Holy Refund!

Mason

Mason

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Moved from SOCAL back to Iowa.
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Mase
I filed my taxes electronically on March 4th. My Federal refund, such as it is, appeared electronically in my account today!

I try to plan things so as to have a small refund. I don't like paying and I don't like them using my money for free.
 
Mason said:
I filed my taxes electronically on March 4th. My Federal refund, such as it is, appeared electronically in my account today!

I try to plan things so as to have a small refund. I don't like paying and I don't like them using my money for free.
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I usually wind up paying a little to the feds from the little I get back from the state... Peter to Paul kind of thing, except that Paul is a blood sucking Pryck!
 
Not looking forward to filing mine this year...been trying to find ways to deduct the cost of my plane, but all the usual deductions don't apply to me or the plane...<sigh>
 
My federal return was deposited into my account in 7 days. Still waiting on the state.
 
Wow you got a refund? Must be nice. Haven't seen a refund check since my 30s... My motto: I owe, I owe, off to the airport I go....
 
I have enough taken out of my W-2 to try and cover any 1099 income. If I get a refund it means I didn't do well on investments/other income for the year. This year I got a refund.
 
Because my summer job pays me as a contractor (1098-T) instead of withholding taxes in a W-2 and getting a sizable refund this time of year, I owe a sizable amount of money. Stupid. I make the same amount of money, but because of paperwork end up paying out the ass for it. Boss was convinced to do a W-2 this year.
 
Seanaldinho said:
Because my summer job pays me as a contractor (1098-T) instead of withholding taxes in a W-2 and getting a sizable refund this time of year, I owe a sizable amount of money. Stupid. I make the same amount of money, but because of paperwork end up paying out the ass for it. Boss was convinced to do a W-2 this year.
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If you are a contractor, or have investment or other income, it's a good idea to pay estimated taxes so you don't wind up paying a lot at the end. If you owe too much you get a penalty. BTDT, although the penalty wasn't really that much compared to the amount owed.
 
Everskyward said:
With the interest rates where they are these days it doesn't matter.
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Sure it does. What the government's holding, I can't use for something else. Interest rates are still positive, except for overpayments to the government. Good investments are still yielding decent returns. You pay the same amount one way or the other, but writing the check is a bit more visible.


JKG
 
Everskyward said:
If you are a contractor, or have investment or other income, it's a good idea to pay estimated taxes so you don't wind up paying a lot at the end. If you owe too much you get a penalty. BTDT, although the penalty wasn't really that much compared to the amount owed.
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I didn't know that, however having spoken with an accountant its exactly what I would've done now. Its just a summer job for me as a college student and my annual income is still very low so the amount I owe actually isn't that much, but to me in my current position its a sizable amount of money.
 
JGoodish said:
Sure it does. What the government's holding, I can't use for something else. Interest rates are still positive, except for overpayments to the government. Good investments are still yielding decent returns. You pay the same amount one way or the other, but writing the check is a bit more visible.
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I try to avoid a penalty so I make estimated payments which means I write visible checks. In a perfect world I would come out even with the government every year but many things are hard to estimate and I don't fret over having given them an "interest free loan".
 
Everskyward said:
it's a good idea to pay estimated taxes If you owe too much you get a penalty. QUOTE]

Unless it's changed, I was self employed and paid estimated taxes quarterly (required then I believe). And yes, you're subject to a penalty as mentioned if ya didn't pay Unc Sam enough..
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I always found it entertaining that you can be penalized if you don't pay up quarterly, if you aren't sending enough... but they don't have to pay back quarterly if they're receiving too much.
 
AR paid me in two days. Fed well.....hoping I don't get an IOW.
 
Waiting to see what I owe the Feds .since I retired I end up paying every year,doesn't make sense to me.
 
Everskyward said:
I try to avoid a penalty so I make estimated payments which means I write visible checks. In a perfect world I would come out even with the government every year but many things are hard to estimate and I don't fret over having given them an "interest free loan".
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My penalty for not paying quarterly was $190 next year it will be closer to $300. I'll gladly pay the penalty to have the money in the bank until I'm ready to pay. Does anyone else feel this way ?
 
NJP_MAN said:
My penalty for not paying quarterly was $190 next year it will be closer to $300. I'll gladly pay the penalty to have the money in the bank until I'm ready to pay. Does anyone else feel this way ?
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Sure. I don't cut it that close but we typically have to pay Federal and then State refunds back nearly the same amount. The accountant does a good job of letting us know what changes would push us over the edge.

Liquid cash in my pocket is always more useful than sitting in Uncle's coffers if some mega-expensive emergency comes up.

Uncle knows how to wait and does for a while before they start garnishing things and seizing assets. Or incarceration. Uncle is pretty slow doing all of that. Slower than I would be fixing it, for certain.

By then I'd either have already gone broke and filed bankruptcy or would have sold something to pay him.

I just wish I could get the kind of time before incarceration that Al Sharpton gets. Uncle plays favorites. I doubt he would wait as long for my $4M as he's waited for his, before I got a nice trip to Club Fed.

Cest la vie! Uncle only promises to play fair. It's a lie. But it keeps a lot of people happy believing it.

The guy who owns a P-51 and a Sea Fury at the airport is a tax attorney. That's probably the best possible real world indicator of how lucrative negotiating with Uncle can be.

He's a nice guy and the online rankings say he's only the third best in the country. I shudder to think of how good number two and one are if he can afford the care and feeding of two warbirds.

Apparently a very good gig if you enjoy reading tax code and arguing Uncle about his own rules.
 
Everskyward said:
I try to avoid a penalty so I make estimated payments which means I write visible checks. In a perfect world I would come out even with the government every year but many things are hard to estimate and I don't fret over having given them an "interest free loan".
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I agree with making estimated payments if you have income for which taxes are not deducted, and it is ideal to get the estimates close, but it makes little sense to overpay such that you routinely receive a substantial refund. Even if you owe thousands at the end of the year, the underpayment penalty is typically minimal.


JKG
 
frfly172 said:
Waiting to see what I owe the Feds .since I retired I end up paying every year,doesn't make sense to me.
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I'm in the same boat. When I retired I did not quite have my mortgage paid off so I've been using IRA money to make that payment, plus you have to pay taxes on your SS income. That puts me in a high enough bracket to have to write check.
 
But if you don't have a job where your taxes are withheld, it only stands to reason that you would need to pay if your income (SS, investment, or other) is higher than then zero tax threshold.
 
JGoodish said:
Sure it does. What the government's holding, I can't use for something else. Interest rates are still positive, except for overpayments to the government. Good investments are still yielding decent returns. You pay the same amount one way or the other, but writing the check is a bit more visible.


JKG
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If withholding wasn't forced there would be some big changes in government policies.
 
JGoodish said:
I agree with making estimated payments if you have income for which taxes are not deducted, and it is ideal to get the estimates close, but it makes little sense to overpay such that you routinely receive a substantial refund. Even if you owe thousands at the end of the year, the underpayment penalty is typically minimal.
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I don't attempt to overpay, I attempt to come out even. If I don't need the money during the year, what difference does it make? It's either in my bank or uncle's. I'm paying it either way.
 
denverpilot said:
Sure. I don't cut it that close but we typically have to pay Federal and then State refunds back nearly the same amount. The accountant does a good job of letting us know what changes would push us over the edge.

Liquid cash in my pocket is always more useful than sitting in Uncle's coffers if some mega-expensive emergency comes up.

Uncle knows how to wait and does for a while before they start garnishing things and seizing assets. Or incarceration. Uncle is pretty slow doing all of that. Slower than I would be fixing it, for certain.

By then I'd either have already gone broke and filed bankruptcy or would have sold something to pay him.

I just wish I could get the kind of time before incarceration that Al Sharpton gets. Uncle plays favorites. I doubt he would wait as long for my $4M as he's waited for his, before I got a nice trip to Club Fed.

Cest la vie! Uncle only promises to play fair. It's a lie. But it keeps a lot of people happy believing it.

The guy who owns a P-51 and a Sea Fury at the airport is a tax attorney. That's probably the best possible real world indicator of how lucrative negotiating with Uncle can be.

He's a nice guy and the online rankings say he's only the third best in the country. I shudder to think of how good number two and one are if he can afford the care and feeding of two warbirds.

Apparently a very good gig if you enjoy reading tax code and arguing Uncle about his own rules.
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The Mutt will be along shortly to whine about how you inserted political statements in your post.
 
Everskyward said:
I don't attempt to overpay, I attempt to come out even. If I don't need the money during the year, what difference does it make? It's either in my bank or uncle's. I'm paying it either way.
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You can't invest it, you can't spend it, and you can't access it if you need it. Not sure where the benefit is with overpayment.


JKG
 
Everskyward said:
I don't attempt to overpay, I attempt to come out even. If I don't need the money during the year, what difference does it make? It's either in my bank or uncle's. I'm paying it either way.
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That all depends on how liquid you need it to be. Uncle only allows withdrawals once a year. And I've already explained that in certain circumstances you might forego paying Uncle for a while. Especially if you have friends who can make Law Endorcement leave you alone.

Wasn't there a joke about one of the NASA astronauts not remembering to file once and had to file late because they were in space?

paflyer said:
The Mutt will be along shortly to whine about how you inserted political statements in your post.
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Ummmm. We're discussing taxes. I'm not sure how one could get any more political than that. Haha. Noting that the rules aren't applied equally isn't exactly news to anyone who's been alive long enough to pay them, either.

That's been a given with taxes throughout all recorded human history once someone figured out to name them taxes instead of just good old fashioned paying someone else's bills.

Makes them sound all wholesome and squishy-good to some people. Excellent marketing and sales tactics, really, to have held up this long as a pretty significant fiscal delusion.
 
I write my checks to the Fed and the State on April 15th and mail them then. I haven't loaned the gubmint my money interest free in many years.
 
I've got around $10k coming back. I had a down year income wise. I too am not happy that I overpaid.
 
Everskyward said:
But if you don't have a job where your taxes are withheld, it only stands to reason that you would need to pay if your income (SS, investment, or other) is higher than then zero tax threshold.
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I believed I was, but because of how the paperwork is done I have to pay, had it been a W-2 I would be getting a lot of money back. Im a college student, not making a lot of money.
 
Seanaldinho said:
I believed I was, but because of how the paperwork is done I have to pay, had it been a W-2 I would be getting a lot of money back. Im a college student, not making a lot of money.
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The thing is, in the end, you are paying the same amount of taxes as you would have if estimated tax had been withheld on a W2 (unless you are paying a penalty). I do understand that it's difficult to come up with a lump sum, especially if you didn't expect it.
 
Slowly raise the temperature of the water and the frog doesn't jump out. That's the pure magic of pure pay period withholding. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
Slowly raise the temperature of the water and the frog doesn't jump out. That's the pure magic of pure pay period withholding. ;)
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I think it's a good thing they do it that way. Otherwise we would need an army of tax collectors trying to extract money from the millions who didn't set it aside during the year and now cannot pay.
 
Everskyward said:
I think it's a good thing they do it that way. Otherwise we would need an army of tax collectors trying to extract money from the millions who didn't set it aside during the year and now cannot pay.
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Why are you against all them good new gub'mint jobs. ;)

We could give 'em all some guns and explosives and they could blow entire walls off of houses like one of our local PDs, looking for a shoplifter, and then tell the guy rebuilding his house the shoplifter ran inside, that his drainage on the property doesn't meet code! After his insurance company won't cover "improvements" after his local PD blew the whole back of his house off.

(For those unaware, that paragraph isn't fiction. It really happened here.)

Gub'mint jobs are awesome. ;)
 
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