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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Dr. DTVT on March 25, 2016, 05:41:04 PM
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I'm just curious to see what people are doing with their refunds - if anything. Of course the refund amount isn't necessarily a function of how much you make, my refund amount is about the same now as it was when I made about a third of what I make currently.
I'm getting $2170, and unfortunately it is probably going toward moving expenses or just chopping down student loans. Something happened at work that is making me want to get the hell out of there, so I'm looking for a new job. Even if I have to stick it out another year, my landlord is thinking of moving back to Cali and wants to sell the place and likely won't renew for another year anyway.
I did buy about $100 worth of board games though, just so I can have a little fun with it.
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I'm getting $3950 back this year. A good $500ish will go to paying off a hit and run to my car (already paid the rest), $400 will go to finishing my boat and new camping gear, $350 toward lighting for my hydroponic rig, $1000 will go towards the roof fund,, and the rest will hopefully be part of a down payment on a new Toyota Tacoma.
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I ended up with between $2000-2500. It all went into savings for future home or car repairs and little bit in the vacation fund.
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$2000.00 and I bought my first ride on mower. 19 hp, 46" width & a bagger!!! Getting delivered next week.
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I don't know what I'm getting back yet (probably not anything more than $1000). I thought about splurging and buying a bass guitar I've been wanting, but I haven't decided.
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Man....
My wife's primary income is a 1099.
I owe.
No way around it.
I haven't even done that yet and I still owe some from last year. It isn't outlandish, but I HATE owing, but can't avoid it right now due to my teaching job being far away and paying not too good and my wife being paid 1099 completely and then I also have an additional 1099 job...
I wish I had a $2000 refund I could pay off what I owe the government and have a bunch left over
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Like $300.
I paid bills.
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Being a commissioned sales rep, I get back a lot. I could have the company deduct less throughout the year, but with my variable pay being just that - variable - I don't want to get into a scenario where the company doesn't take enough, and I end up owing at the end of the year- I look at it as forced savings (sadly, interest-free though). Last year was my best year ever, so I'm expecting a big chunk. It'll pay off the balance of the Disney cruise we've booked for August - jingle.kids 16th b-day gift. Not sure what I'll do with the rest - probably invest it. Though, there are some really cool things on indiegogo I've been eyeing.
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I claim 0 married and have an extra $15 taken out every week and we never get back more than 2 grand.
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We received a tad over $10k....you gotta love having three kids :metal We've been pretty diligent about saving all the medical receipts as well..
We knocked out our $5k credit card bill.....and we've recently had to buy (2) new vehicles so we used some for sales tax also. That was a tough pill to swallow, going from the past 8 years of no car payments to two within a month of each other. Oh well....them's da brakes.
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$1300
I wasn't supposed to get anything really, but I applied for educational tax credits which brought it up to $1300, so it works for me. I am using it to pay bills.
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Only around $600 but that's mainly due to no deductible items and less interest in student loans than last year. I may be getting to that point where I need to buy a house or something.
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We received a tad over $10k....you gotta love having three kids :metal
>:(
Just bought a car so all excess money I make is going to replenish my house down payment fund. On the bright side my return was higher than normal. My medical expenses aren't enough to surpass the standard deduction, so I'm not sure why it's higher now than the last two years. Eh, fuck'it.
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Bart, when I had lymphoma, I came up $460 short from claiming all my medical bills. I was pissed.
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That is a fucking bummer!
I got something like $1700 back altogether. It went straight into my savings (trying to build that back up after practically emptying it for my condo down payment) but then a little bit came out for travel expenses.
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Bart, when I had lymphoma, I came up $460 short from claiming all my medical bills. I was pissed.
Even with the transplant I was borderline, but some creativity can pretty easily make up a $460 gap. The problem is that just meeting that 19% of AGI doesn't necessarily make any difference. You've got to surpass it by enough to make it an improvement over the standard deductible. The two years I was able to itemize my return made me an extra $600 or so.
Instead of getting a kidney I should have knocked up a few women. Judging from Gary that seems to be the way to really get on the IRS's good side. Sell them to the white slavers and then fake their deaths once they're old enough for school. Rinse, lather, repeat.
Hmmm.
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I squeezed every paid bill for medication, hospital bills. You name it.
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Medical related bills are extremely difficult to have any serious affect on tax liability. It became worse under Obamacare/ACA as it raised the floor.
The best (and more common) ways to lower your tax liability beyond the standard deduction is mortgage/property taxes, retirement savings, charity donations and kids. Moving expenses can help quickly as well, but that's not an annual event.
Just review the W4. It is essentially a "cheat sheet". And if you have relatively stable life circumstances (employers - forget about it), you can usually use your tax software so your return is much lower. The goal is to have as low a return as possible without it turning into a payment (which can have penalties and interest). A tax return is just a year long CD with 0% interest return.
EDIT: If you don't have decent access to a 401k, don't give up. Look into IRAs.
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Well the limit to claim at the time was 5 grand. I tried to work it to 5 but couldn't.
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The medical tax deduction is one of the most frustrating deductions. The last time I tried it, it was a 7.5% floor (had to look it up because it was raised to 10% under Obamacare).
I handled it for my parents with a father that has a similar situation to El Barto. My mother kept every out of pocket medical expense she could. I spent more time scanning and creating a relatively simple spreadsheet than all the time spent doing the rest of every other aspect of the their tax return. And their return is not W2 done 1040EZ easy.
I was able to get quite a bit from charitable donations (to places like Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc). But trying to get anything worthwhile past that medical floor was Man of La Mancha.
For those that just do the standard deduction, or more likely, too young to even mess with that medical expense floor, it works more or less like this:
Let's say you make $50,000
Your first $5,000 of out of pocket (not insurance paid) are not tax deductible. $50,000 x 10% = $5,000 floor.
Well if you make $50,000 (gross, not take home), then $5,000 is quite a bite out of your budget. Let's say you manage to make it to $7,500. You get to write off $7,500-$5,000= $2,500. That's a write off, not refund. If your tax rate is 23%, that means $575 (23% of $2,500) toward your tax liability. But not refundable. And not on top of your standard deduction. So you would have to have something like a big mortgage / property tax to first clear that standard deduction level.
Well, if you have major medical problems and only making $50,000 (usually the healthy spouse), the odds are very high that you had to give up your house to make ends meet.
Make more money so you can keep that house right? Well, the floor follows you. So if you get that $100,000/yr job, your medical floor is now $10,000.
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I wound up owing the state about $2000. For whatever reason, my payroll department underwithheld. For federal I am getting a $700 refund. I need to give them an updated state w4.
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That sucks. All states are different, but hopefully you aren't in California. CA FTB can be quite difficult with the penalties and interest. The rule of thumb in CA is if you have to choose between paying your IRS debt or CA FTB debt, CA FTB first every time.
How did the employer mess up the state W4 (DE4 in California)? Make sure it was your employer's problem and not yours. The employer doesn't decide how much you need to withhold. That is the employee's determination, at least in CA.
I know people that fill out W4s and DE4s as if it is some meaningless paperwork. Lots of tax software these days help you fill these out more precisely.
One time the employer did put in the wrong deductions according to what I filled out. But I caught it the first paycheck. It took them months to fix because the HR payroll person was kind of a b*tch to everybody and would fight everything, as if deductions are right and wrong. The employee fills it out, the employer honors it unless the state/fed makes some type of garnishment request. In my case, the employer filled it out where my withholdings were too high so even though I had less take home for a couple of months, at least I didn't have to worry about penalties and interest for under withholding.
As far as tax refund splurges, it always went straight into savings/investments. The idea that it is *free money* to blow is foreign to me. I've become so frugal through out my life, that I actually have a hard time spending money. It just creates stress.
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My return was so low that it was deposited into my account and spent before I even realized it. :emo:
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That sucks. All states are different, but hopefully you aren't in California. CA FTB can be quite difficult with the penalties and interest. The rule of thumb in CA is if you have to choose between paying your IRS debt or CA FTB debt, CA FTB first every time.
Lol fuck the CA FTB :D
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As far as tax refund splurges, it always went straight into savings/investments. The idea that it is *free money* to blow is foreign to me. I've become so frugal through out my life, that I actually have a hard time spending money. It just creates stress.
I'm sort of this way. Any money I get from refunds goes straight into the bank for whatever I need to pay off next. It just means I have a little bit more of a buffer in my fluid funds than I did previously but that's it.
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I got a little over $2k, it just went into savings for a house, although I really wanted to buy a vr headset.
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I get about $1,200 a year, and got a few bucks more than that this year.
I used about $150 to finish paying off one of my student loans (that I was naturally about to payoff anyway). That got me $60/month more to spend. So I traded in my 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid, and used $800 as a down payment and now am the happy new owner of a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. I want to note that I didn't buy either hybrid for that reason, the first one was used and I loved the car, and for the Crosstrek the Hybrid trim came with some features I really wanted.
The remainder was spent tonight when I scheduled with Uhaul to put a hitch on the car.
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Woo new car! I should start looking into those, but the longer I can go without a payment the better.
Side note: When I bought my condo a year ago everybody was like "omg you're gonna love your tax return next year!" But it was the same as last year, pretty much, because I didn't actually pay any property taxes last year. They all come out this year for last year. So I guess my 2017 return will be more awesome.
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It has been quite a while since I purchased a home and I set up an escrow account (the T and I in PITI). I don't recall exactly how it went down, but you might have a delayed property tax payment (or it was taken care of as part of the closing package). So pay close attention that you don't get ripped off by not getting your tax return based off property tax. Also watch out if you paid any points on the mortgage as I think those can be written off immediately.
Did you buy late in the year? I bought in March, so it allowed more time for the paperwork to catch up.
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No, I bought in March. The statement they sent in the mail said my taxes for 2015 were being paid in two installments this year (I forget which months). And no points.
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Did you get a 1098? It is also common to get a supplemental property tax the first year (like a utility pro-rate for not starting exactly on the first day of the billing cycle). Make sure your 1098 lines up with your actual taxes paid the first year. Especially if you have the escrow account for TI where you don't physically write out the check yourself so it can feel like you didn't pay for something but you actually did.
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We received a tad over $10k....you gotta love having three kids :metal
>:(
Don't hate the playa'....hate the game :lol
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Did you get a 1098? It is also common to get a supplemental property tax the first year (like a utility pro-rate for not starting exactly on the first day of the billing cycle). Make sure your 1098 lines up with your actual taxes paid the first year. Especially if you have the escrow account for TI where you don't physically write out the check yourself so it can feel like you didn't pay for something but you actually did.
Yeah, 1098 says $0 paid in taxes and the property tax statement says "taxes for 2015 due in 2016" or something like that. I won't pretend to understand this stuff at all but I guess that is how they do it in CO.
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5k. Most of it goes into the bank to pad the accounts with a small percentage being put towards a little something for my better half.
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My tax return has been deposited to my bank a few weeks ago (both state and fed) for a total of $6k. Paying interest on the house is a nice deduction.
Anyway, I put it all into my bank account for now. I think when I am ready I will use that as down payment on a new car that I have been eyeing and is a goal of mine this year.
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$2000.00 and I bought my first ride on mower. 19 hp, 46" width & a bagger!!! Getting delivered next week.
Random comment, the word "bagger" in German means excavator. I read your post and thought "WTF, what kind of mower is that?!"
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We received a tad over $10k....you gotta love having three kids :metal
>:(
Don't hate the playa'....hate the game :lol
Not to say yours aren't great, but when the tradeoff is 3 money pits in order to get a bit more back on my taxes... no thanks. :biggrin:
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$2000.00 and I bought my first ride on mower. 19 hp, 46" width & a bagger!!! Getting delivered next week.
Random comment, the word "bagger" in German means excavator. I read your post and thought "WTF, what kind of mower is that?!"
:lol
Not as fancy like this but close to it.
(https://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/kingshmegland/download_zpszadyvaei.jpg) (https://s583.photobucket.com/user/kingshmegland/media/download_zpszadyvaei.jpg.html)
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How about that Washing Machine, Joe?
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Guy coming this week. It's a switch. I've had this happen with another washer.
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We received a tad over $10k....you gotta love having three kids :metal
>:(
Don't hate the playa'....hate the game :lol
Not to say yours aren't great, but when the tradeoff is 3 money pits in order to get a bit more back on my taxes... no thanks. :biggrin:
Yeah...it looks good and feels good to see those #'s coming back each year in tax refunds but we're not really 'getting back' the money we're dumping into these three freeloaders :lol We have a 10 yrs old, soon to be 9 yr old and soon to be 6 yr old...all boys. Our weekly grocery bill is between $250-$300 because all they do is eat and they aren't even close to being teenagers yet!! They're active and growing and need FUEL!!
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Give me fuel give me fire give me that which I desire!
Sorry. ADHD. Carry on. Wayward Son!
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Some of you folks have huge tax refunds. What gives? I know people with irregular income, or 1099 income make estimated payments which might result in overpayment throughout the year I guess.
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Some of you folks have huge tax refunds. What gives? I know people with irregular income, or 1099 income make estimated payments which might result in overpayment throughout the year I guess.
I honestly couldn't tell you why mine is so big. This year's return is the biggest I've gotten in the 10 years I've been getting a return. I don't understand it as much as I should. I give whatever paperwork my accountant tells me he needs, and he seems to deliver awesome numbers every year. I do know that I have the maximum percentage of taxes deducted from every check, and since I bought the house, I've been getting back about $1800 more than I used to. I also gave $800 in charitable donations last year which returns something like 25% or 30%.
I'd rather pay more in taxes and get a bigger return than pay less in taxes on every check.
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I honestly couldn't tell you why mine is so big.
Ha
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Some of you folks have huge tax refunds. What gives? I know people with irregular income, or 1099 income make estimated payments which might result in overpayment throughout the year I guess.
I pay a shit ton of interesting on my mortgage because it new (refinanced 30 year again recently) and my property taxes in NJ are fairly large compared to the rest of the US. That adds up to a nice deduction, plus I probably get a decent amount from my income tax return. I also have a high deductible health plan which I used a lot last year. I just pop my numbers into turbo tax and answer all the questions honestly and have the paperwork to prove it if I were to get audited.
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he seems to deliver awesome numbers every year.
I don't get this either. There are no awesome numbers, just the right numbers. At the end of the 1040, you figure out what you should have paid the government. I suppose a skilled accountant will find all deductions you are eligible for, and since you pay a mortgage you probably itemize. So that simply lowers your taxable income as much as legally possible. However, knowing this you can reduce the amount withheld and end up paying near what you owe, rather than thousands more.
But..
I'd rather pay more in taxes and get a bigger return than pay less in taxes on every check.
Who am I to say otherwise. At least interest rates are low.
I do know that I have the maximum percentage of taxes deducted from every check
You can put any dollar amount on your W4 to tell payroll how much to deduct from your paycheck, so I'm not sure what you mean by maximum percentage.
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My taxes are pretty straight forward. Claim zero on W-4, deduct student loans (stupid $2500 max >:( ), deduct state and local sales tax, standard deduction.
Florida also has no state income tax, so that's nice. Tax those tourists instead :)
When I was in grad school, I was getting tax credits and deductions out the wazoo. I miss those days.
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I got about $1300 back.
I should just pad my savings account but...fuck it- I'm going to Disney World!
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Not enough.... :biggrin:
I have a rough idea, but honetly don't know. My accountant files an extension every year so she can have more time to go over every thing. The extra time also allows her to take advantage of any retroactive changes to the tax law that might be made after the April deadline, without the added time and expense of filing an amendment. We have a ton of investments and put a lot of money into municipal bonds too, so she's pretty busy trying to lower our burden every year. So, we always file in October.
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We received a tad over $10k....you gotta love having three kids :metal
>:(
Just bought a car so all excess money I make is going to replenish my house down payment fund. On the bright side my return was higher than normal. My medical expenses aren't enough to surpass the standard deduction, so I'm not sure why it's higher now than the last two years. Eh, fuck'it.
Look into the USDA 100% Guaranteed Loan program if you'd like to keep that money for repairs/appliances ect; depending on where you live it TX (eligibility is based on population density for the county/town/city the property is located in), you may be able to find properties eligible for the program. Personally, I'd recommend a Mortgage Broker (because I am one... not licensed in TX though), because they'll likely have greater access to the Guaranteed Program (there is a USDA Direct Program as well... but it's not ideal in my opinion because of a lower income limit threshold) and the interest rates available will trend lower for a Broker that with Retail institutions. It's true 100%... as long as the property appraises for enough to cover purchase price and closing fees, the borrower comes to the table without a penny. Probably 40% of my business here in Southwest VA.
In answer to the OP... Roughly $5K. Most in Savings for our new home (if we find the right one... we've owned for 10-yrs so we're not in any hurry) and retirement. $400 for the Spring golf trip to NC; $1,000 for the DT concert in Baltimore (that's including hotel for 3-nights, gold package tickets, and car rental... not goin' to ding my own ride); $500 for next year's Mt Washington winter climb.
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Turns out my accountant acidentally sent me my sister's figures (we go to the same guy) via email. I received my official paperwork yesterday and it was $1400 more than I originally thought :metal
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Around $1,300.00 or so.
Since my wife has been unemployed since January, it will go into the living expenses fund. Yay.
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About $2200. We are putting it in our joint account, which we mostly use for emergencies.
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Filed in Feb. Got about $3500-4000 about two weeks before buying a house with it (helped with the down payment). Worked out!
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Well shit, I'm getting money back for the first time in ages. Not sure what the hell to do about it.
Looking at $100 from the feds and $200 from the state. Time to start eyeballing the concert calenders.....
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$1,100. Got my refund mid February. Our tax person (a long time friend of Mrs. C) figures our unique situation every single possible way that she's legally able to, in order to get us the most back. Some of it paid to have my Marshall repaired, more will cover having my 26 year old guitar refretted, some will cover expenses when we go to Cape Cod next weekend.
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$2000.00 and I bought my first ride on mower. 19 hp, 46" width & a bagger!!! Getting delivered next week.
Random comment, the word "bagger" in German means excavator. I read your post and thought "WTF, what kind of mower is that?!"
Here is is. The "bagger" is in the back of the mower.
(https://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/kingshmegland/20160330_162053_zpscfjr2j3q.jpg) (https://s583.photobucket.com/user/kingshmegland/media/20160330_162053_zpscfjr2j3q.jpg.html)
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Dope
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I"m impressed.
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Dope
Are you saying the mower is dope or that you're using your return to buy dope?
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The lawn would be fucked up if I was on dope.
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The lawn would be fucked up if I was on dope.
Or it could be the nicest lawn you've ever had. You won't know until you try.
But more likely you may never make it onto the mower :lol
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I know how I acted in my youth. I'd be a wreck today.
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The lawn would be fucked up if I was on dope.
Or it could be the nicest lawn you've ever had. You won't know until you try.
In the heyday of my pot smoking days I held a job as a lawn maintenance worker.....and, I could stripe up some grass with the best of them. :lol
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Now you would be all messed up in the bushes. :lol
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Now you would be all messed up in the bushes. :lol
No, that was when he was a bar manager.
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That would be landing strips in the 90's.
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Now you would be all messed up in the bushes. :lol
No, that was when he was a bar manager.
Ah the good old days of the sprinklers being my alarm clock.
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I'm gonna decline to post the exact amount of my refund, but it's paying for my new roof this spring. :)
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Just entered everything. Didn't submit yet, I want to make sure it's right...
Due to me being on unemployment last year and my wife's earnings being 1099's, among other things, I owe the government $1700.
I'm fucked.
:'(
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Just entered everything. Didn't submit yet, I want to make sure it's right...
Due to me being on unemployment last year and my wife's earnings being 1099's, among other things, I owe the government $1700.
I'm fucked.
:'(
If you can pay it and still pay for the necessities of life, I suggest you don't mess around. Credit card companies ain't got shit on the government. If you can't pay, then call up (and wait on hold) to talk to a live person and request a hardship payment plan. It can keep some of the penalties at bay.
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Roughly 500 dollars. Was planning on getting my first MIDI Keyboard (though I haven't looked at models yet). Something fairly cheap with versatility that is good for a beginner.
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Roughly 500 dollars. Was planning on getting my first MIDI Keyboard (though I haven't looked at models yet). Something fairly cheap with versatility that is good for a beginner.
Drop me a pm if you want help with that :)
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jesus, what's up with people receiving money in the thousands? :lol in my country a couple hundred is like the norm, not 10 times as much
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Rich, what is the % of taxes taken out weekly for you? Mine is at 29%.
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~$1000...gonna pay off a huge bill, then I can buy a laptop with regular money in a couple months and job hunt my way to something that'll get me my weekends back and be out of retail for good.
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Got my check from the state today. Felt good to hold my first refund check since 1997.
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I get money from the government because of my disability, but I should get more than what they give me each month. Every six months it will be corrected and then I will get around €1000.
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Just entered everything. Didn't submit yet, I want to make sure it's right...
Due to me being on unemployment last year and my wife's earnings being 1099's, among other things, I owe the government $1700.
I'm fucked.
:'(
If you can pay it and still pay for the necessities of life, I suggest you don't mess around. Credit card companies ain't got shit on the government. If you can't pay, then call up (and wait on hold) to talk to a live person and request a hardship payment plan. It can keep some of the penalties at bay.
You can definitely apply for a payment plan. A few years ago I owed about $800.00, which I of course didn't really have. Call them and explain your situation and they will work with you, but definitely don't put it off.
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splent, CLICK ME! (https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Online-Payment-Agreement-Application)
IRS *will* work with you, if you can't get the OPA tool to work. Give 'em a shout - 800-829-0922
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We got back about $2K. Paid some credit card payments and other bill payments, gave my student loan an extra $500 payment, bringing the total down to just $1300 (yeah at 43 my loans should be paid off but I didn't even go to school until 1998 and again in 2005, and this was for two degrees, not just one, so it took awhile). Got groceries and gas a couple of times. Have a couple hundred left. I miss the days of being able to claim all three kids. Now we can only claim one. They used to be good for about $2500 apiece per year.
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Kids are a tax deduction??
Does. Not. Compute.
Anyway, woke up to my bank balance being a shit-ton higher than it was yesterday. :happydance:
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Kids are a tax deduction??
Does. Not. Compute.
Anyway, woke up to my bank balance being a shit-ton higher than it was yesterday. :happydance:
are you kidding me?
Of course kids are tax deductions. They're the biggest one you'll ever get. If someone gets back $10K, they usually have 4 kids. Multiply out as required.
Edit: you really never saw stories in the paper about foster families who get in trouble for having like 9 foster kids and pocketing most of the tax refund money and county allowance money they're paid for the benefit of taking care of the kids? They take on more and more kids because that's how you get more and more money. Some counties even give you more cash assistance ("welfare") per month if you have more kids (A lot of people don't know that cash assistance is limited to five years total per lifetime, so don't worry - people don't sit around for decades collecting welfare money instead of working. They sit around collecting DISABILITY instead of working, but if anyone can get approved for that they deserve to have it. That is hard to get, boy, lemme tell ya). I knew a family once who kept having kids until the policy ended. They were having more kids to get more money. These were not smart people.
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Kids are a tax deduction??
Does. Not. Compute.
Anyway, woke up to my bank balance being a shit-ton higher than it was yesterday. :happydance:
are you kidding me?
Of course kids are tax deductions. They're the biggest one you'll ever get. If someone gets back $10K, they usually have 4 kids. Multiply out as required.
Interesting. Certain child-care expenses can be tax-deductible up here, but just the fact of having pro-created is not a tax deduction.
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I guess they're an EXEMPTION not a deduction. I suppose that matters.
"In 2015, you can claim a $4,000 exemption for each qualifying child, which may include your child or stepchild, foster child, sibling or step-sibling, or descendants of any of these, such as your grandchild. To qualify for the exemption, the child must live with you more than half of the year and be under 19 at the end of the year, or under 24 and a full-time student for the year (defined as attending school for at least part of five calendar months during the year)."
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My wife had cancer last year and the medical bills piled up. We are trying hard to pay down debt. So that's where our money went.
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I guess they're an EXEMPTION not a deduction. I suppose that matters.
"In 2015, you can claim a $4,000 exemption for each qualifying child, which may include your child or stepchild, foster child, sibling or step-sibling, or descendants of any of these, such as your grandchild. To qualify for the exemption, the child must live with you more than half of the year and be under 19 at the end of the year, or under 24 and a full-time student for the year (defined as attending school for at least part of five calendar months during the year)."
Ok... gotchya. We have some child benefits/tax exemptions and/or credits, but nothing like just swiping $4k off your total taxable income. At least, I don't think that's how it works - I wouldn't truly know as I haven't done my own taxes since 1998.