Income Taxes
 

Wife and I both got our W-2's today. Getting $5001 back, not too shabby. Can finally pay the old lady's Trailblazer off. Anyone else got their's done yet?

I don't get my W-2 until the end of the month....and then I have to wait for some other statements for my student loans.

EDIT: I did use a tax calculator and I should be getting back around $2800.

Do student loans help or hurt you? I mean i know when you pay them back they probably help, but when you take them out are you supposed to state that anywhere?

If you use them to get a degree they help. If you use them to buy food, booze, drugs, lap dances, etc, thats another story

You get a tax credit for the interest that you've paid on them throughout the year.

Plus I get a $2000 school tax credit because I"m in school.

My target is always to owe...I hate loaning the government money, they might not pay it back(which is actually a real concern this year in CA).

Taxes done already?

Nerd alert.......

despite claiming Married 0 dependents and hubby getting an extra deduction because he is legally blind, we always have to pay the state around 1 grand...

we usually get back around that amount from feds....

sooooooooooo we get NOTHING usually

sigh


but at least we have good jobs

Not too shabby, but not quite enough $ to buy you and the wife a virgin.

I took 13 hrs last semester and I have 17 hrs this semester. I have taken out a total of like 10k in school loans this year. Should i be reporting that on my taxes somewhere to help me get back more money?

Edit I know dick about taxes, my wife does them and I'm not sure she always does them right. She does them on taxact.com

It would make more since to try and break even.

Who are your school loans through?

stafford

While getting a refund is nice, getting one that large usually means you paid way, way too much over the year, basically giving the government an interest free loan.

As far as student loans go, the interest you actually paid on them are deductible, not what you accrued. So if you haven't started paying them back yet, no deduction for you.

And you don't need to report the "income" they provide -- just like you wouldn't on a personal loan you got.

Of course, I only play a tax professional in the Internet, so you may want to double check all that.

MM
~~:D

<<<<<<<<<<<<< My little tax deduction. :)

I hoping to get around $5000-$6000 back again this year. Haven't done mine yet, but having 4 kids helps.

Haven't received my W2 yet.

Oh, one other huge thing for everyone:

NEVER, EVER, FOR ANY REASON, SHOULD ANYONE GET A TAX REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN!

They are a complete ****ing ripoff, with high rates and fees, and you can get ALL of your refund in just a few weeks anyway (or sooner if you e-file).

So just don't do it.

MM
~~:shake:

how the heck is that possible?

Nah you want to owe the government as much as possible without owing fees. Why? Just like when you get a refund back from the government you gave them an interest free loan. When you owe the government money you're getting and interest free loan from the government. If you take that money and put it in something that makes money you make out ahead. This of course depends upon a person being able to manage their finances, but really you want to owe money.

Which I'm guessing a lot of people can't and they'd screw this up royally.

Money back? Not me.

I just paid my Q4 '08 Estimated Tax Bill that was due today. I hate Government thieves.

its the way Kansas does things...something about how they take out certain things for Federal and not in state ...retirement stuff like that

I understand it, but can't expain it

I hate taxes

This

Who's hands do you want your money in for a longer period of time - Yours or the Governments? Seriously, I generally laugh at people that are so excited about getting their refund checks. People act as if the Government is "Giving" them money that is theirs instead of yours. lol

getting 3700 back. It's a miracle.

I think I get mine tomorrow. I'm looking to get about 1500 back. My GF should get about 3500. I'm calling it "The 50" Plasma and Blu-Ray fund."

ROFL

How the hell are you going to get back like 5-6 grand? You guys must have crazy deductions. I made 56K last year and from the research I've done already without my W2 and from my last pay check it looks like I'll be getting about $450 or so from federal. I even claim whatever is the most to take out of my paycheck as well, so they should be withholding quite a bit. Granted I have like no deductions because I don't have a house, no kids, no rental property, etc. Only deduction I know of is my student loan interest, which is negligible.

Children.

4 kids, mortgage interest, etc.

I'm hoping I will get that much back this year, but not sure because I think we are going to fall into a higher tax bracket.

I always owe and don't send them a penny until 4/15.

I don't have my W2 yet, but judging from the number on my last '08 paystub, I should get a good bit back. I need to payoff a lawn tractor I bought last year (0 payments/0 interest deal) though...but that won't take even half of it.

Since HR Block stands behind their "best return eva" deal. I'm going to give them a try this year. Last year I got a letter from Sam saying I owed $13K. That was because my accountant for the last 5 years forgot to say that I actually took a loss when i dabbled in the market the year before.

Hopefully we'll get more back than last year but I doubt it since we (my wife and I) have double dipped (severance and unemployment benefits). W/out paying taxes on the benefits.

We'll see.

What the hell is the "best return eva" deal?

I always balance out between state and federal. MAXIMUM take home pay each month. The only way to go.

Turbo Tax will do just as good and cost about $200 less. Unless your taxes are really complex or something.

Turbo Tax is what I've used for the last 2 years. It works perfect for me.

What about this. What if I adopt one of those starving Africans on TV. Become his parent via the US. I can correspond with young Ngodo and share pictures and our life experiences. They say you can fund their entire life for like .8 cents a day. That should count as the whole reason you get a deduction for children is to make up for the financial conditions they create when you have to buy them shit.

I use TaxAct online. Completely free to file to federal. Costs like 9 dollars or something for state. Great to use if you don't itemize and are single and stuff.

My wife and I are really trying to be proactive on saving money any way we can this year. We usually go to a guy that charges quite a bit to do our taxes. My wife suggested we go to H&R block to save money. I suggested we get a quote from H&R block and ask our regular tax guy if he would meet the price. He did. Money saved is money earned.

BTW, what the hell does "head of household" mean?

In my house, that would be me.

Oh, so you are saying it's for the manly gay? Feminine gay doesn't file head of the household. Gotcha.

:)

I have been using Turbo Tax and/or TaxAct for the past 10 years.

Damn I hope that I get a refund.

This is my first year of not being a full time student, so we'll see.

Can you write off being a Chiefs fan?

zing!!! :)

Bailout!!!!!!!

Charitable contributions are deductions.....for those that don't have any big expenses and need deductions to hide some of their money.


I'm hoping I don't get slayed, I shouldn't but I don't even know what to expect.

REALLY what about the people who get back more than they paid in(count me out on that front as a business owner:() but i know many people who do.

I've always thought it was strange that I have to make quarterly payments to the government based on what I *think* I'll earn this year, and if I screw up and don't pay enough soon enough I get slapped with fines. However, if I over pay they never seem to return the favor.

sucks doesnt it?

I know this is the wrong thread, but I just checked my Credit score.

Equifax gave me a 725, good right?

Not bad but has room to improve. 750 and up is excellent. Mine's 816. I was shocked.

Okay. Luckily, I'm only 22, and I'll have plenty of time to get it up.

Whats the highest you can get?

850

Actually, they're trying to change that.

All of the big three bureaus--Experian, Equifax and TransUnion--got together and were going to change it to more of a 400 - 1000 scale with a corresponding letter grade, like school.

Fair Issac & Co. (FICO, as in "FICO score") stepped in and, ironically enough, sued them for collusion or some such nonsense. Which is screwed up since FICO has a monopoly on the algorithms used in most credit scoring. (Some companies have their own methods in which FICO scores are just part of their underwriting.)

IIRC, Equifax is fighting it, while the other two just gave up.

Oh, and three things to Buckin--

1. A 725 is actually pretty good, especially at your age. During my 20's, my score was somewhere between Paris Hilton's IQ and Mel Gibson's blood alcohol content.

Sadly, in this economy, a 725 is what a 680 - 700 was a few years ago to most lenders.

2. Make sure you just didn't sign up for a monthly service. Most places not only charge for a score but also sign you up for some bullpuckey "monitoring" service.

3. You really don't need to know your score, nor do most folks. Seriously -- just run your report each year for free and, as long as your payment history is solid, you're good. And if you've had issues, get 'em taken care of and you'll be fine.

Credit scores are way overrated as a true judge of credit risk and history. The actual, you know, history is more important, and scores take into account other stuff (e.g. how much you've moved, etc.) that are tangentially related, yet given more weight than they should.

Just my $.02 ... keep the change.

MM
~~:D

P.S. My score is a around 805, but I pulled that myself. :)

But, for now, this is what they primarily use. Pulling your credit history is a good thing but if you don't understand what you are looking at you will never know what it really means. The score at least gives you an idea where you stand. It is not a bad thing. Just don't go solely on the score.

If you pay attention to what you are doing and paying off your bills rather than just paying minimums then you are on the right track.

This.

The cheapest and easiest way to check your score is to ask your banker. If you ave a loan with him, he'll know your score.

Ole-Growler should get back some decent monies ... 0 for the boog tho ...

My wife just started as an independent contractor in '08 and I'm thinking the same thing as I was calculating a payment the other day. Underpay and you're screwed, overpay and the government keeps it and is happy. FOCK!

Very...
Rental property income/expenses, short term stock gains and losses (mostly losses), and started a new business last year (more expenses).

Don't know what's deductable and what is. Will leave it to the tax man.

I'm gonna have to pay about that much.

I don't remember the last time I had a refund. The Fed refund we got last year was just enough to pay our State.

No true. I did my takes with Turbo tax last year. Paid in over 5gs. About 2 months later got acheck from them. Over paid by $600.

That means you are doing it right.

I guess...My target is to not owe or be owed so yea.....


This year though should be interesting with the way the stock market clobbered me.

We have ours figured out to do exactly what yours does. Refund from Federal literally pays what we owe to State. Maximum take home pay every check.

And yes, we invest wisely and diversify.

Last year was the first year we had a refund in several years. Usually it's $3k at least out the door. But, I would rather owe them than them owe us.

**** taxes.

Great point. Maybe you can help me out with something. What is the most you can opt for the government NOT to take out of your check? Can you keep the whole thing? And pay at the end of the year?

Hell, if that is the case, at the VERY LEAST I can put my money in a CD that would have been withholding anyways and get something out of it. I think I claim "0" or "2", whichever one that takes more out of your check each time.

For a guy making $45,000 to $55,000, what would be the difference from what I'm withholding now, and the least amount I could withhold?

I owe around 2 grand.

Get a financial advisor and they will look at everything and tell you exactly what you should claim on your withholdings.

This.

That's true. But since annualcreditreport.com started up, they're actually pretty easy to grasp in terms of where you stand in general.

But yeah, if you're looking to buy a house or finance some other large purchase, knowing your score certainly will let you know about what rate you can expect, as well as prevent the seller from pulling any shenanigans (like Honda tried to do with us -- which didn't work, thankfully :) ).

You know, I'm going to have dig up some stuff I wrote about credit scores and bureaus on my old blog and post it here. Maybe even some of the one's I've done for work. (I write financial education articles for a living.)

MM
~~:hmmm:

Capital gains on stock investments are even more ****ed up. Everyone thinks it's a great deal you only pay 15% on gains but what they don't realize is there's no corresponding capital loss.

You make $1,000,000 on a flying stock you pay $150,000 in taxes.

You lose $1,000,000 on a crappy stock the max you can deduct is $3,000 per year. Yeah, that's fair.

Washington makes the rules and Washington sees that they are the winner every time... unless you're a bank who made stupid decisions. Then we'll just give you taxpayer dollars. It pisses me off.

You can't take home your entire check if you're a W2 employee. They will withhold Socialist Insecurity and Medicare IIRC. If you do try and underpay your taxes per paycheck be aware that you will have to make quarterly payments or you'll wind up with penalties at the end of the year. The govt won't pay you by the quarter, but they won't wait all year for their money.

The govt. is like a really shitty pimp when it comes to taxes.

I'm not going to bother to read this thread, but I would imagine that it consists of people telling Lono what a moron he is for over contributing and letting the Fed. Government hold his money and accrue interest off of it for a year?

Only once or twice, actually.