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Why is it that when a refund comes in something breaks and there goes the refund [hahhah-no].
Got my state refund today, was going to snag an old S&W wheelie I'm hunting for but noooo, now I get to put in a new garage door opener/belt drive blah blah. Oh well. At least the weather is going to be great starting Saturday so the motorcycle therapy sessions will commence!
Well I screwed up my w4 by following the directions and ended up owing 1400 Fed and almost 1000 to state. Apparently the directions are bad to follow.
What's a refund ?
Hahaha, I wasn't expecting to get one, not a large one by any means but it'll cover the garage work so that's what matters.
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Originally Posted by CavSct1983
ThisQuote:
Originally Posted by colorider
No kidding! What refund...
I usually get a bonus at work around February. I pretty much just sign that over to cover what I owe in taxes.
For me, following the directions put me at 6 allowances. So I put that, thinking, "Directions say to do this." Previous year I'd apparently fallen in a weird area where I got a refund, having not made enough. This year, with the new job, I made too much to be in that space and got totally hammered. I have since reduced my allowances to 3.Quote:
Originally Posted by brutal
W4 directions are crap.Quote:
Originally Posted by CavSct1983
I run a mock 1040 in Excel as the year drags on and adjust as necessary. My goal is to owe an amount I'm comfortable paying the next year but never more than 10% of the tax to avoid the extra little penalty. This year I owe about 2.5% of my Fed and about 4% of my state. Put the checks in the mail this morning. :(
We got a mild refund this year but we had to pay a ton in medical expenses to get that. Lol.
I honestly have no idea if I'll owe or not for last year yet.
Our refunds were pretty minimal and went straight to pay off debt. Being responsible isn't any fun.
Refund went right into savings for the house we can never afford.
Got a pretty good refund this year along with a nice bonus at work. Too bad it's all going to adding a bathroom in our house.
True datQuote:
Originally Posted by blacklabel
sent from me
I'm retired, we're getting $$ back, Finally.
I figured this out long ago- see, Skynet has all of your electronics connected to your bank account. Whenever you have a 'surplus,' it kicks off a reaction among your electronics. In our case, it's usually the car.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc45
Refund no thanks, I take my money the hole year and pay them at the end.
This is what we do as well, all though I was certain it'd be worse for 2016 since we made some significant moves in our non-retirement stock portfolio. Turns out that you get up to $2000 in adjustment to your TOTAL tax bill for $ paid for post secondary education when you pay with cash (not GTI, but $2k added on at the very end). Which was a nice surprise and gave us a small refund from the Feds this year. State ended up owing us $2, which hit at the beginning of the week...[WooHoo]Quote:
Originally Posted by powerstroke79
My refund went to paying off my student loans early.
I just always claim zero even though I'm the sole breadwinner for four. That along with my bonuses being way over taxed usually means we get around 12k back. I like getting the minimum as the year goes on so we can budget for that then dump the returns into whatever we want/need.
Truth.Quote:
Originally Posted by colorider
At least this year we pay in the low 4 figures instead of 5.
We usually owe at the end of the year. If we've calculated everything properly, some last minute contributions to the IRA will pretty much leave us paying a very small amount of tax owed. I've been procrastinating this year...need to get busy and get them done.
What do you do with the money during the year?Quote:
Originally Posted by powerstroke79
This is pretty much what I do. I don't have any depends though and end up with about 3K back. It's not money I count on so it usually ends back into the firearms industry.Quote:
Originally Posted by tmckay2
Yeah it's sort of nice to budget with the least amount of monthly money and don't bank on the returns, then when you get them you can do whatever with it. We usually out some in kids account, I out a little into landscaping, some invest and some just into savings so when we need a car, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by cfortune
It's pretty much impossible we will ever owe. One year I claimed 1 and my wife was working and we owed like 10k plus property taxes on land we owned had to be paid all at once which was another 6k so after that I was like never, ever again.
But with hsa deductions, 401k deductions, mortgage interest, child credits and charitable donations it takes quite a bit off.
I owe a little bit every year that way I get to use my money instead the damn government.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
Savings and college investment for the kid.
Since owning the business, the days of "refunds" are over for me.
I've got to pucker up and get the lube..... Cause I'm getting a pounding tonight!!!
LOL. Can't believe I just said that!
Huh? You get the same money no matter what, assuming you report all possible deductions. It's just a matter of getting it now vs later. You would rather budget with the possibility of over spending and owing vs under spending and getting a lump sum. I mean to each their own but that seems risky from a financial point of view.Quote:
Originally Posted by roberth
I think most people would rather keep the money as a snub to the government, rather than to use it to invest during the year. There isn't really an investment that would be worth the risk that would make any money over such a short time period.
You don't keep anything as a snub to the gov. They get theirs one way or another. I suppose if you budget very carefully and are banking a lot each month it's fine, but if your car breaks down then you owe a few thousand in taxes that hurts. Most people aren't going to make much money if they invest it in that 9 to 12 month period between taxes, and even if you make a profit you still have to give the tax money back. To me it makes a lot more sense to get a lump sum and if you need it for something use it, if not dump it all into investments. In the long run it doesn't make much of a difference if you invest it now or 12 months from now, especially if you are having to be careful due to the risk of overspending during the year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
It's why I let them over tax me on property taxes right now as well. I'd rather have the highest payments possible and get that money back so my budget reflects worst case scenario than find out I owe money at a really inconvenient time.
Like I said everyone has their own way and thoughts but man after owing like 16 grand I just can't imagine ever taking that risk.
I just don't like anyone holding MY money for me. I would rather hold too much and give them what I owe at the end of the year!
This is what I meant.Quote:
Originally Posted by cableguy11
Uh oh, looks like I didn't pay enough in estimated and I'll end up owing a lot more than I thought. Good thing I didn't spend on stuff like I wanted to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
Thanks for following up on that. I was not understanding why property taxes would be over-assessed. Forgot about the Mortgage company escrows.Quote:
Originally Posted by HBARleatherneck
Every year I have to wait to see if the legislature will fund the Property Tax Senior Exemption or if I have to pay up more. Too bad there is not more certainty like other states that just give a Homestead Exemption.
Apparently had my withholding set pretty close to perfect.... ended up owing the state an extra $150, and getting back about $200 from federal.
I ended up getting $600 back from state and owing an additional $2,700 to Federal. Actually pretty good, thanks accountant!
Nice!Quote:
Originally Posted by DenverGP