Taxes piss me off!

sherd

Last year DH and I FINALLY got something back from federal and only had to pay a little to state. EVERY year before that we owed both. This year not only do we have DS for the second year but we also have a house finally so I was excited to get that big lump sum back that everyone always tells us about! We did get around $3000 back total this year and I was so happy! Then a friend who has no kids, married two days before the end of the year, and no house says she got over $5000 back? All I have to say is WTF are we doing wrong??? Geesh, taxes make me mad!!

Heather R

ideally, neither of you should be getting anything back, nor owing anything.

Do you know how this works?

 

pdxjenn

heckysue:

You realize she got $5000 of her own money back right?  It just means she's having them take too much out of her pay check and overpaying the IRS throughout the year.

This 

ZacksBride

by getting a  $3000 refund, you basically gave the government a $3000 interest free loan of your money this past year.  your friend gave them even more money interest free. the goal should be to get as close to owing/getting back zero as possible...  

[Deleted User]

The happiest I have ever been (tax-wise) is last year.  I got $4 back.  I'm a bean counting nerd.  lolz

argonne

heckysue:

You realize she got $5000 of her own money back right?  It just means she's having them take too much out of her pay check and overpaying the IRS throughout the year.

This.

It boggles my mind that people don't understand this.  It's not like the IRS is all like "hey...let me give you some money".  It's YOUR money that you just gave to the government in the form of an interest free loan for a year.  We try to break even or owe a little bit.

ASmallWonder

Heather R:

ideally, neither of you should be getting anything back, nor owing anything.

Do you know how this works?

 

I will say though that some people (ahem, my mother) wouldn't have made wise use of the money had she received it on a weekly basis.  Getting a larger lump sum after tax season each year allows her to do something more impressive with the money (fix something on the house, her car, etc) because left to her own devices, she would have spent it, $50 a time.