What are you doing with your tax return?

[DBR]

I owe money this year. A painful amount of money.

 

[Finn]

Nah, the taxes I owe Maryland will cancel out the federal tax refund. At least, it is better than last year.

Oddly, I consistently get a small (~$50) return from the state, even after local taxes are added in, but generally owe about the same amount on my Federal....

When I first got my old job in Bethesda, some paperwork was screwed up so no state tax was deducted from my paychecks, something I should have noticed. So I owed Maryland a lot for 2007. The amount I owe is from the first few months of 2008 before it was fixed.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

I plan on devoting about half of it towards putting some wood flooring in the place here in VA... The rest is going into the bank for any (anticipated) rough times ahead.

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[freak]

It depends on what it is. If it's a BIG chunk, I might use it to pay off my car and some miscelleanus credit card bills. Then I won't owe anything later on.

 

[aftermath]

Why are you all overpaying? You're basically giving the government an interest free loan and getting zero return. The smart thing to do is pay just enough so you owe precisely $999 on April 15th. That way you get a year long interest free loan from the government and the money you save by not overpaying you can invest and actually, you know, earn some return on it?

 

[Alpha Romeo]

Why are you all overpaying? You're basically giving the government an interest free loan and getting zero return. The smart thing to do is pay just enough so you owe precisely $999 on April 15th. That way you get a year long interest free loan from the government and the money you save by not overpaying you can invest and actually, you know, earn some return on it?

Because not everyone is you?

 

[backstept]

it feels better to just get money back than to figure out how to get the most out of the system

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Why are you all overpaying? You're basically giving the government an interest free loan and getting zero return. The smart thing to do is pay just enough so you owe precisely $999 on April 15th. That way you get a year long interest free loan from the government and the money you save by not overpaying you can invest and actually, you know, earn some return on it?

Because not everyone is you?

it feels better to just get money back than to figure out how to get the most out of the system

I applaud both of you.

I've heard this "interest free loan" business before. And to be quite honest, I DON'T CARE.

My checking account doesn't even *earn* interest, so I gain nothing by that route. I would much rather have too much withheld, and get a refund, rather than having not ENOUGH withheld, and get hit with a tax bill (or worse, interest & penalties ). Besides, under the new economic stimulus plan, I get to keep more, because of the tax cuts.

 

[Mallory]

I used to do a pretty good job of coming within $100 or so plus or minus when I was working full time. Since I've been on disability it's been a little tougher to calculate things.

 

[Holdfast]

Why are you all overpaying?

I got a major refund this year, largely because I forgot an item in previous years' returns which could be counted back.

In my case, chalk it up to a dodgy memory!