September 2015 Moms

Tax Vent

I know there was a conversation here about taxes not too long ago (or maybe it was in Oct 15) and I need to vent.

DH was working on our taxes and we're getting back a really pathetic amount in my opinion. Why do I hear so much uproar about people having babies for the "tax benefits"?? WTF? What benefit? The $1,000 credit? Seriously? It's only March and we've already spent at least 3 times that much in just these first few months between daycare and doctors appointments alone. Are there some other kinds of benefits that people get?

I thought DH and I would clean up this year because he wasn't working in January and Feb. Then I had 1 unpaid month during maternity leave. Plus, neither of us makes that much $$. Our total income was about $60k. In all previous years when I've filed separately I've always gotten about $1,200 in my return and so has DH. Now filing together w/ the baby we're only getting about $2,300 back.

Is this the middle class gap? We make too much to get any benefits, but too little to have any real cash.

Any tax experts out there that can give me some advice? Do we need to pay $100 of our middle class gaptastic income to have our taxes professionally done?

Re: Tax Vent

  • Did you deduct child care and any medical expenses? Your medical expenses have to be fairly high but with insurance these days I mention it just in case... Another factor would be how much you had taken out all year. I collected unemployment and didn't have taxes taken out so that part came out of what we would have gotten back.

    But yes, it's probably being stuck in the middle. My coworker mentioned that they (her and DH) don't get much back either and I guarantee they are over the $200k mark so I think you have to be in a lower bracket to really get any benefit.
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  • If you own a home, pay on student loans, and have other things that can allow you to itemize, then I would maybe consider using a cpa if you think it may warrant a larger return. I haven't had a return in probably 6 years. This is a touchy subject for me because I feel like we get raked over the coals every April. I claim 0 dependents so I pay the highest I can and my husband is an independent contractor so he pays thru the nose so between the two of us we pay close to 35k a year in income tax. I imagine this last year it was closer to $40k. We haven't filed yet but I assume LO won't help much. I would try to find deductions any place you can and a cpa would be able to steer you in that direction if you are willing to spend the money. Good luck!
  • You can deduct an intetest you pay on your mortgage and your property taxes.

    My DH and I dont make a ton either and we found out we actually get much more back filing separatelty even though we are married, might be worth looking into
  • If you do married filing separate you can't claim child care deductions and that was HUGE for us... but we have 3 older kids that were in daycare all year.
  • Ouch! @dmbfan46835 that's brutal!

    @CaboBride2015 I can't believe those who make over 200k get anything back at all!

    We deduct our student loan interest, mortgage, and property tax. I don't think there's any child care deductions available because LO wasn't in day care at all last year. Is there anything else that counts as "child care expenses"?

    When we filed as married filing separately last year we couldn't deduct our student loan interest, but maybe that would be the better way to go anyway. 
  • I think she told me they only get a little....property tax and 529 related I believe. 

    I don't think anything else counts as child care... we only had 3 weeks with the new baby at the very end of the year so she only helped a little. I've already told her she needs to get a job.
  • I'm only getting $9 back so far. I need to sift through and enter some deductions that should get us a bit more. I was getting paid leave after LO was born and they weren't deducting enough, so I owed, and DH had enough of a refund to net us $9 *sigh* meanwhile all my friends are planning 'taxmas' purchases.
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  • Be thankful you're not a waitress, I've had to owe money every year! 
  • $2300 back? We owe every year, so that seems sweet. 

    If you're claiming a dependent, they'll take out less from your check each year, so you can claim zero dependents and get more back at the end of the year. I figure it's all sixes and you're going to pay what you're going to pay. People who are getting a ton of money back every tax year are just overpaying throughout the rest of the year.
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  • dmbfan46835dmbfan46835 member
    edited March 2016
    irenejean said:
    $2300 back? We owe every year, so that seems sweet. 

    If you're claiming a dependent, they'll take out less from your check each year, so you can claim zero dependents and get more back at the end of the year. I figure it's all sixes and you're going to pay what you're going to pay. People who are getting a ton of money back every tax year are just overpaying throughout the rest of the year.
    Or some don't pay at all. I know a ton of people who get back more than they pay into the system. WAY MORE. Then they spend the money on dumb shit like xboxes and tvs instead of what it's actually supposed to be used for... Like help with child care and expenses, etc.

    eta- id love to get $2300 back too! Id love to get anything back! Our tax system is a JOKE. 
  • @dmbfan46835 I always hear about these people, but don't know any personally. I'm sure there's just as many people gaming the system at the lower income brackets as there are in the higher income brackets. What I was saying about paying more during the year and getting more back at the end probably applies to people who are honest when it comes to tax filing. 
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  • I wish taxes were based on net pay and not gross.  I take home about 50% of my gross after benefits, FSA, HSA, 401k and a 401k loan.  That 50% pays daycare and one car payment and that's it.  I don't get to save or keep any of my money and then at the end of the year I owe!  This system sucks. DH is self employed so that messes it up too.  I'm sure we'll owe again this year.  
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  • I'm not sure you all realize how "getting taxes back" works. By claiming certain exemptions, YOU tell your employer how much to take out of your check in estimated taxes.  Your goal SHOULD be to get nothing back, because if you get a big refund, it means you have an interest free loan to the U.S. Government, and could have had that money in your pocket months ago.  How much you "get" in taxes has nothing to do with your income level, unless you're getting back more than you paid in. The reason rich folks don't get big refunds isn't because they don't pay in. Trust me, THEY DO. It's because they know how to manage finances, and set their withholding accordingly. 
    This!!!
  • I owed 2000 one year because I had 3 jobs and none took out enough for my cumulative tax bracket which i now understnd was my fault. I then started taking out extra from my check. This year I stopped that but I still file head of household 0 deduction so does my husband and I have a student loan. We got back 5400 from federal and between filing ny and ct we got another 1000 back. I honestly would rather get it all in a lump sum in march because it helps us with big ticket purchases like tires since I go through a set a year with my 3 hr daily driving. We're not effective savers sadly and this ends up helping us
  • The purpose of tax season is not to get money back. 
  • JessicaS0914JessicaS0914 member
    edited March 2016
    Yiggle09 said:
    I owed 2000 one year because I had 3 jobs and none took out enough for my cumulative tax bracket which i now understnd was my fault. I then started taking out extra from my check. This year I stopped that but I still file head of household 0 deduction so does my husband and I have a student loan. We got back 5400 from federal and between filing ny and ct we got another 1000 back. I honestly would rather get it all in a lump sum in march because it helps us with big ticket purchases like tires since I go through a set a year with my 3 hr daily driving. We're not effective savers sadly and this ends up helping us
    I guess if that works for you, then the government depends on people to do that to cover their overspending. No bank would give me an interest free loan, so I'm not in the business of doing that favor for politicians.  I'd just get better at saving, where you might actually earn a little interest. Not that banks are even paying decent interest on savings accts these days...
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