*** OFFICIAL 2018 Tax Thread for Anandtech ***

[s0me0nesmind1]

I guess I'm also looking at it from the point of view that my wife and I have saved enough to where we are at a point financially that I plan on retiring in 3 years at age 60. My pension plus 401Ks, traditional IRAs, and ROTH IRAs will be more than enough to last us the rest of our lives. For my situation, I don't see that it is necessary for me to have another investment vehicle that will only allow me to tap into the funds for medical expenses only.

After you reach retirement age - in addition to allowing tax free withdrawls with medical expenses it also acts as a traditional IRA/401k. You can take out distributions (even if it's not medical related) the obvious difference is you have to pay the income tax on it.

I'm in the same boat, socking away as much as possible with 2x 401ks, 2x ROTH IRAs with enough leftover to continue investing in taxable investments.... So the HSA is just another vehicle that I might as well fill up.

 

[zinfamous]

lol an herbalife scammer.

It's so generic, it is just rando replying to any post that has nothing to do with herbalife.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

lol. Herbalife... I'm guessing it's not a scammer but someone that was actually stupid enough to invest in herbalife and is too dumb to know what pyramid schemes are?

 

[zinfamous]

lol. Herbalife... I'm guessing it's not a scammer but someone that was actually stupid enough to invest in herbalife and is too dumb to know what pyramid schemes are?

I just assume anyone trying to sell any of that crap is a scammer. I'm sure many of them don't realize it....but it's still a scam.

at least it bumped (the most recent?) tax thread during tax season.

...are you prepared to start yelling at people again?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I just assume anyone trying to sell any of that crap is a scammer. I'm sure many of them don't realize it....but it's still a scam.

at least it bumped (the most recent?) tax thread during tax season.

...are you prepared to start yelling at people again?

Maybe....

(*Checks beer fridge to make sure I'm well stocked*)

Yeap! Ready!


Also on that note I apparently filed my taxes too early =/. Damn brokerage sent me a corrected 1099 after the fact.

 

[PlanetJosh]

So when's someone going to run this Herbalife thing through TurboTax? I know the thread got bumped btw.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Finally got my T4 today! Ready to drop this off to my tax person. It's the last form needed.

I usually get around $1,000 return but kinda hoping for more, I can really use the money.

 

[zinfamous]

Finally got my T4 today! Ready to drop this off to my tax person. It's the last form needed.

I usually get around $1,000 return but kinda hoping for more, I can really use the money.

well, you shouldn't have paid them that free money earlier in the year in the first place! (conservative answer)

also, I have no idea what the Canadian system is, so not sure if you can do estimates for the year and plan ahead to owe/break even.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Not that I really have any control over that, it just comes off the pay. I can ask to increase/decrease if I want, but I rather get a return than have to pay. Gives me a buffer in case something causes me to have to pay, and makes me break even instead. I took out like almost 10k worth of stocks in 2019 so I have a bad feeling I might get burned by that, but we'll see.

 

[zinfamous]

Not that I really have any control over that, it just comes off the pay. I can ask to increase/decrease if I want, but I rather get a return than have to pay. Gives me a buffer in case something causes me to have to pay, and makes me break even instead. I took out like almost 10k worth of stocks in 2019 so I have a bad feeling I might get burned by that, but we'll see.

wait--you just said that you can't control it, and then that you can.

 

[snoopy7548]

Filed my taxes a few weeks ago and already got my federal refund deposited into my account. Getting ~$1800 back, which is mostly due to itemizing my mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and state income taxes.

Also owed $21 to the state.

 

[Red Squirrel]

wait--you just said that you can't control it, and then that you can.

Well I can INFLUENCE it. Like if I buy RRSPs or give charity donations I get a bigger return, if I cash in stocks or do similar activities, I could get a smaller return etc. I can't control the exact numbers. So I rather try to aim towards getting a return to be safer so I don't end up with a big surprise. I rather give an "interest free loan" to the government than have to end up owing and having to put it on credit.

 

[zinfamous]

Well I can INFLUENCE it. Like if I buy RRSPs or give charity donations I get a bigger return, if I cash in stocks or do similar activities, I could get a smaller return etc. I can't control the exact numbers. So I rather try to aim towards getting a return to be safer so I don't end up with a big surprise. I rather give an "interest free loan" to the government than have to end up owing and having to put it on credit.

yes, but it sounds like you said that you can adjust your tax withholding, no? Here, we can file W4s to our HR or payroll department, which controls how much taxes are withheld from each paycheck through the calendar year. It's not required, but people do this to try and aim for close to zero return, or maybe owe a little when filing. You get a little more money each paycheck, so all the money that is "yours" instead of the lump refund from the feds. I know people like it that way, but you aren't getting any more money by hoping for a refund. ...and I get it. I like it, too, but I still adjust to try and get my refund/owe pretty low.

It's completely separate from (what we call) deductions: like charity, investing in personal tr IRA, etc. Also, this isn't the same as adjusting how much of your salary is withheld monthly for something like a 401k if your employer offers it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Oh that part I don' t know about. I just know that I have the option of asking for them to take more taxes off, but I'm not sure what witholdings are or what W4 is, I think it's just like a "switch" where they take off a set amount more. But I'm not sure as I don't really need to do it. Taxes are complicated, I leave that to the experts.

 

[Eos]

I have a part time job (school bus driver), so each monthly check is fairly small. Due to that, very little federal tax is withheld from each check.

With my limited knowledge, I decided that setting up an additional amount of withholding would solve the problem of owing more tax than I wanted to when filing. I decided on an amount of $200 per check, adding up to $2000 per year. This happened during all of 2019.

Fast forward to filing time a week ago. Using freetaxusa, I entered my income data first (wife's second) and noticed the instant status was that a few hundred dollars of tax owed. After everything was entered, the owed amount had been wiped out by deductions and whatnot, but I'm simply not sure if the additional withholding is actually doing *something*.

Married withholding zero
W-2 box 1 - $25408
box 2 - $3293

Is anything else needed?

To sum up, is the additional withholding actually doing something?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I have a part time job (school bus driver), so each monthly check is fairly small. Due to that, very little federal tax is withheld from each check.

With my limited knowledge, I decided that setting up an additional amount of withholding would solve the problem of owing more tax than I wanted to when filing. I decided on an amount of $200 per check, adding up to $2000 per year. This happened during all of 2019.

Fast forward to filing time a week ago. Using freetaxusa, I entered my income data first (wife's second) and noticed the instant status was that a few hundred dollars of tax owed. After everything was entered, the owed amount had been wiped out by deductions and whatnot, but I'm simply not sure if the additional withholding is actually doing *something*.

Married withholding zero
W-2 box 1 - $25408
box 2 - $3293

Is anything else needed?

To sum up, is the additional withholding actually doing something?

The ideal scenario is to get as close to $0 as possible when filing your return.... So based on what you're saying it is coming out somewhat close to that?

Ultimately unless you know what your deductions and tax credits are going to be, I can't tell if your withholding is better or not. Same with not knowing the exact numbers.

If you want to know if your withholding has changed, then just look at your paystubs from around the time you submitted it to see if there were any significant bumps in the amount of tax collected.



Personally I have an Excel document that I enter every paystub into. Adds up my taxable income for the year (along with the projected amounts), adds my tax paid, and then figures out what I owe/don't owe at the end of thee year with credits/deductions.