Tax Refund??

[Bearybad]

I have been off of here for a while, so I am sorry if this has already been asked. Does anyone know for sure what the deal is with the refunds?? A friend said she heard on the news that they will base what you get on your TAXABLE INCOME. This means after you have taken all of your deductions. If your TAXABLE INCOME is less then 12,000 then you would get a 5% refund.
For my family this would mean $249 instead of the $600.
I can't seem to find anywhere that it says TAXABLE INCOME, I only see INCOME. This is so confusing. Thanks for any help to understand this one.

 

[Falls1]

Here is the site for your information, you will recieve it in the month with the last two
digets of your social security, you may even get more than you antipicated...

http://www.irs.gov/ind_info/apinfo/index.html

 

[Bearybad]

Thank you for the link. I did figure right. We will be getting $249 not $600. Being a family of 5 on one income, after deductions-- our TAXABLE INCOME comes up to less then $6000.
Oh well-- it is better then getting nothing.
Good luck to the rest of you. I hope you get the full amount.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

This bites!!! Near as I can figure, we get $0!!!!! We had a taxable income of 38,000, but with the child tax credit, we didn't have to pay taxes, so we get nothing? That just bites!!! I thought everyone was essentially going to get something! I have to figure that again....

 

[Bearybad]

I went back and checked. The first time I didn't pay attention to the Child Tax Credit being considered. Now that I have. We also will get $0. It says :
** If you filed Form 1040 or Form 1040A, your advance credit payment is limited to your tax liability which is the amount shown on your 2000 Form 1040, line 51, or Form 1040A, line 33

My line 33 say 0-- so my credit is limited to 0.

 

[frost5000]

From what I can figure out the only people who will really benefit are high income people who use investment loopholes and end up with higher taxable income, but lower overall taxes (people like George W. Bush.) This one is really unfair to working class people with families. Anyone who could really use the money won't see any. You know when we go to apply for social security, they"ll say "remember in 2001, that $$ you didn't really get back??? THAT was your social security!"

 

[tink2dw]

Never having been an Ace in math,how the heck do you figure out what you will get??using a calculator?

also,I thought all checks were to be recieved no later than July 30th??

 

[Humpbacks1962]

Wow...

And many of us understood it was a fixed amount.

Thanks for the tease, George!

Wanda

 

[GoofyT]

If you didn't pay taxes, why would you expect a refund?

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Thanks for the link. If I read it right, we will get the full $600 in Sept. I hope I read it right!

 

[lmmollohan]

I don't mean to sound positive while you are all feeling so negative but if you did not pay any taxes or should I say got back all the taxes you did pay than why are you upset? It is a tax refund not a gift!

We are a one income family of 5 and we are getting back the entire amount. My husband does not make 6 figures or even close!! I consider us to be the working class and this helps us. I know the govn't wastes lots and lots of money but let's be honest...we get lots of privledges and good programs living in the USA and someone has to pay for it. Is the tax system fair to everyone...no...but what is.

I am sorry that you are not getting back as much as expected or hoped for but your mother warned you not to count those chickens before they hatched. It is more than I expected even with all the promises and I for one am grateful for it...it is better than we had with Clinton

 

[redbirdgrad]

Well said Immollohan, I would much rather pay no taxes then get a $600 refund.

 

[GoofyT]

I'm with you redbirdgrad & lmmollohan!!!!

Well said!

 

[ginga]

I'll chime in with immollohan. This rebate check does not only help the wealthy. if i was, i wouldn't be on the budget board looking for a ways to help with our vacation. it doesn't take much income to have a net tax liability of $600 - we don't qualify for many credits or deductions. i will be very happy to receive my check and i feel I DESERVE it; I can spend it better than our government.

 

[frost5000]

I wasn't trying to be a bummer, and I don't expect anything in return for nothing. My point is that many people are assuming that they are getting the full amount back, and are actually getting nothing or very little. The way this has been presented has been misleading some to think that they will get something for nothing. I'm glad that those that are getting some back will be able to have fun with it, I just hate to see others count on it and get dissappointed (I knew from the start I would be inelligible - I work full time for 12,000 and my husband is disabled and gets 3,500 for a grand total of 15,500 - not quite stellar tax material!!)

 

[6_Time_Momma]

I agree. I don't expect something for nothing, either. But, I beleive the public has been mislead. I was actually under the impression that because of the surplus, it was money being given back. As to not paying taxes, I have paid taxes in throughout the year. Do you think that the government didn't earn interest or anything like that off my money?

Anyway, the overall point is that I beleive it was misleading. And it is not an additional refund, it is an advance of your 2001 refund, so my understanding (and you now all know how my understanding or lack of it is) is that if you were thinking you would get a refund of $1000 next year, now you will actually only get $400 at that time.

 

[ginga]

that's pretty much the message of this bill that the government is getting too much of our money and they are spending it, earning interest on it, etc. instead of us. The bill, in addition to this advance payment, initiates a lower tax bracket, so this payment is in essence a retroactive return of taxes that should have not been paid (for some people).

 

[6_Time_Momma]

Okay, I think I understand........................NOW, anyway....

 

[steph73]

I can see both sides of the fence on this one....It IS misleading. I have a friend who doesn't make much money but assumes that since they made over $12,000 they will be getting the full $600 refund. I doubt they had over $12,000 in taxable income...and I hate to be the bearer of bad news!

On the other hand, we are hardly rich (would I even be at the Budget board if we were? ) but I double checked and we more than made the cut off - almost two fold actually. The last two years were the first years we didn't qualify for Earned Income Credit. The way I'm looking at it, the lower income got their "extra" tax credit with their original refund w/ EIC. We got a measly refund this year. It's hardly only for the rich, we are middle class and it seems we are in that magic tax bracket that gets the worst of it....we don't make a whole lot of money but we make enough to pay in quite a bit. We had our mortgage interest and some other deductions, and two children, but still didn't end up with much. The checks will be nice, but they sure will take a nice fat bite out of next years return....

 

[6_Time_Momma]

We didn't qualify for earned income credit. (Incidentally, it said that didn't count in their figuring of this refund anyway, whatever that means) What took ours down was the Child Tax credit of $500 a child that everyone get.