auxy wrote:My tax refund was $3.
Three. Dollars.
I guess I should be glad I didn't OWE taxes, but it's like ... why even bother filing? (◕︿◕✿)
You bother filing to stay in compliance and keep the IRS from annoying the crap out of you.
Personal computing discussed
Moderators: askfranklin, renee, emkubed, Captain Ned
auxy wrote:My tax refund was $3.
Three. Dollars.
I guess I should be glad I didn't OWE taxes, but it's like ... why even bother filing? (◕︿◕✿)
derFunkenstein wrote:I'm pretty sure if you don't owe you don't have to file.You bother filing to stay in compliance and keep the IRS from annoying the crap out of you.
auxy wrote:derFunkenstein wrote:I'm pretty sure if you don't owe you don't have to file.You bother filing to stay in compliance and keep the IRS from annoying the crap out of you.
ludi wrote:So you don't have to file, but it's probably a good idea to do so anyway. ┐( ̄ヮ ̄)┌Unless you are a fan of Unnecessary Trouble & Friends, I would suggest looking it up :P Basically, unless your AGI was really low, you should file regardless. If you are a legal adult earning any source of reported income, then any unusual behavior including not filing tax returns, is likely as not to raise flags.
auxy wrote:ludi wrote:So you don't have to file, but it's probably a good idea to do so anyway. ┐( ̄ヮ ̄)┌Unless you are a fan of Unnecessary Trouble & Friends, I would suggest looking it up Basically, unless your AGI was really low, you should file regardless. If you are a legal adult earning any source of reported income, then any unusual behavior including not filing tax returns, is likely as not to raise flags.
I was mostly annoyed that I paid $20 for H&R Block to go over my return and make sure it was right only to end up getting $3 back, thus costing me $17. I don't really qualify for anything in terms of credits and I don't have any exemptions at all, so I'm pretty well hosed on the whole tax thing.
danny e. wrote:You seem to have the impression that I don't already know this.You seem to be not getting that a low refund is actually what you should be striving for. Most people have things setup incorrectly, and therefore they get big refunds (withholding too much per paycheck). This means that the government is taking your money early and you are not getting it and earning interest on it. You should always want your refund to be as low as possible.
bhtooefr wrote:But, I've bought myself a couple calculators and a server - a SwissMicros DM-15CC (reviewed here), an Elektronika MK-61 (a vintage Soviet RPN calculator), and a Dell CS24-SC ($190, for a dual 2.5 GHz Xeon L5420 (essentially dual Core 2 Quad) with 16 GiB RAM, in a 1U case) to replace my ancient bottom-of-the-line Dell P3 desktop that I'm currently using as a server.
Captain Ned wrote:Surprised you didn't buy a Curta, unless of course you already own one.
auxy wrote:danny e. wrote:You seem to have the impression that I don't already know this.You seem to be not getting that a low refund is actually what you should be striving for. Most people have things setup incorrectly, and therefore they get big refunds (withholding too much per paycheck). This means that the government is taking your money early and you are not getting it and earning interest on it. You should always want your refund to be as low as possible.
You seem to be making wild assumptions about what I do and don't know and how much money I make.
I never even complained about the amount of my refund and I never said I wished it was larger; I only complained about spending the $20 at H&R Block (which was admittedly my own mistake, but still; if people can't complain about their own mistakes then what CAN they complain about?)
I saw this post on my phone as I walked out to my car at work and I raced home with a head full of mad ready to post an angry retort full of vitriol, and then I realized that you're probably one more financially-secure older person who thinks I'm one more ignorant little poor kid who doesn't know how taxes work. Yeah, I'm poor, and I'm young, but at least I'm perceptive; if you'd actually read my first post in this thread, I think it should have been fairly clear I know that tax returns are simply a reimbursement for overpayment.
bhtooefr wrote:Except you have to file state as well in most states...
Krogoth wrote:Care to enlightenment me?
MadManOriginal wrote:No state taxes in Texas, whee!Yes, you may have to file state taxes. That's a separate issue...I don't use Intuit's Turbotax State filing because it charges $30 for what is easy otherwise. In PA the state's own online tax filing for a similarly straightforward tax return is very easy but of course every state varies. You'd have to do it regardless, so why not at least use one of the free Federal options for Federal taxes?
Darkmage wrote:We ended up owing a lot this year. SWMBO was switching jobs and spent some time as a 1099 contractor. That apparently really screwed us over. We filed an extension and will be having the pros look at it to see if TurboTax missed something large.
I sure hope so. Otherwise I might have to sell a rifle to pay this crap.
auxy wrote:You guys keep talking about earning interest on your money you aren't paying in taxes -- what the heck kind of income do you have? I can't even imagine earning relevant interest on anything.
MadManOriginal wrote:Darkmage wrote:We ended up owing a lot this year. SWMBO was switching jobs and spent some time as a 1099 contractor. That apparently really screwed us over. We filed an extension and will be having the pros look at it to see if TurboTax missed something large.
I sure hope so. Otherwise I might have to sell a rifle to pay this crap.
It's hard to call that 'getting screwed over' it just sounds like you were unaware that as a 1099 contractor she was responsible for all taxes since she was effectively a pass-through business and not an employee.
just brew it! wrote:auxy wrote:You guys keep talking about earning interest on your money you aren't paying in taxes -- what the heck kind of income do you have? I can't even imagine earning relevant interest on anything.
Well, the "you could be earning interest on it" angle is certainly less relevant than it was a few years ago. With interest rates near zero and any investments with a decent rate of return being fairly risky, even if you'd had the cash you probably wouldn't be much better off than if you'd just stuffed it in a mattress.
MadManOriginal wrote:Nope. She paid estimated taxes during her time as a 1099 in the form of two really large checks to Uncle Sugar. It wasn't enough.It's hard to call that 'getting screwed over' it just sounds like you were unaware that as a 1099 contractor she was responsible for all taxes since she was effectively a pass-through business and not an employee.
bhtooefr wrote:Sticking it in a CD could actually be a quite useful option. Then, the interest rates are better, you get the same "can't touch the money" factor, and you could get a 12 month CD, and cash it out at tax time. (Although, that requires having enough cash on hand to put a meaningful percentage of the taxes into the CD beforehand.)
Krogoth wrote:Care to enlightenment me?
auxy wrote:My tax refund was $3.
Three. Dollars.
I guess I should be glad I didn't OWE taxes, but it's like ... why even bother filing? (◕︿◕✿)
druidcent wrote:Blargh.. Off again this year... ended up owing about $2500 to Uncle Sam, and $3500 to CA... I blame it on having to buy a house (and liquidating assets)... I'm sure I'll overshoot in the other direction next year... The other part that gets me is this is the overage that we owe beyond what we paid in W-2 taxes... DINK's with no house get screwed over royally by the government.. forget about the 1% getting shafted, it's definitely DINK's.. although technically I think we fall in the 5-10% range.. doesn't feel like it here in CA..