Most of us middle class people without kids won't get much, so probably not much of anything.

Now if I was a poor, uneducated dipshit on the earned income tax credit with 5 or 6 mouth breathing kids to my name, I'm sure I'd be doing all kinds of crazy shit like buying big screen TV's, guns, new vinyl furniture etc.

Flat Tax please.

I'm honestly a bit puzzled by all of the "I won't get much because XXX" posts. Refunds are mostly driven by your withholdings - not your tax bracket. If you are having to pay in, you should withhold more on your W-4. If you are getting a huge refund, you should increase your exemptions on your W-4.

Really just depends on the specific situation. Most of the time you're better off filing jointly, as there are certain benefits that you can only get if you file jointly (especially with regard to certain deductions). Here's a high-level overview:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tool.../INF20137.html

Unless you like getting a huge refund. I like getting a huge refund, which is why I increased my withholdings.

I pay a crap load! It sucks.

True, and nothing wrong with that (though the financial gurus will tell you that you're giving the government an interest-free loan that way).

It does suck.


But, with the choice of making what I do now and paying, or making what I used to and getting scraps back, the decision is easy.

As opposed to giving it to the bank for record low interest rates? It's a wash.

Don't care, though, honestly. It's forced savings for me, and at the end of each year I get a fat check the wife and I can use to fritter away on something we want but don't need.

This.

I don't think the people touting the "its a mistake to get a refund" thing are putting it in a savings account for 1% interest. They invest in something with a higher return.

I can see the benefit - profit off the money rather than letting it sit around doing nothing. But I know nothing about investing so haven't tried it.

This

I will take at least 3-5% on thousands of dollars instead of 0%.

For people that don't have the discipline to save, overpaying is far better, though.

It would take a pretty extreme situation for it to matter a lot. If Option A is to get a $6k refund and Option B is to invest $500 per month at 10% interest (which would be REALLY good for a conservative investment), you'd end up with about $6300 at the end of the year (in very rough numbers). So your best case scenario is making an extra $300, and for most people, it'd probably be closer to $30.

Like you can earn any interest in the meantime.

I have a side business that is highly variable on whether I get income or not. I can make anywhere from nothing (like last year) to $7-8,000. Since I don't know if I am going to be finding any work or not (engineering consulting), I maxed out my withholdings to cover the unplanned income. It can mean large returns but it also prevents any unpleasant surprises come tax season.