Tax returns

[Doctor Q]

Who is filing electronically for the first time this year?

I've filed electronically in the past (faster refund, less chance of a paper cut), but since I owe money this year I'm filing on paper and purposely filing the last week.

 

[~Shard~]

Who is filing electronically for the first time this year?

I've filed electronically in the past (faster refund, less chance of a paper cut), but since I owe money this year I'm filing on paper and purposely filing the last week.

Until the government reimburses me for filing electronically, I would never consider it. But, as I said above, I get my accountant to do my taxes, so everything is handled for me. 😎

 

[Pittsax]

Owing $528 this year. Three Cheers for the Bush "Tax Cuts"!!

 

[Deepdale]

... since I owe money this year I'm filing on paper and purposely filing the last week.

That is in keeping with the spirit of the tax filing season. Hold on to what is yours until the bitter end. I filed late January the old-fashioned way and, yes, I managed to get another paper cut. Those can make you nuts when they are affect certain spots, but I still have not taken the plunge with electronic filing yet.

 

[sushi]

Many people seem to treat their tax return as free money, but really it's your own money that you're getting back. 😛 😉

So very true.

What you actually pay in taxes verses what you earn is what counts.

 

[~Shard~]

So very true.

What you actually pay in taxes verses what you earn is what counts.

Absolutely - I think not enough people keep this important fact in mind... 😉 😎

 

[njmac]

I'm getting $6,500 back. 😀

I had a lot of tax deductions for last year:

2 kids
mortgage
home equity loan
school loan interest
work related expenses
preschool for my son so I can work 2 mornings a week
a few charitable donations.

 

[jelloshotsrule]

since i didn't work the full year i got a decent federal return

BUT.

my stupid employer decided to take out DC taxes (i live and work in MD, and have all year) for about 80% of the time. so, i basically had to go get all my $ back from DC and send a big check to MD. luckily DC already paid me back and now i can pay MD without worrying. in total i'll be getting about $100 back from the state... not bad

but really annoying .i wish there was some way to make the employer pay for that crap

 

[~Shard~]

I'm getting $6,500 back. 😀

I had a lot of tax deductions for last year:

2 kids
mortgage
home equity loan
school loan interest
work related expenses
preschool for my son so I can work 2 mornings a week
a few charitable donations.

Ah yes, you guys in the States can deduct interest piad on your mortgage, can't you. We can't here in Canada. 🙁 You have to pay captial gains though when you sell your house, right? We don't, maybe that's where it evens out... Anyway, I hate paying interest, especially on my house - it's money you're throwing away which just goes to the bank, doesn;t go towards your principle, and over the course of your mortgage, you're paying potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. That's why I didn't go for a mortgage, and thanks to some "exploits" in Canadian tax law, I can write off almost all of my interest - it's a strategy that will put me well ahead and save me big $$$ which the bank won't get from me. 😎

 

[njmac]

You have to pay captial gains though when you sell your house, right? We don't, maybe that's where it evens out...

If you sell your house, then buy another house with that money, you don't have to pay capital gains. 🙂

You sound very smart with your money. Are you in the investing business?

 

[~Shard~]

If you sell your house, then buy another house with that money, you don't have to pay capital gains. 🙂

Ah, I see, thanks for the clarification on that. Here in Canada you have to pay capital gains if the house is not your primary residency, however otherwise you don't have to.

You sound very smart with your money. Are you in the investing business?

Thanks. 🙂 No, not in the business itself, but I've been big into investing for quite a while now and have been quite successful. I always seem to be giving out financial advice to friends and coworkers. 😉

To me, managing your money and learning about things like the power of interest, debt, the stock market, etc. should be taught in our schools - those are important "life skills" which everyone should know about, unfortunately few appear to. 😎

 

[Clix Pix]

Who is filing electronically for the first time this year?

I've filed electronically in the past (faster refund, less chance of a paper cut), but since I owe money this year I'm filing on paper and purposely filing the last week.

Filing electronically is great! I've done that the past three years now. Yeah, true, if I were having to pay, I'd probably dawdle and therefore file on paper and deliberately send in the money at the very last moment.... Getting money back, of course I filed straightaway and was gratified to have the funds plopping into my bank account in under a week (state) and within ten days (federal).

 

[sushi]

To me, managing your money and learning about things like the power of interest, debt, the stock market, etc. should be taught in our schools - those are important "life skills" which everyone should know about, unfortunately few appear to. 😎

Completely agree with you.

If you start when you are young, it doesn't take much to create a huge nestegg for yourself.

What is really surprising, is that it really doesn't matter how much you earn. What is more important is what you do with what you earn.

Defense is already better than offense! 😉

 

[SilvorX]

My dad's a farmer and he owes over $2000, I seriously don't know how he could be owing money since he's a freaking grain/beef farmer, both industries are worthless in Canada!

Duff-Man says...I got about $1500cdn back and it went towards my new MacBook Pro.....oh yeah!

now that would be nice!
I'm thinking of possibly putting my money towards a Mac mini, but I'm moreso prefering a next-gen iPod, but then again if the next gen iPod is not released by mid-June, then Mac mini it is!