WWTBAM Bored

And Filed.

Got my W-2 yesterday. e-filed last night.

I love TurboTax.

Should have my refund in less than 2 weeks.

Lucky!! I am still waiting on a 1099...

I got my refund on Friday.

My accountant just informed me last night that the child tax credit ends AT age 17, not AFTER age 17. Jaybeeson#1 turned 17 on December 30th 2008. Crap!

jaybee wrote:My accountant just informed me last night that the child tax credit ends AT age 17, not AFTER age 17. Jaybeeson#1 turned 17 on December 30th 2008. Crap!

You got to claim him the year he was born, even though you only cared for him for one day.

(lip stick on the pig and all)

I may have to wait another month and a half. The last couple of years, I've had money bounced back to me from my 401(k) because it has failed the statutory non-discrimination tests (that refers to financial discrimination, not some other type). When that happens, the money that's bounced back is income from the preceding year. So I still may end up with additional 2008 income, and I won't know for sure until March 15. --Bob

I filed my taxes on Tuesday afternoon (just hours before the blackout) with TurboTax. I've been a loyal TurboTax user since 2004. I should have my refunds by this coming Friday.

I'm getting back $1,004 in federal and $170 in state.

I received my final piece of paperwork in the mail today, and will file on Wednesday (unless we have another snow day on Tuesday!).

peacock2121 wrote:

jaybee wrote:My accountant just informed me last night that the child tax credit ends AT age 17, not AFTER age 17. Jaybeeson#1 turned 17 on December 30th 2008. Crap!

You got to claim him the year he was born, even though you only cared for him for one day.

(lip stick on the pig and all)

Yeah, I started singing that song and dance right away. THEN I realized that seventeen years ago, there was no child tax credit. We do still get to claim him as a dependent, we just miss out on the $1,000 CTC for this year.

I haven't told him about this as yet. He's on his way home from snowboarding. I think maybe we'll sell him.

Any of you interested in becoming Health Czar/Secretary of Health and Human Services?

I finished my taxes this weekend, too. I'm getting a nice refund from the feds, but I have to write another check to the state.

I need to figure out how BD's marriage affects our taxes, hers and mine. I think she can still qualify as a dependent, but if we declare her, IIRC that affects her own deductions and situation. If we don't, that's a quick extra grand to the various tax authorities.

Made a start on data entry into TurboTax, though. I wish they didn't continuously update the amount owed or show it so prominently.

gsabc wrote:I need to figure out how BD's marriage affects our taxes, hers and mine. I think she can still qualify as a dependent, but if we declare her, IIRC that affects her own deductions and situation. If we don't, that's a quick extra grand to the various tax authorities.

Made a start on data entry into TurboTax, though. I wish they didn't continuously update the amount owed or show it so prominently.

I do not recall when she got married. There is a six month "live in your house" rule, as well as the fact that you needed to have provided over half of her support for the year. (Weighed against her contribution prior to marriage, and then the support that the coupel supplied for themslves after marriage.)

In addition, I found a reference on a tax site that BD cannot file a joint return unless the return is filed only as a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for either spouse if they had filed separate returns. I have not had the time to verify the validity of that statement.

gsabc wrote:I need to figure out how BD's marriage affects our taxes, hers and mine. I think she can still qualify as a dependent, but if we declare her, IIRC that affects her own deductions and situation. If we don't, that's a quick extra grand to the various tax authorities.

Made a start on data entry into TurboTax, though. I wish they didn't continuously update the amount owed or show it so prominently.

That's my favorite feature, as the amount owed steadily dwindles away to refund territory.

SportsFan68 wrote:

gsabc wrote:Made a start on data entry into TurboTax, though. I wish they didn't continuously update the amount owed or show it so prominently.

That's my favorite feature, as the amount owed steadily dwindles away to refund territory.

Mine hasn't gotten that far in a couple of years, at least for the feds. State has been either way, and small (<$100).

I still haven't figured out why we don't get enough federal tax withheld during the year. Neither GW nor I claim any deductions on our W-4s, and we also declare single rate. We both max out our 401(k) deposits, and GW has an FSA pre-tax account for our out-of-pocket medical expenses. Mortgage and state and property taxes make up most of our itemized deductions, plus charity donations of course. Maybe I just need to buy a bigger and more expensive house and give this one to the Salvation Army ...

gsabc wrote:I still haven't figured out why we don't get enough federal tax withheld during the year.

Do you have any significant income (interest, dividends, etc.) outside your salaries?

gsabc wrote:

SportsFan68 wrote:

gsabc wrote:Made a start on data entry into TurboTax, though. I wish they didn't continuously update the amount owed or show it so prominently.

That's my favorite feature, as the amount owed steadily dwindles away to refund territory.

Mine hasn't gotten that far in a couple of years, at least for the feds. State has been either way, and small (<$100).

I still haven't figured out why we don't get enough federal tax withheld during the year. Neither GW nor I claim any deductions on our W-4s, and we also declare single rate. We both max out our 401(k) deposits, and GW has an FSA pre-tax account for our out-of-pocket medical expenses. Mortgage and state and property taxes make up most of our itemized deductions, plus charity donations of course. Maybe I just need to buy a bigger and more expensive house and give this one to the Salvation Army ...

We wouldn't get there either except for how much we put into various deferred salary accounts. Sometimes people add a flat rate extra per paycheck to get themselves a little closer to even.

SportsFan68 wrote:

gsabc wrote:

SportsFan68 wrote: That's my favorite feature, as the amount owed steadily dwindles away to refund territory.

Mine hasn't gotten that far in a couple of years, at least for the feds. State has been either way, and small (<$100).

I still haven't figured out why we don't get enough federal tax withheld during the year. Neither GW nor I claim any deductions on our W-4s, and we also declare single rate. We both max out our 401(k) deposits, and GW has an FSA pre-tax account for our out-of-pocket medical expenses. Mortgage and state and property taxes make up most of our itemized deductions, plus charity donations of course. Maybe I just need to buy a bigger and more expensive house and give this one to the Salvation Army ...

We wouldn't get there either except for how much we put into various deferred salary accounts. Sometimes people add a flat rate extra per paycheck to get themselves a little closer to even.

That's my plan this year, since we lose our dependent deduction. Either that or pay the quarterly estimated taxes.

As far as the "other" income, we have some of that but nowhere near enough to make the difference I'm seeing.

The problem annoys me. I'm weird in that I LIKE doing our taxes. I consider it a challenge to get all legitimate deductions, and I "win" if I'm within a percent or two of my withholding in either direction (to be paid or to be refunded). I haven't "won" the federal challenge in about five years.

gsabc wrote:I still haven't figured out why we don't get enough federal tax withheld during the year. Neither GW nor I claim any deductions on our W-4s, and we also declare single rate. We both max out our 401(k) deposits, and GW has an FSA pre-tax account for our out-of-pocket medical expenses. Mortgage and state and property taxes make up most of our itemized deductions, plus charity donations of course. Maybe I just need to buy a bigger and more expensive house and give this one to the Salvation Army ...

As long as you're not subject to an underpayment penalty, isn't it better to have the money in your pocket, at least potentially earning interest, rather than giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan for (in some cases) more than a year?

That's particularly true this year in California, where due to our state's budget crisis, tax refunds will be delayed. I'll be delighted to write the Franchise Tax Board a check on April 15. --Bob

gsabc wrote: I still haven't figured out why we don't get enough federal tax withheld during the year. Neither GW nor I claim any deductions on our W-4s, and we also declare single rate. We both max out our 401(k) deposits, and GW has an FSA pre-tax account for our out-of-pocket medical expenses. Mortgage and state and property taxes make up most of our itemized deductions, plus charity donations of course. Maybe I just need to buy a bigger and more expensive house and give this one to the Salvation Army ...

I have gotten nailed each year for the last several years. Some resulted from my 'status changes' (going from 'married filing jointly' to some kind of surviving spouse thingie to a head of household to whatever I am now), plus the IRS disallows a lot of my deductions because supposedly I have too many deductions (which is ironic: I paid off my mortgage a few years ago, so there is no interest deduction, and my only deductions are property taxes-- which are not that significant-- and charitable deductions, which are kind of significant; I guess the revenooers don't like it when we try to give money to charity instead of to the guvamint); the other complicating factor in years past is that Capital One was generally pretty generous with me, in terms of paying bonuses and stuff, and they withheld at a fairly low rate from that, so that I always had a little extra income that led to a little extra tax to pay for it (but since the bonuses are paid in March, they come in handy for paying any tax I might owe for the previous year; except for this year, since I won't get a bonus, because I was not employed; which gives me a bit of a whammy, since I did get a bonus last year as part of my severance deal, and will have to pay tax on it this year, and won't get a bonus to use to pay it). At the end of 2007 (when I was still employed) I cut all my W-4 witholding exemptions to -0-, figuring that this would take care of things, and also sent in a few thousand dollars each quarter as estimated tax 'just in case.'

But I will still get screwed once again: I have some mutual funds (thanks to Regis) which are hitting me with double whammies: the value of those funds DROPPED about 40% over the past year, but I just got the 1099 or whatever it is, and supposedly I had something like $17,000 in dividends and capital gains; so even though I have a LOT LESS that I started out with, I will have to pay tax on those supposed dividends and gains. That bites.

Bob78164 wrote:As long as you're not subject to an underpayment penalty, isn't it better to have the money in your pocket, at least potentially earning interest, rather than giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan for (in some cases) more than a year?

Certainly. I've never quite understood the joy people get from large refunds. It's your money in the first place! If you had the discipline to put it into savings each week instead of handing it to Uncle Sam or his cousin in the governor's office, you'd be getting interest on it instead of offering a free loan to the government. Of course, having that discipline is part of the issue in the first place. Voluntary savings is one thing. Involuntary savings through withholding taxes, where you never see the money, is easier. Not too many people think of setting up automatic withdrawals into savings accounts, something many banks offer.

This is why I enjoy the challenge of getting my withheld amount close to the total actually owed. It's just that the amount I've owed recently has been on the high side (YMMV; what's large to me may not be to you). I got hit with a small penalty once during a boom investment year, more than counteracted by the gain, but it's the principle of the thing. And the interest.

wintergreen48 wrote:But I will still get screwed once again: I have some mutual funds (thanks to Regis) which are hitting me with double whammies: the value of those funds DROPPED about 40% over the past year, but I just got the 1099 or whatever it is, and supposedly I had something like $17,000 in dividends and capital gains; so even though I have a LOT LESS that I started out with, I will have to pay tax on those supposed dividends and gains. That bites.

You've got mutual funds that actually had capital gains distributions last year, despite the 40% drop in value?

gsabc wrote:

Bob78164 wrote:As long as you're not subject to an underpayment penalty, isn't it better to have the money in your pocket, at least potentially earning interest, rather than giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan for (in some cases) more than a year?

Certainly. I've never quite understood the joy people get from large refunds. It's your money in the first place!

For me, it's what Bob mentioned--I want to avoid being hit with underpayment penalties and I don't want to go through the hassle of estimated tax filings, so it's easier to have a little more taken out in my withholdings. I need to increase that a bit for the state and I suppose I could decrease it for the feds.

As for the interest we're losing, interest rates have fallen so sharply that it hardly makes a different.

Because of the Child Tax Credit and the Extra Child Tax Credit, I still get more money back than I had withheld. But, the overage has shrunk every year. This year, I only got $36 more than I had withheld.

MarleysGh0st wrote:

wintergreen48 wrote:But I will still get screwed once again: I have some mutual funds (thanks to Regis) which are hitting me with double whammies: the value of those funds DROPPED about 40% over the past year, but I just got the 1099 or whatever it is, and supposedly I had something like $17,000 in dividends and capital gains; so even though I have a LOT LESS that I started out with, I will have to pay tax on those supposed dividends and gains. That bites.

You've got mutual funds that actually had capital gains distributions last year, despite the 40% drop in value?

That happens a lot. I was careful to get out of the Vanguard Windsor Fund before the ex-dividend date. The problem is that many of the losses remain unrealized (and will continue to remain unrealized until the holdings are sold), whereas the gains have already been realized, and therefore must be distributed. That's one of the reasons I'm very partial to funds with low turnover ratios. --Bob