Pissed at mine and my friend's taxes. Need advice

OK, here's the deal. EVERY year all my friends around me get something between 900 and 1700 dollars back EACH year for their taxes.. EVERY year I've only gotten like 60-90$ bucks back. WTF is up with that?

1. I work longer hours than almost all of them but didn't get paid as much hourly, although at the time none of us had real jobs. we were all working in restaurants or on the side for parents or whatnot.

2. I turned 24 after tax season of last year. Does this independent thing have anything to do with it?

I just don't understand why I get diddly squat back every year and they get the equivalent of entire paychecks back EVERY YEAR since we were 21 ...............................................

IF anyone has knowledge that they can lay on me, LAY IT ON ME!! PLEASE!

reply to post by Gwampo


Depends on your pay rate, if you are getting extra taxes taken out, if you are properly filing and using the most credits to your benefit (travel allowance, work expenses etc....) I know I was getting a lot back in years past because of my college tuition, now that I have claimed all of that, this year I got a whopping 245$ back. compared to my wife's 1200$.

We work the same hours, are pretty close salary wise, and have the same shared expenses.

Who is filing your return? Dear god tell me you have someone knowledgeable doing it for you.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


haha, my company's outsourced accountant is doing them this year.

"this year I got a whopping 245$ back. compared to my wife's 1200$."

^^^^^^ exactly what my girlfriend got back. I was on a 1099 and i'll probably end up owing MORE than that.. just so furious


(no longer on 1099 as of jan)

You only have half the equation. Sure you know how much every got back but the real question is how much did everyone pay in? maybe you have less withholding then everyone else.

They're only getting their own money back because they're loaned it to the government all year, interest free. I prefer to keep my money in my pocket and pay only what I owe, when/if I owe it.

If you're getting a refund, you're doing it wrong.

Originally posted by Gwampo
I just don't understand why I get diddly squat back every year and they get the equivalent of entire paychecks back EVERY YEAR since we were 21 ...............................................

IF anyone has knowledge that they can lay on me, LAY IT ON ME!! PLEASE!

As Phishy said you may not be getting as much taken out of your paychecks as your friends are. If you want a larger return you can always have more taken out in taxes during the year, just ask your employer to do so. Personally I'd rather get it all during the year and get as small a refund as possible rather than the other way around because the more money of yours the government is sitting on all year then the more they earn off of it that you get zero benefit from. It's not a good thing to get a bunch of money back at tax time, it indicates that people are having too much taken out of their paychecks all year.

There's also the possibility that either you or your friends (or both) are filing your tax returns incorrectly. I NEVER do my own taxes, it's far too complicated and requires an expert. Maybe some day they'll simplify the tax code, but until then it behooves most people to hire an expert. I had a friend that got a huge amount back each year and he was quite proud of himself. Then one day the IRS came knocking. He had to pay back thousands of dollars for mistakes going back years, AND he had to pay tremendous penalties that tripled what he owed. Who knows, your friends may be in the same boat.

Just stop paying taxes and save the money you would have paid into taxes for the end of the year and give yourself a nice check

Tax System based on Voluntary Compliance

During one of the last debt-ceiling debates the government stated that tax refund checks might have to be delayed because of lack of funds. Never mind the fact that federal withholding is not the government's money, but your money that they are holding for you so that you can pay your taxes in April. As stated above, you should strive for as little of a refund as possible.

SC

Originally posted by ~Vixen~

If you're getting a refund, you're doing it wrong.

lol not getting a refund at all.. i'm gonna end up owing like 2.5k to uncle sa.
After my friends all get thousands in returns every year, i'm getting didly, then all the sudden this year I end up operating in the red.


Why is it that I will have to do some kind of payment plan JUST to pay my taxes, when they can go buy a GD new computer!!!

Admittedly, there are a lot of factors that can affect income tax refunds.

Are your friends married or single? Do they have kids? Do they own their own homes? Do they operate their own businesses? All can have a profound impact on amounts refunded.

Originally posted by Gwampo
reply to post by phishyblankwaters

 

haha, my company's outsourced accountant is doing them this year.

"this year I got a whopping 245$ back. compared to my wife's 1200$."

^^^^^^ exactly what my girlfriend got back. I was on a 1099 and i'll probably end up owing MORE than that.. just so furious

Why are you furious? That's just stupid. If you get lots of money back every year, all that means is that you paid too much to the government. You gave them that money to use for free for an entire year. If you get less back, that means you paid them approximately what you owed and got to keep that money for yourself. You're in a much better position if you get to keep that money all year. Why do you want to loan you money to the government?

reply to post by Gwampo


What number of exemptions are you using and what is your filing status? Examples:

You are unmarried, with no children, therefore your filing status is SINGLE and your exemptions are 1.

You are married with no children, therefore your filing status (should be) MARRIED and your exemptions are 2.

You are single and have one dependent child, therefore your filing status is SINGLE and your exemptions are 2.

These are just examples.

So, say you are single, I am using this example because you mention your friends and not a wife. A single taxpayer files as SINGLE and only gets themselves as an exemption, so 1 exemption.

Now, all year, your employer is using a form that you filled out, with your withholding instructions, to determine how much to withhold from each paycheck. Which if you are single, should be single/1. Okay?

What you can do, if you owe money this year and don't want to owe money or want to get a bigger refund next year is make your withholding instructions say Single/0. This will result in more money being withheld during the year, and when you file taxes at the end of the year, you should get a refund or at least not have to pay.

Due your statement of having to pay in, I would check your withholding instructions on file with your employer and verify they are correct and set up the way you want.

I hope my examples helped.