Tax refund

strange1

strange1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2005
Location
Elkin
Dont you hate getting an unexpected 1099 the day after you efile?

End rant
 
That happened one time to me but I was suppose to file the next day.The first year I got one from Ebay I had to cancel my appointment w the tax lady and figure out what I needed to have.
 
I usually calculate them in mid-Feb (to ensure I have everything) then if I owe (which is normal) wait until April 14 to pay up
 
So I have ranted about this before... you never want to get a "refund", that is not free money, that is YOUR money that the gubment has held interest free all year. I personally try to owe every year. The way I see it, $1k either way and I did good for the year (I do wish I owed only $1k each year haha).
 
BigClay said:
So I have ranted about this before... you never want to get a "refund", that is not free money, that is YOUR money that the gubment has held interest free all year. I personally try to owe every year. The way I see it, $1k either way and I did good for the year (I do wish I owed only $1k each year haha).
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Have a bunch of kids and make no money and you will get a refund from the gov even though you paid no taxes.
 
rockmafia said:
Have a bunch of kids and make no money and you will get a refund from the gov even though you paid no taxes.
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I have someone in my family that has 5 kids,one in college,a unemployable husband w a back problem that requires meds or a meds problem that requires a back problem one.Either way she'll clean up.
 
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I owe $19k...random commissions bring teh suck
Plus I owe a penalty.

I'll pay it all come 4/10 or so
 
rockcity said:
Didn't we talk about this last year?
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We talk about this every damn spring.
Summary of what to expect:
"Why pay taxes ahead, don't give the government a loan, save that money"
"Um yeah if you don't pay enough up front, you'll hit a big penalty. The very small amount you save is not worth it."
"I hate giving the guber-ment my money b/c they waste it"
"People shouldn't be able to get back more than they make (positive credits)"
"Is paying a CPA worth it?"
"No"
"Yes"
"I don't know b/c I only work in cash for "friends" putting trampoline parts on XJs"
 
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BigClay said:
So I have ranted about this before... you never want to get a "refund", that is not free money, that is YOUR money that the gubment has held interest free all year. I personally try to owe every year. The way I see it, $1k either way and I did good for the year (I do wish I owed only $1k each year haha).
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That's a reasonable goal if you're a single dude with one job. We're still waiting on 1099s to come in so we can figure out how much money we made last year.
 
I have mine figured pretty close. Couple years ago I got back $1k from fed, but owed $600 to the state. Haven’t changed anything on my W4 since adding a kid to the mix.

Is the CPA thing worth it? In my situation, yes. I own a rental property. I just take my balance sheet and receipts along with the personal stuff and let them handle it. I use the CPA fee as an expense for the next year. I justify that because if it wasn’t for the “business” stuff, mine would be real simple and I would file myself. Peace of mind that a licensed professional does my taxes. If I get audited again, they have my back.
 
sgtbriangreen said:
I have mine figured pretty close. Couple years ago I got back $1k from fed, but owed $600 to the state. Haven’t changed anything on my W4 since adding a kid to the mix.

Is the CPA thing worth it? In my situation, yes. I own a rental property. I just take my balance sheet and receipts along with the personal stuff and let them handle it. I use the CPA fee as an expense for the next year. I justify that because if it wasn’t for the “business” stuff, mine would be real simple and I would file myself. Peace of mind that a licensed professional does my taxes. If I get audited again, they have my back.
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Just as an FYI, tax preparer fees are always deductible whether it is for business or personal
 
shawn said:
That's a reasonable goal if you're a single dude with one job. We're still waiting on 1099s to come in so we can figure out how much money we made last year.
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1099s greatly increase the variability. But I am married an have 2 (almost 3) kids, but the wife and I only have W-2 income so it really helps in the planning
 
BigClay said:
1099s greatly increase the variability. But I am married an have 2 (almost 3) kids, but the wife and I only have W-2 income so it really helps in the planning
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It also makes it more challenging, depending on how much you have in the stock market. Years when the market does well, I owe; years when it doesnt do hot, I get a return. You just have to make an assumption and run with it.
 
BigClay said:
Just as an FYI, tax preparer fees are always deductible whether it is for business or personal
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Not starting in 2018 ;-).
 
Isn't there some rule that all tax docs (1009s etc) have to be sent out by Jan 30? Or maybe that's just W-2s?
Clearly not that it matters bc they are always late.

We are pretty simple, mostly just W-2s wit ha few simple 1099s from the mortgage, bank, etc. No side businesses here besides "hobby income". Every year I get pissy though bc my W-2 and all the 1099s get hereb y Jan 15, but my wife's... which comes from the County Dept of Ed doesn't show up until Feb sometime.
 
On that note, while we're on the subject of "It's hard to predict your owings ahead of time", keep in mind that a lotf of things that used to be deductible now aren't, and many of us will now be oding the standard deduction
What the new tax law means for your 2018 finances

Now, I don't know about NC, but in MD the law *currently* is that if you file standard deduction to the Feds, you HAVE to for the state, too. Which means a lot of us would have out state taxes go UP by a lot. So then it becomes a math game of which is the better sum, doing standard, and doing better for Fed and worse for State, or doing Itemized, and being the other way around.
Luckily our Governor is pushing an amendment to fix that so they are not coupled at all.
 
The ‘best’ I’ve ever done since college, was last year and I owed $1000. I do my personal taxes, but hate doing them. Send all business stuffs to my buddy that’s a tax attorney.

Just got a letter from SC saying I owed $5,290 is sales and use tax estimates plus penalties and interest for not filing in Q1. Funny thing is, didn’t have the retail/resale license in SC until the end of Q2, and operated as such. Waiting to see how hard I get f**ked on this one.
 
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