Tax Time is Coming...

[goofy4tink]

Most of our April trip is paid for, but I will be putting some refund money towards the US/IoA part..man, that room at RPR is nasty expensive!! Some of the refund will go back into the house and a small amount will go into savings.

 

[d1gitman]

i havent filed in 8 years

 

[Raysplus1]

No refund for me. We haven't had one in the last 5yrs always pay a little in.

 

[twoplustwins]

using a portion of the refund plus our Christmas club money for our trip.

 

[tlenzendorf]

Me Me Me! It's going to pay for my whole trip, plus pay off some debt, plus leave enough for fun! Can't wait for January 28th, scheduled deposit day! I will pay off my room, order tickets and start looking at airfare more closely. I love me some tax time!

 

[exwdwcm]

W-2s are arriving, TurboTax is flying off the shelves, and people are starting to get an idea of their tax situation... Which leads me to ask -- who's going to spend their tax refund on a trip to WDW this year???

refund? what is this refund you speak of?

unfortunately, we recently moved into a really fun tax bracket where we tend to owe, even both claiming zero and with one child. Not fun. Last year was about $4k. Took out extra this year, even from a bonus, so hoping the hit isn't so bad this year.

DH's goal is to break even, why give the government an interest free loan? as he likes to say. so ideally we would hope to not owe, but get a minor return if at all.

we however did use DH's bonus to pay off most of our DVC membership! so that is paying for our rooms for the next 49 years!

Hope all of you getting refunds enjoy a magical time at WDW!

 

[Scubee]

Kinda OT, but how do you know how much you can get back, if you get any back that is??

One year, I got a thousand more than the following year, and income did not change??

Even the head of the IRS uses someone to prepare his taxes. In other words, they CAN be complicated. Plus, there are many changes from year to year. The Making Work Pay credit from the previous two years can increase your refund by anywhere from $250-800 depending on filing status and earned income.

The IRS has a great tax calculator here: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/page/0,,id=14806,00.html . You have to understand a bit about the terminology (e.g. your filing status, what a dependent is, what credits you qualify for, adjustments you can make) to work your way through this one. Additionally, there are other sites that will offer tax calculators, but you can never be sure if they have updated the calculator with the most recent legislation.

All that said, we will be banking our small refund. We use a vacation fund to sock away money for our traveling.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

For the first year since 2006, we're getting a refund and *not* putting it toward Disney. I'm a little bummed, sure, but WDW in 2011 doesn't seem too stellar to me. Between the Fantasyland refurb/closures, Star Wars reopening (which I imagine entailing LOOONG lines) and this whole "Memories" thing... I'm just gonna take a pass.

If we have any left over at the end of the year, I think it might go toward DVC.

 

[larryz]

Lotsa great plans! And condolences to the non-refunders...

 

[nytimez]

Everyone can do whatever they want with their own money. I haven't seen a refund in years, but when I did get them I tried very hard not to treat it as a "bonus" to splurge with. It's not. It's a portion of my salary that the feds borrowed from me at 0 percent interest.

We Americans are very generous lenders, it seems. But I always had a hard time looking at that refund as something to splurge with.

Again, it's your money. Do as you will with it. But since the question was asked...

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

We don't get a refund, either, and due to some investments we also have to make those fun quarterly payments so we don't get hammered with underpayment penalties (we're not not self-employed, but are partners in a non-passive investment company and so we have major depreciation deductions competing with income projections, so that's always fun to calculate), but we're careful to budget for our vacations each year so it doesn't make a difference each year.

 

[kupperman]

We didn't get much of a refund last year and don't expect to get a big one this year. But with the refund we do get we are putting it towards our Feb. trip.

 

[Scubee]

Everyone can do whatever they want with their own money. I haven't seen a refund in years, but when I did get them I tried very hard not to treat it as a "bonus" to splurge with. It's not. It's a portion of my salary that the feds borrowed from me at 0 percent interest.

We Americans are very generous lenders, it seems. But I always had a hard time looking at that refund as something to splurge with.

Again, it's your money. Do as you will with it. But since the question was asked...

I try very hard to ensure that I neither owe or receive very much. That said, it does provide a mechanism for someone to save where they may not otherwise do so. It really comes down to an opportunity cost which can be easily quantified.

For example, if you allow $50 per month in extra taxes withheld, you would receive a $600 refund. If that same $50 was received, placed in a savings or money market account earning 2% (and that's a generous return for those types of accounts last year), then you would have $607 at the end of the year. That calculation is performed with compounding interest with a $50 per month contribution and ignores FICA taxes.

So, is losing $7 for someone to save $600 worth it?

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I try very hard to ensure that I neither owe or receive very much. That said, it does provide a mechanism for someone to save where they may not otherwise do so. It really comes down to an opportunity cost which can be easily quantified.

For example, if you allow $50 per month in extra taxes withheld, you would receive a $600 refund. If that same $50 was received, placed in a savings or money market account earning 2% (and that's a generous return for those types of accounts last year), then you would have $607 at the end of the year. That calculation is performed with compounding interest with a $50 per month contribution and ignores FICA taxes.

So, is losing $7 for someone to save $600 worth it?

Add in the fact that people tend to spend money that is readily available and you would really see a net loss. The harsh reality - income tax refunds are as close as most Americans get to saving money. Why? Just like your 401k, it is taken out of your check in small increments that you never miss.

So, for those who prefer never to get a tax refund - fair enough. To most, it is a system that helps them, even if it amounts to an interest free loan to uncle sam.

 

[larryz]

So, for those who prefer never to get a tax refund - fair enough. To most, it is a system that helps them, even if it amounts to an interest free loan to uncle sam.

Excellent point. In my case, I very carefully calculated my withholding to be within 5% of my expected taxes. Then my tax program went and ran the numbers based on a few credits I didn't know applied in my particular case, and WHAM -- tax refund. And if I had tried to withhold at the rate indicated by my refund, I'm sure Uncle IRS would have been pounding on my door at 3 a.m. the day after I sent in the W-4.

That, and the fact that Congress can change your tax bill by drastic amounts with a couple of votes makes it difficult to actually gauge how much you're going to owe (or get back) until April 15th (or 18th).

 

[Barnhill9586]

Kinda OT, but how do you know how much you can get back, if you get any back that is??

One year, I got a thousand more than the following year, and income did not change??



ETA: Because if I knew the amount I would(could) be getting back I would DEFINITELY be planning my Disney Trip!!

Fingers crossed for a big refund for you so we can get another dining report! I stumbled onto yours about a year ago at this time and still think it is the best ever! While planning our ADR's last week for this year's trips I managed to find it again to help my wife and I plan.

 

[nytimez]

I try very hard to ensure that I neither owe or receive very much. That said, it does provide a mechanism for someone to save where they may not otherwise do so. It really comes down to an opportunity cost which can be easily quantified.

For example, if you allow $50 per month in extra taxes withheld, you would receive a $600 refund. If that same $50 was received, placed in a savings or money market account earning 2% (and that's a generous return for those types of accounts last year), then you would have $607 at the end of the year. That calculation is performed with compounding interest with a $50 per month contribution and ignores FICA taxes.

So, is losing $7 for someone to save $600 worth it?

I don't dispute this. To me, it's not about the $7. It's about getting the money you earned when you earned it, to do with as you will.

Add in the fact that people tend to spend money that is readily available and you would really see a net loss. The harsh reality - income tax refunds are as close as most Americans get to saving money. Why? Just like your 401k, it is taken out of your check in small increments that you never miss.

So, for those who prefer never to get a tax refund - fair enough. To most, it is a system that helps them, even if it amounts to an interest free loan to uncle sam.

Sorry, but this I disagree with.

Yes, I know holding onto the money won't yield a big interest dividend. Yes, I know Americans are chronically unable to save.

But the very fact that so many people do plan to blow their refunds on vacations, big-screen TVs and whatever else is hot this year shows that it's still not actually a savings tool, even if it looks like one.

Sometimes, when it quacks like a duck, it's actually a duck hunter.

 

[Scubee]

But the very fact that so many people do plan to blow their refunds on vacations, big-screen TVs and whatever else is hot this year shows that it's still not actually a savings tool, even if it looks like one.

Sometimes, when it quacks like a duck, it's actually a duck hunter.

Then it sounds as though we are arguing semantics. Not all "saving tools" are meant for long-term goals, retirement, education, etc. I use the term "savings" for putting money aside for our family vacations, annual insurance premiums, large ticket items to be purchased in the next 18 months.

Now, if someone is using this money on the items you mentioned while carrying credit card debt, student loan debt, failing to fund their children's education, and the like, then you'll get a much different response from me.

 

[nytimez]

Then it sounds as though we are arguing semantics. Not all "saving tools" are meant for long-term goals, retirement, education, etc. I use the term "savings" for putting money aside for our family vacations, annual insurance premiums, large ticket items to be purchased in the next 18 months.

Now, if someone is using this money on the items you mentioned while carrying credit card debt, student loan debt, failing to fund their children's education, and the like, then you'll get a much different response from me.

Absolutely, you're absolutely right and I hope I didn't imply otherwise. But if my potential tax refund would make or break a vacation possibility, I probably wouldn't want to spend the money on a vacation in any case. This is all I'm trying to express, perhaps poorly.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

refund? what is this refund you speak of?

lol, this is what was going through my mind

having 2 jobs always gets me pretty hard.

he sold stock this year to buy my engagement ring so he'll most likely be in the red too.

the good news is.... we leave for disney 19 days after tax day