Budget Buster! Anybody else having to pay in on their federal taxes this year?

[prncess674]

This should be an interesting exercise...

On your 2011 return (or your software might give you a summary page with the information)...

Adjusted Gross Income
Taxable Income
Total Tax

Divide the Total Tax by the AGI and multiply by 100. Now, find your 2009 tax form and do the same thing. I've done a rough cut on our taxes for 2010 (still waiting on a bunch of forms) and it looks like we'll pay about 8%. By comparison, my 2009 was 2%.

Now, we did make about 25% more in 2010 than we did in 2009, so I'm willing to pay a little more

What you are doing is rational and reasonable and really the only way to compare apples to apples. Most people only look at what there refund/tax due is rather than looking at Total Tax in comparison to income. I tried explaining this concept to my sister and she just doesn't get it. I finally just filled out her W-4 so they would get a refund and now I am the "best"-iest sister in the whole world since they get money back.

 

[Forevryoung]

I will but it's not a budget buster. I have saved $$$$ for taxes since I found out my old boss screwed me. When I decided not to pursue it with the IRS and keep my mouth shut, I put the money aside for this purpose.

If how much I owe is above and beyond the money I set aside, then it will be a budget buster and "lesson learned."

My dad says "If money can solve it, it's not a problem"
and
"Money is one of the few things you can always make more of"

The quotes make me feel better but I have to keep it in the back of my mind that my mom handles all their finances and they would probably be living on the street if she didn't

 

[sam_gordon]

What you are doing is rational and reasonable and really the only way to compare apples to apples.

Of course, no one else has done it.

 

[fletchers5]

Virgderon...........I am very confused....we live in the Chicago Area....own a home in Pennslyvania that we have rented out for the past 5 years...we have always been able to deduct depreciation, home repairs, advertising...management fees, taxes, interest..travel...... Actually that is the only reason we have even had a refund these past few years. We lost our dependent deductions a few years ago. This past year....our renters destroyed our house...we put over $6000.00 into home repair which we did deduct....but this year we are getting a lot less back on our return..that did kind of confuse me.....I only made 1/2 what I did last year....and when I had made more money I had less taxes taken out at the time..so that didn't make much sense.

Now next year I am not sure what will happen....Hopefully we don't have to put $6000.00 into the house...but hopefully I am not paying the government the $6000.00 in the end.

I would sometime like play with the taxes and not put the rental in there and then see what happens.

My husband has wanted to sell the house but I keep telling him it is a great tax deduction.