Just got done filing my 2006 Tax return

[pontifex]

well, just finished mine on taxact.com

first time i ever did them by myself.
i'll be getting $873 back from federal but had to pay $1 for state. :roll:

i already spent my refund though. just sent $800 to the credit card company the other day.

 

[unsped]

i hate the free goverment loan nazi's also.

im not fantastic with money so a chunk of money i get to have some fun once a year. if i spread it out over a whole year i would just like eat at taco bell a few more times a month.

refunds are fun

 

[FoBoT]

i think i have everything now, i'll visit the taxman tuesday or wednesday so i'll get my DD on 2/9

"file between 01/25/2007 and 02/01/2007 and DD goes in on 02/09/2007"

 

[Gulzakar]

2300.00



WHICH goes to my property taxs and car insurance. JOY!

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
Still waiting for my W-2. :| They could have sent it out today, but they decided to wait until the middle of next week.

STILL waiting. :|

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
Still waiting for my W-2. :| They could have sent it out today, but they decided to wait until the middle of next week.

STILL waiting. :|

How big of a company do you work for? A lot of the larger ones are starting to go to online systems where you can retrieve your W-2s, like www.w2.adp.com

 

[CptObvious]

Still waiting on an 1099-INT to come in before I file. Damn you HSBC, I need my money.

 

[crownjules]

Originally posted by: CTrain
The problem I see here is that most people get less than $1K back every year.
So let me ask you, how many of them can actually put aside that extra $50-$80 per month in an interest bearing account and earn that interest of $20-$30 for the year ??
I'd say not too many.
Considering alot of Americans are in debt, I can hardly see them doing so.

That's the fundamental problem - Americans in this day and age are poor when it comes to finances. Most people view credit cards as an extension of their available funds (hint: they aren't). The people stating that you should want as little a tax refund as possible are probably among those who are financially responsible and just trying to expound on others sound financial advice.

Already, several people in this thread have stated "I have poor financial skills, I like a big refund."

Now if people are getting back $5K back every year, then yeah, that would make a difference.
Every single refund I've seen, its always been people getting $1K or less back.
I'll say it again, let people enjoy their refund and STFU about the interest free already.

The miracle of compounding interest is that even a small amount can grow into something large over time. Even if you go with something as small at $650 per year, if you deposited that each and every year for 40 years straight into a 5% interest account you would end up with $88K. If you were yet smarter and put it into an index fund which averaged 8% per year, you'd find yourself sitting on close to $200K after 40 years maturation.

Fact of the matter is, most Americans can do a lot of easy things to improve their financial situations. Instead, they tend to squander those opportunities. Stop telling us to "STFU" and simply take the advice we offer or don't. It's pretty simple.

 

[bucwylde23]

still waiting on my W-2 also. It always takes forever to get it in the mail.

I had to pay in $50 last year, but I don't know what to expect this year. We bought a house in 2006 so I don't know how the interest paid on our mortgage will affect our return.

 

[jhayx7]

ACK! Last year I broke almost dead even. $20 owed in federal and $25 back in state. Got married this past year and after doing a rough run through in TurboTax we will be getting back ~$2200. Just my income alone, I was going to be getting back $3200 but combined with my wifes income decreased it to ~$2200.

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: jhayx7
ACK! Last year I broke almost dead even. $20 owed in federal and $25 back in state. Got married this past year and after doing a rough run through in TurboTax we will be getting back ~$2200. Just my income alone, I was going to be getting back $3200 but combined with my wifes income decreased it to ~$2200.

Same thing happened to me the first year that I was married. Got back something like $1500-1800. We adjusted and the following year paid in $50 and got like $15 back from state.

I like to break even, I need all of my money during the year.

 

[trmiv]

Still waiting on the W2.

 

[LS20]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Wow! $32.50!

oh my god! where do i sign up!??!?!?!?!?

 

[austin316]

Originally posted by: Kroze


$1300 woohoo!

and you earned $0 on the monthly, while the government earned $130.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: Kroze


$1300 woohoo!

You're happy the gov't had $1300 of YOUR money?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: chrisg22

Originally posted by: jhayx7
ACK! Last year I broke almost dead even. $20 owed in federal and $25 back in state. Got married this past year and after doing a rough run through in TurboTax we will be getting back ~$2200. Just my income alone, I was going to be getting back $3200 but combined with my wifes income decreased it to ~$2200.

Same thing happened to me the first year that I was married. Got back something like $1500-1800. We adjusted and the following year paid in $50 and got like $15 back from state.

I like to break even, I need all of my money during the year.

Same with us, we got married 1.5 years ago, but last year was a wash since we had only had or house for a few months.

This year our refund will be a little high. $5500. :shocked:

Already adjusted the W-4s.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
Still waiting for my W-2. :| They could have sent it out today, but they decided to wait until the middle of next week.

STILL waiting. :|

How big of a company do you work for? A lot of the larger ones are starting to go to online systems where you can retrieve your W-2s, like www.w2.adp.com

I work for the Borough. FINALLY got my W-2.

 

[UTmtnbiker]

I think Engineer sums it up quite nicely.

For those of you who have a very basic 1040 or those with a predictable salary, trying to make the number 0 is probably ideal. However, for those of us who have a variable tax burden because of multiple reasons (in my case a small business / sole proprietorship and having to file a Schedule C) it can become VERY difficult to predict how much to withhold to make it 0. I would much rather err on the side of caution and get a large refund (this year it's going to be over $1.5k) rather than find out that I didn't withhold enough and owe a big chunk along with penalties.

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: CTrain
The reason why I hate these nazis so much because we have heard this "government interest free" thing over and over and over.
Every year , every thread with someone happy about getting a refund, someone has to say it over again and again.

The problem I see here is that most people get less than $1K back every year.
So let me ask you, how many of them can actually put aside that extra $50-$80 per month in an interest bearing account and earn that interest of $20-$30 for the year ??
I'd say not too many.
Considering alot of Americans are in debt, I can hardly see them doing so.

Now if people are getting back $5K back every year, then yeah, that would make a difference.
Every single refund I've seen, its always been people getting $1K or less back.
I'll say it again, let people enjoy their refund and STFU about the interest free already.

Automatic deposits for the win (not hard to have a savings account with automatic withdrawls). 2nd point is if they are in debt, especially credit card debt, the faster it's paid (including monthly payments), the better. Regardless, people have a right to express their feelings (alternative view) on the subject (untill the AT mods declare otherwise) just as you have your right to express your feelings on the subject.

While I generally agree with you on principle, in practice it's a little harder. I contribute regularly to charity, and sometimes I get a burr in my butt and contribute a lot at one time to a charity (Katrina, earthquake in Pakistan, tsunami in Asia, etc). As a result I end up getting a bit more back from the gubment. Should I be criticized for getting money back? That's why people get bent out of shape when you tell them they've done something wrong by getting more than a couple pennies on their return.

Hopefully not directed at me as I've not mentioned it in this thead. Also, I understand that taxes throughout the year aren't linear and that situations cans cause bigger refunds or larger tax burdens (like mine did this year! ).

I tend to agree that if you're getting large (greater than $1,000) refunds back each year, you should check into why are you getting those and possibly look at getting more back each check. However, I'm not calling anyone stupid for not doing so.

Not to mention that a wrong move can cause one to owe more than $1,000 in taxes, at which point the government charges you a penalty. That's the reason that I think that the government should pay interest on larger refunds. Of coure that's not going to happen!

(although I filed a 1040X form many years ago for a year several ahead of that filing. I was owed more of a tax refund than what I received originally. The government gave me the tax refund and nearly 11% interest (1985 - 1986 tax years))