Big tax refund!

[Wenchy]

Pay off that mortgage Vrai. It feels good to own where you sleep and if you pay it off and don't like it you can always go get a HELOC if owing on it makes you feel better.

Then the government comes in and raises property taxes (beyond your original PITA payment) and will arrest you if you have a home invasion and kill the thug.

Ugh.

 

[IrishGal]

I love you, too, my sister in carnivorism!







I was going to say, "my sister in meat," but that didn't sound right...

I'll be your sister in meat and weird veggies!!

 

[awpitt]

My IRA max allowed already gets taken out of my paycheck; I have no intention of ever putting one single dollar into the stock market again; and my savings account doesn't yield enough interest for it to matter.

Next?

Take the extra each payday and double up a loan payment or use it to pay extra principal on the mortgage.

 

[vraiblonde]

Take the extra each payday and double up a loan payment or use it to pay extra principal on the mortgage.

Oh, I can (and probably will) do that with the refund. The problem is that it's almost impossible to gauge my income from year to year. I know my minimum, but not my max. So if we have a really good year, I might end up having to cut the IRS a big fat check in April, which I don't want to do. So I think positive, prepare for a really good year, and get money back if I was overly optimistic.

#winning

 

[awpitt]

Oh, I can (and probably will) do that with the refund. The problem is that it's almost impossible to gauge my income from year to year. I know my minimum, but not my max. So if we have a really good year, I might end up having to cut the IRS a big fat check in April, which I don't want to do. So I think positive, prepare for a really good year, and get money back if I was overly optimistic.

#winning

You're right. In your case it's smart to error on the side on caution so you don't accidently end up owing a big chunk of change in April.

 

[Cheeky1]

Well, you also said [-4, ∞] and [-4, ∞) are the same thing, so....












Bazinga!

I know exactly what that means..... I am such a nerd.

I haven't seen an episode of the Big Bang Theory in months....

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

I got back $350.00 from the Feds & owed MD $126.00.

Just more proof how high MD taxes are, huh?
Ya pay all year and still owe come tax time.

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

I know exactly what that means..... I am such a nerd.

I haven't seen an episode of the Big Bang Theory in months....

You're in my spot.

 

[awpitt]

Just more proof how high MD taxes are, huh?
Ya pay all year and still owe come tax time.

Not necessarily. Each tax situation is different. Last year, I owed some federal but got a small refund from MD.

 

[BOP]

Now, here's the thing:

My first FIL used to get all kinds of bent about tax refunds. His take was that you're lending the government money interest-free. MY take is that those few hundred buck a month would get pissed away frivolously and not saved. But when you get a check for $10,000, THAT is real money and you'll put it in savings or make a major purchase with it (mine will go into savings).

Even if your refund is only a thousand or two, it's still a big fat check vs. the hundred or two you'd have kept each month and frittered away. Currently anyone could shave at least $50 off their monthly expenditures, and stick it in savings. But nobody does that - we spend what we make.

So why does it make any sense at all to get right on the dollar with your taxes and not overpay? Sort of like an enforced savings account.

How long before the government decides to tax our tax refunds? I'm surprised they haven't thought of it already.

 

[awpitt]

How long before the government decides to tax our tax refunds? I'm surprised they haven't thought of it already.

It is.

The feds tax your state tax refund; however, if you owe additional state tax, you can deduct it on your fed return.