Money Poll #8: Tax Refunds
In honor of taxes being due today, I thought it would be fun to find out what fraction of you ended up owing additional federal taxes this year vs. those that received (or are at least expecting) a refund. As I’ve noted here previously, we got a sizable refund this year (and it already arrived). So… How about you? Please also feel free to report the amount that you owed/received in the comments section if you’re so inclined.
Did you end up owing additional federal taxes this year, or did you get a refund?
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We are writing a check for almost 8k this year. We sold a chunk of stock last spring to finish off some remodeling projects. We got a slight ding for under-withholding, but we got more for letting 8k sit in Emigrant since last April.
Comment by Terri W. — Apr 17th 2006 @ 7:39 amI owed about $100, which is what I aim for every year. I’m not a fan of the interest free loan to the gummint being any larger than it needs to be.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Apr 17th 2006 @ 7:48 amOh, and taxes aren’t due until tomorrow for some states such as Massachussetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and I think DC - today is a holiday in the northeast. Patriots Day doesn’t give me the day off, though, like it does down in Boston for basically everybody there.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Apr 17th 2006 @ 8:23 amWe’re getting a refund this year. And as we discovered, if you are including your dependent’s interest income on your taxes, you can’t E-file, so we have to sit and wait for the check.
Comment by Anonymous — Apr 17th 2006 @ 8:26 amWe just got our refund the other day…I love direct deposit. Still, I was surprised to see that we were getting one. I’m with Blaine, not a big fan of lending the government my money with no interest. We give them enough already.
Comment by Emma — Apr 17th 2006 @ 8:58 amA small refund, which was applied directly to 2006 estimated taxes. Followed by additional payments to make up the difference for the first quarter. Refunds just don’t exist in my world.
Comment by Catrijn — Apr 17th 2006 @ 9:08 amI had to pay $80 for federal taxes and recieved a $16 dollar refund from NY state. Just the way I like it.
Comment by Easy E — Apr 17th 2006 @ 1:12 pmWe got a refund (3k+) for the 3rd year in a row. We don’t make that much and neither of us are money gurus…I would like to get this down to a lower refund or small pay in. I have not changed anything due to the fact I would spend the next year chewing on my fingernails off worried sick about making an error and having to pay in BIG TIME…where can I go for “diy” (aka “free” or “cheap” - yet ACCURATE) help on this one?
Comment by jerm — Apr 17th 2006 @ 4:09 pmI got a whopping $750 return on federal & $15 from the beautiful state of CA. Oh, and I paid $3.03 for regular unleaded last night. What a rip!
Comment by djmike805 — Apr 17th 2006 @ 4:37 pmI got a small refund from the feds but had to pay the state. Like djmike805, I’m also in CA and paid $3.09 for premium unleaded last night.
Comment by Penny — Apr 17th 2006 @ 8:10 pmI gave $340 to George and $110 to Arnold, since I had about ~$2500 in passive income in `05. I hope someday I have to make quarterly payments.
Comment by Donald — Apr 17th 2006 @ 8:13 pmSigh, i only got $1300, and that was after they stole 40% out of my 3K moving expenses check, which left me too short of cash to actually move.
Comment by Charles — Apr 17th 2006 @ 10:29 pmWe owed about $3500 state and received $5200 federal refund. Even with a CPA preparing things it was a bit crazy. NC has such high tax rates 8.25% that it distorts basic calculations. Also, I think the state disallows certain federal deductions. Of course I would rather have owed nothing and been owed nothing.
the proceeds are being placed in a high interest money market.
have a great day,
Comment by Making Our Way — Apr 18th 2006 @ 1:46 ammakingourway
This is in response to Jerm’s question. If you want to get less taxes withheld from you paycheck, you need to have your employer update your W-4 elections. If you elect 0 allowances, the government will take a huge check out of your paycheck… if you elect 1 or 2 (if you are single) then they will take less. The more allowances, the less comes out of your check. The rule of thumb is to take an allowance for yourself and all dependents, and also take one for any sizable deductions, such as tuition or mortgage.
Comment by Mark in NYC — Apr 18th 2006 @ 12:22 pmI got less than $1K back. I would try to adjust my witholdings, but I’m afraid it’ll tilt the other way and I’ll owe money instead.
Comment by mapgirl — Apr 18th 2006 @ 12:38 pmJust a suggestion for the people who are worried about adjusting their withholding. I readjust it a couple times during the year. Your withholding is not written in stone on January 1st, never again to be changed. Unless the IRS has changed the rules, if you have more withheld in a year than you owed the previous year, you are safe from underwithholding penalties.
Comment by Anonymous — Apr 18th 2006 @ 3:23 pmthanks, mark. For now, until I can better forecast this, I will most likely leave things as they are.
I will look into the “rule of thumb is to take an allowance for yourself and all dependents, and also take one for any sizable deductions, such as tuition or mortgage.”
Comment by jerm — Apr 18th 2006 @ 11:57 pmI was extremely unlucky. I spend serious $$,$$$ on wooing a would-be client who ended up renewing with his old vendor for the year. But being able to write off those expenses meant a $6000 refund from Uncle Scam and a smidge under $1000 from the state of Illinois. (I typically get refunds in the $100-$500 range. 2005 was a _highly_ atypical tax year. 2007 will probably be another, although with luck it’ll be atypical because I’ll make a lot of extra money and hence owe some extra taxes.)
Comment by Matt — Apr 19th 2006 @ 4:02 amwell, i guess one reason might be the fear of too little withholding. if one has too little withholding, IRS has penality for ya. but i forgot what the rule is and how much. mind tell if someone knows on the top of their head?
Comment by gomakeitreal — Apr 23rd 2006 @ 8:15 am