good thing.
Can you explain why me spending $600 I would really much rather have in my savings when my earnings are already severely depleted by FICA, SS, and MC withholding is a better thing than getting a small refund?
Because right now, I'm having serious problems seeing an upside. I live from paycheck to paycheck, and it takes me a long time to save even a little.
(An entire month to save just $100, usually)
I don't live an extravagant life. I have a clunker of a car, I rent my living space from someone else, I eat cheap things, wear old clothes far longer than I'd like...
Stuff like this just makes me feel frustrated, and that trying to save -anything- is futile.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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What? You're not spending it now, you could not spend it and earn interest on it if you had it instead of the IRS.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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quote:Can you explain why me spending $600 I would really much rather have in my savings when my earnings are already severely depleted by FICA, SS, and MC withholding is a better thing than getting a small refund?
Whether the government pays you or you pay the government at tax time, that $600 is going to the government.
The difference is that when you receive a rebate, the government has kept for many months money that is yours by right. That's good for the government and bad for you. But when you have to pay at tax time, it means that you've been able to avoid payment for many months. Paying the same later instead of today is almost always a good thing.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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It's just a matter of degree. If more had been withheld, you would receive a rebate, but at the cost of all that money being taken from you earlier rather than later.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote: You're talking about a case were nothing was withheld at all, and then I pay.
This is said from the perspective of someone who really DOES live paycheck to paycheck.
Look at it this way: every month, you put $50 into the bank to gain interest. Depending on your bank account, this probably made you at least $10. At the end of the year, you give that $600 back to the government, then keep the $10.
So you actually profited from the exchange, unlike someone who gets a $600 refund.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Mind you, interest rates on American saving accounts being what they are, you wouldn't make very much money that way. Are those ten dollars really worth the hassle of having to figure out how much you should be withholding?
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Some of my best friends are Democrats. Many of them aren't stupid, they just haven't been enlightened.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Tax refunds are a bad thing.
And the worst thing about them is people think they're a good thing.
I've been trying for the last several years to find out how to go about reducing the amount of tax being withheld so I get less of a refund. Finally this year I was told by a CPA that if not enough was taken out of my paychecks, I'd be hit with severe penalties during the tax year EVEN IF my various deductions and credits make up the difference at the end. So there's apparently nothing further I can do to reduce my refunds.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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It just depends on how you look at it. We've been small business owners for some time. Now last year we shut the business down, but still had some business debt and got paid as an independent contractor for part of the year so we still have to file a Schedule C.
When you own a business, you certainly do hope for a refund, because the alternative is that you might pay a whole bunch. Plus, you have to estimate what your taxes are going to be for the year and divide that by four and pay that amount quarterly. When you're a contractor, it's hard to know what you'll make exactly. So, we tended to over estimate and pay too much. I was happy to get a refund because I knew then we had not made a terrible mistake and wound up owing a bunch.
'Course, there were years we did have to write a fat check to the IRS, if we had a better quarter than we thought we might.
But, since when I was a child my parents wound up in serious trouble with the IRS (my stepfather had received some additional income he did not report, but the IRS found out about) and I witnessed what kind of power they have and what type of impact they can make. I was in high school and suddenly all our extra money disappeared, eventually leading to the loss of our home and my family moving in with my grandparents.
So I admit I'm scared of the thrice damned IRS and if I get a refund, then I exhale in relief, because I never want to be in the position of owing them.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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State income tax is nuttin' compared to what the Feds need. I mean, at least in New Jersey, the state doesn't pay for schools -- that's municipal -- and that's the biggest chunk. And, at least in New Jersey, we don't have to finance the really expensive stuff, like, uh, war.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Um, Katarain, it is supposed to be totally free-- but TurboTax has had problems this year. We called them and got them to refund the fees.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Well, then they obviously know about the problem, kq, and they haven't fixed it. I didn't download their program, I used it online. (I don't know if maybe you were talking about the download.) But anyway, I did it late at night, not business hours when I could call, and I have a hard time believing that it was just a mistake. "Technically" they weren't charging me for filing, only "preparing" the state return.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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