$5100

[phorsenuf]

And that is exactly what we try to do (actually we target a zero balance). This year we owe $756 (which is below the $1000 limit for penalties).

Look at your taxes as a bill that you need to pay - just like going to the Doctor, buying a car, getting work done at your house. Under ANY situation can you imagine over-paying in any of these situations and then waiting a year to be re-paid? So then why do you find it acceptable to overpay your taxes and then wait?

Because we don't mind. Don't think it can be any clearer than that.

 

[golfgal]

And that is exactly what we try to do (actually we target a zero balance). This year we owe $756 (which is below the $1000 limit for penalties).

Look at your taxes as a bill that you need to pay - just like going to the Doctor, buying a car, getting work done at your house. Under ANY situation can you imagine over-paying in any of these situations and then waiting a year to be re-paid? So then why do you find it acceptable to overpay your taxes and then wait?

You can't seem to grasp that not everyone can plan that far ahead-then when the tax laws change mid year it messed things up even more. On top of which, we LIKE getting the big refund, period. The interest we give up is MINIMAL, VERY MINIMAL so the whole "interest free loan" think is really a non-issue. We do look at our tax bill as a bill we need to pay and we pay it monthly just like every other bill we have.

 

[ead79]

And that is exactly what we try to do (actually we target a zero balance). This year we owe $756 (which is below the $1000 limit for penalties).

Look at your taxes as a bill that you need to pay - just like going to the Doctor, buying a car, getting work done at your house. Under ANY situation can you imagine over-paying in any of these situations and then waiting a year to be re-paid? So then why do you find it acceptable to overpay your taxes and then wait?

We are getting a pretty substantial refund this year. This is due primarily to the fact that DH's commission is taxed at 40% (and we're in a much lower tax bracket than that, LOL), deducting mortgage interest, and deducting charitable contributions. It's more than a little complicated to determine exactly how much we'll be able to deduct charity-wise before we've even given it in the first place. Likewise, DH's commission payments vary greatly, so it's not just a simple withholding adjustment. There is no straightforward way to determine these amounts precisely enough that we could be sure to be under the limit for penalties. I would rather get a refund than pay a penalty. It's as simple as that.

 

[livie1205]

I dont give a flip what uncle sam is doing with it all year...really We have the max allowed to be taken out of my dh paycheck and we norm get about 5300.00 (this year) and about 6400.00 (next year when we claim dss too) .We are not in debt to our eyeballs and pay all our bills on time.We put most in our savings and use some to go on vacation.We also use some do do upgrades on our home...we have not had to touch our savings account in over 5 years for anything....and we have a good cushion in our checking.I am ok with uncle sam holding our money...we do also save through out the year on our own.

 

[KramBerries]

And that is exactly what we try to do (actually we target a zero balance). This year we owe $756 (which is below the $1000 limit for penalties).

Look at your taxes as a bill that you need to pay - just like going to the Doctor, buying a car, getting work done at your house. Under ANY situation can you imagine over-paying in any of these situations and then waiting a year to be re-paid? So then why do you find it acceptable to overpay your taxes and then wait?

Where did you find a $1,000 limit? My understanding is that you must pay penalties if you owe more than $500 unless you paid at 90% of what you owed during the year or you paid 100% of what you owed the prior year.

If you really want to get aggressive, have little or nothing withheld during the first part of the year. Then, near the end of the year, have your employer withhold your entire paycheck. Doing that, you can defer even more tax payments. Anyone not doing that trick is wasting money by effectively loaning it to the government.


The analogy with paying doctors and such just doesn't match. When you buy a car, they don't don't vary the price throughout the year. With taxes, it can be really hard to estimate what you will owe.

In today's low inflation and low interest rate environment, it costs you very little to overwithhold. People like getting the returns. Why does that bother people so much?