$5100

[Tiggerlover91]

Wow....I've learned my lesson. Next year, I'll keep my mouth shut about my awesome refund.

Better than having an extra $120 a week?

To each his own.

You know what....an extra $120 a week isn't SQUAT for my family. It would get used to pay bills.....period! That's my phone bill alone plus another $15. I know EXACTLY how to adjust my W4 so I have the right withholdings, DH and I choose to do it the way we do because we LIKE that EXTRA money once a year. It's a time when we get to splurge as we DO NOT do it throughout the year.

And to the person who said Uncle Sam is just giving us back OUR money he was holding....you're wrong. I get money for my son, I get reimbursed for Child Care to an extent, I get money back on attending school, AND we got our taxes back on our new car.

Next year, I'll just keep my mouth shut.

 

[Piecey]

All I can say is WOW. Why wait a year to get money that is yours? What if in June a sudden expense pops ups and you don't have the money to pay it because you have been giving Uncle Sam an extra $100 a week.

Even without interest, I would still rather have that $100 a week in my pocket.

And now to the bolded statement. Tax payments and withholding are not Static for the year. If you have a change in employment or compensation throughout the year you can change your withholding (W4) or make an estimated Tax payment.

People need to get smart about paying taxes. Every year I check my taxes in June/July to make sure that I am paying the proper amount. If I am off I change my withholding. It is not hard to do.

Well, I can only answer for us.
We have the liquidity that if something happened it wouldn't be a big deal, we'd just pull it from our savings account.

This was a year of firsts for us. We bought a house in December last year so we got to deduct property taxes/interest on the loan this year. We had a baby ( I had NO idea how much of a tax break he would give us) and dumped over $9k of energy-efficient improvements into our house. Tax break. We bought a new car after our son was born...got to deduct the sales tax.
I didn't anticipate much of this at all because I've never experienced it before. Plus, until late 2008 most of DH's work was tax-free (for the VA) but this was the first year we both worked taxable jobs. I didn't know what to expect at all.

Sure, I could have read about it all on irs.gov but I have other things to do. We aren't concerned with the "extra" money being kept interest-free from us because it didn't matter to us, we didn't need it every other week.

I think it's a little rude to judge someone for a decision they made because it works better for them. How is that personally hurting YOU that they had too much withheld from their checks??

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Well, I can only answer for us.
We have the liquidity that if something happened it wouldn't be a big deal, we'd just pull it from our savings account.

This was a year of firsts for us. We bought a house in December last year so we got to deduct property taxes/interest on the loan this year. We had a baby ( I had NO idea how much of a tax break he would give us) and dumped over $9k of energy-efficient improvements into our house. Tax break. We bought a new car after our son was born...got to deduct the sales tax.
I didn't anticipate much of this at all because I've never experienced it before. Plus, until late 2008 most of DH's work was tax-free (for the VA) but this was the first year we both worked taxable jobs. I didn't know what to expect at all.

Sure, I could have read about it all on irs.gov but I have other things to do. We aren't concerned with the "extra" money being kept interest-free from us because it didn't matter to us, we didn't need it every other week.

I think it's a little rude to judge someone for a decision they made because it works better for them. How is that personally hurting YOU that they had too much withheld from their checks??

LOVE this post!!! So much, that I want to marry it!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

LOVE this post!!! So much, that I want to marry it!

 

[jekajekalynn]

Grrr.... ok... I have to chime in.

I have an accountant friend and YES I KNOW that I would be getting back a whole whopping 40-50 bucks a month for a year, but he helped me with our taxes and other stuff that came up this year - IE: dh being laid off, me going to college, dh going to college, being a foster family for a child for 6 months, and a whole crap load of other convoluted stuff that is unique to our personal family this year. According to him after calculating all our stuff for a few days (after being an accountant for over 15 years), we would have either had a big refund (like we did) or would have to pay in at the end of the year if we DID take the extra HUGE amount of 40 bucks a month extra.. Guess which one we chose?

So there ya go... I got a refund and I'm happy.. if you're bitter about it all I can say is here's a hug.

 

[dejr_8]

Perfectly said!!!! Every single year, this same thing pops up in a 'I got a big refund thread". Why can't people just let other rejoice.

I'm fully aware that I can change my deductions or open a special savings account and add $100 each week. As some said, $100 bucks gets lost in the shuffle. Its really a pizza dinner for 4 at a restaurant 2 times....big deal

DH and I plan our savings, but that income tax refund check is for pure and total FUN!!!! We go to visit my parents in So Florida, we put some down for our summer vacation, we go shopping heck, we do what ever we want We put that in a separate account and just enjoy!

Why would people hate on that

'Cause it is not like they won the lottery. They are getting back money they should have been getting all year long. To some people, letting the Gov use your money interest free seems just plain not smart.

I sure wish I had the luxury of not being able to use and extra $40 - $100 per week (or even per month).

 

[Tiggerlover91]

To everyone else, thanks for the good thoughts and kind words. dejr_8....good grief. If you have trouble with this thread, then stop posting or ignore it.

 

[Piecey]

To everyone else, thanks for the good thoughts and kind words. dejr_8....good grief. If you have trouble with this thread, then stop posting or ignore it.

Our return isn't as big as yours (several thousand less), Tiggerlover91, but it's substantial enough that we're excited about it, too. Enjoy it!!

Besides, and this is an honest question, how do you plan for things like the Making Work Pay credit, the energy-efficient credit, the EIC, etc..

General withholding in proportion to your income, I get... but how do you plan for the various credits that pop up?

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I hate tax refund arguments. Do what works for you. Let others do what works for them.

It really is a simple concept.

 

[jekajekalynn]

You can't really plan for those things, and thats coming from my accountant friend. When these (multiple) things came up he told me it was best to let the government take the regular amount it usually does, cause we would be royally you know what if we didn't.

At any rate after the SUCK-TACULAR year that was 2009, I'm tickled pink about this refund. It is more of a moral boost then a financial one atm as we are getting back to a sense of normalcy after a disastrous last year.

 

[Piecey]

You can't really plan for those things, and thats coming from my accountant friend. When these (multiple) things came up he told me it was best to let the government take the regular amount it usually does, cause we would be royally you know what if we didn't.

I wondered. It just seemed like as I went through TurboTax all sorts of things popped up and I was like...hey, yes! we did buy a new car. hey, we put in a new energy-efficient furnace, too!

Essentially, we're just getting back money we spent on the furnace... but it's still "free" money in my eyes because we would have put the furnace in with or without the tax credit. Maybe that is a strange way to look at it, though??

Thanks for answering.

 

[wdwfan16]

If a person carrys a CC balance, gets a big refund each year and then pays it off they are losing big in that deal. The high interest on CCs are eating into their refund.

Refunds that are large do to a once time tax credit are harder to plan for.

 

[VickiVM]

At any rate after the SUCK-TACULAR year that was 2009, I'm tickled pink about this refund. It is more of a moral boost then a financial one atm as we are getting back to a sense of normalcy after a disastrous last year.

I never looked at it that way, but you're correct. I've done a preliminary calculation and it looks like we're receiving a huge chunk back...but that's because for the first time, my husband is self-employed as a contracted sales rep and he's making a fraction of what he used to make before he was let go from his previous job in '08. The mileage he claimed hepled to increase our refund drastically. And who knew that because of his low adjusted earnings, we would qualify for EIC? (And truthfully, I hope we never qualify again). Plus mortgage interest, MWP credit, etc, etc.

I seriously predicted we would be paying money back because I went the first half of the year with minimal taxes withheld from my check just to have extra to pay our bills.

So yes - I feel like it's a small "Win" for our family after a horrible and precarious year and a half. For those of us who had major life changes and tried to roll with the punches...We deserve to have something to celebrate!

 

[testifyoncruises]

I just hope the people getting money back are not so ignorant that they get a RAL from some place like H&R Block.

 

[KramBerries]

...how do you plan for things like the Making Work Pay credit, the energy-efficient credit, the EIC, etc..

General withholding in proportion to your income, I get... but how do you plan for the various credits that pop up?

You should recalculate your taxes on a monthly basis, carefully factoring in all changes to the tax code.

Seriously, you can't. For Making Work Pay, you didn't need to do anything as they adjusted the withholding rates for you (although they botched that for dual earner families). For most one-time stuff, I wouldn't sweat it. If you find that year after year you are getting large refunds not based on one-time credits, then you might want to reduce your withholding.

It all goes to my biggest complaint about taxes. It's not the amount; it's the complexity. I'd prefer that they get rid of the Making Work Pay credit, Child credit, mortgage interest deduction, state and local tax deductions, education deductions, blind farmers that sleep in on Thursdays credit, etc and just reduce the rates. I'm not pushing for a flat tax. I know that would hurt low earners. It can be progressive without being complicated. Make it simple and predictable.

For what it is worth, I'm someone that keeps up with tax changes. I try to recalibrate my taxes a couple of times throughout the year. I'm still getting back a huge refund this year.

 

[jekajekalynn]

So yes - I feel like it's a small "Win" for our family after a horrible and precarious year and a half. For those of us who had major life changes and tried to roll with the punches...We deserve to have something to celebrate!

I'm finally allowing myself to have a mojito the day it comes in lol...

We had to sacrifice so much last year with my husband being the ONLY one they laid off in his whole company because he was salary and he made the most money under the owner (although he was their best worker...) After working my **** off getting the first semester of RN school done, and my dh getting orientation for his "no worker left behind" college thing... I have been so stressed (and has my accountant friend Jake, who has been on my 'speed dial' for months now cause crap kept coming up..lol)

After my w-2 came in Thursday I called Jake and he helped me with the last 'leg' of it, and we filed that night. So yes, Im happy, and no one is taken my happy moment away from me.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Wish we were. DH did our taxes today. We had to pay $99 to Federal and we're getting $100 back from State. So basically it's a wash for us this year.

Us too - - we are paying $22 to Federal and getting $286 back from State. But, that's how I try to work it. I like to try and break even.

 

[mefordis]

And to the person who said Uncle Sam is just giving us back OUR money he was holding....you're wrong. I get money for my son, I get reimbursed for Child Care to an extent, I get money back on attending school, AND we got our taxes back on our new car.

Next year, I'll just keep my mouth shut.

Yeah, good point. We get a huge refund as well, but we take a LOT of deductions, so it's not like the IRS is holding the $$ -- we get a huge refund because we take business deductions, child care deductions, real estate tax deduction, mortgage interest, etc. I think we are claiming 2 exemptions on DH's w-4, one for each of our kids.

 

[dejr_8]

Yeah, good point. We get a huge refund as well, but we take a LOT of deductions, so it's not like the IRS is holding the $$ -- we get a huge refund because we take business deductions, child care deductions, real estate tax deduction, mortgage interest, etc. I think we are claiming 2 exemptions on DH's w-4, one for each of our kids.

YES they are. You paid in and you are getting it back. IT IS YOUR MONEY. You need to be aware of what your deductions are going to be at year's end and adjust your withholding appropriately.

Like I posted previously. I take 10 deductions on my W4 when I only have 4 deductions on my 1040. I do this so that I won't be getting back a huge refund.

I just can't believe how many people are happy to let Uncle Sam have that $40-$50 a week, hold it interest free and then give it back.

 

[Piecey]

YES they are. You paid in and you are getting it back. IT IS YOUR MONEY. You need to be aware of what your deductions are going to be at year's end and adjust your withholding appropriately.

Like I posted previously. I take 10 deductions on my W4 when I only have 4 deductions on my 1040. I do this so that I won't be getting back a huge refund.

I just can't believe how many people are happy to let Uncle Sam have that $40-$50 a week, hold it interest free and then give it back.

BUT what some of us are talking about are credits.

We got back waaay more than we paid in. DH claimed 3 through the whole year (he was the primary wage earner) because there would (eventually) be 3 of us. I claimed 2 most of the year and switched it to 0 when I left on maternity leave- because we didn't want to have to pay. So I had 12 weeks maternity pay with 0 deductions on my W4.

Most of our return, 3180, is a bunch of those "credits" that I've admitted I don't fully understand. We would have gotten more if DH didn't get VA disability (because the VA gave them $250 earlier in the year)..

I didn't have a working knowledge of this Making Work Pay, the EIC, and I didn't have a great understanding of the energy-efficient credit they did. I knew it was there. I've admitted I didn't spend the time to read up on all the various tax credits and such that there are on irs.gov.. because it didn't make a big deal to us.

That said, I *thought* that you could only claim deductions that you honestly had. Meaning, I didn't think my DH could claim more than 3. One for him, me and Lucas. So exactly how, in our situation, were we supposed to make any changes (beyond my 0 while I was on maternity leave- which resulted in my paying an extra $60 or so for the entire 12 weeks)