Yay, finished my taxes!

MainelyFoolish

I've been putting it off for a while because I didn't feel like doing them.  I finally sat down and did them tonight.  Amazingly I had all my paperwork in one place so it went pretty smoothly.  It was a good news/bad news year -- we got a bigger refund than expected, but it was because I didn't earn as much money last year (I'm self employed and I have DH's withholding at his job set to account for my self employment taxes).  Overall, I'm in a good mood. 

KatieLG04

We don't owe, but we are getting so little back that it barely covers paying the accountant.  I always thought having kids really helped, not so much for us!  In fact, I need to change my withholdings so I won't owe next year since there will be some deduction we won't be able to make next year since it was a temp government break. 

MainelyFoolish

Well, if you did your taxes with everything the same except without the dependent, you would pay more in taxes.  The extra personal exemption plus the $1000 child tax credit (if you qualify) do make a difference.  But no, it's not a windfall, especially considering how much money it costs to maintain that extra person. 

Just remind yourself that refunds are all about withholdings, not tax rates.  And if it makes you feel any better, I pay almost 50% of my piddling income to taxes (federal income, self employment, and state income).  Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. 

hikingnclimbing

MainelyFoolish:

And if it makes you feel any better, I pay almost 50% of my piddling income to taxes (federal income, self employment, and state income).  Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. 

This exactly. I absolutely love my business and would never give it up based on how much I get screwed by taxes, but thinking that I only get to keep 50% of what I bring in is an absolute killer to my positive thinking when I'm slammed in the middle of the summer. Some people ask if I'd ever give up teaching in order to do my business full time and there is no way that we could afford that based on me losing my benefits and how much more getting the benefits through DH's work would cost. Sucks. 

jgreg29

MainelyFoolish:

Just remind yourself that refunds are all about withholdings, not tax rates.  

This exactly.  I don't get very excited about refunds nor do I get very upset about owing.  I owe what I owe. In an ideal world, I would owe nothing nor would I get a big refund - because that would mean I had my withholdings set up perfectly.  But I realize I'm in a small minority of people for thinking this way!  Anyhow, Mainely, glad you are content with this year's outcome!

KatieLG04

Well, I put money in a DSA for daycare so that changes our refund since it's all pre-tax.  I have a 1 hr a week consultant thing I do for a social worker and I have to take taxes out of that, so I know those 2 things make a big difference in how we look at the end of the year.  In the end, as long as I don't owe I'm good!

maeghan21

Woohoo! We've had so much going on that we had our accountant do them for us again this year. I could barely get all the paperwork together for deductions etc and not go crazy. We're supposed to be hearing back from him on Wed to see how much we get back.

Glitzyklm

we met with our accountant today- we just about broke even which is amazing since DH just started his own business and did not pay quarterly taxes this year.

 Thank goodness for paying 10,000 in interest on our home this year and the boatload of taxes I have withheld.

 

grahamsm3

thumbs up buttercup