It's tax return time!

[MizzouRah]

Great year for us tax return wise and I think the wife might let me finally break into the HD world.

Aint she purdy?:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-KDL-40XBR2-Bravia-1080p-HDTV/dp/B000H6GFKG


I've been playing my Xbox 360 on a 20" LCD monitor, would be quite nice doubling the viewing area!

Anybody else getting anything nice with tax return money?

[Mustang]

Anybody else getting anything nice with tax return money?

Just putting it into the bank so, when we have our kid in September my wife can quit her job.

[Shkspr]

Getting the dog some arthroscopic knee surgery.

[sooner333]

b. not receiving a tax return.

[Lathum]

Putting it in savings to cover wedding costs.

[MizzouRah]

Yeah, we are paying off some bills for sure. I'm not really sure I want to drop $2500 on a TV set yet, but I've been spending the last several months checking out various TV's and I REALLY like this set. I'm also tired of going to my dad's house and watching his HD for sports. :)

With baseball coming soon, I really want to watch them in HD this year.

[Schmidty]

HD is overrated.

I'll be spending our return on the war in Iraq. And other stuff the government tells me to.

[Rizon]

I have me and my wife's state/federal income tax deductions set up so we break even.

[Easy Mac]

I can't decide between 3 poor hookers or 1 very good one...

[MizzouRah]

HD is overrated.

I'll be spending our return on the war in Iraq. And other stuff the government tells me to.

You brought a tear to my eye. You're a good man Schmidty.

[MizzouRah]

I can't decide between 3 poor hookers or 1 very good one...

What about a medicore bald one?

[Easy Mac]

What about a medicore bald one?

I don't like my chicken fajitas pierced.

[st.cronin]

I don't like my chicken fajitas pierced.

Ping: Britney Spears

[Ironhead]

Don't know if this is the appropriate thread to ask this, but since it is tax related why not. My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a house and I know this would give us a large tax break, but I am not sure how to go about investigating it. Basically I want to calculate what the tax advantages of home ownership would be so I can change my witholding at work and have more money to pay towards my mortage each month. Anyone have any experience with this that could point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

[chrisj]

I have me and my wife's state/federal income tax deductions set up so we break even.

I don't see why people would do anything but? I hate getting a tax refund - it simply means I have provided the government with an interest free loan.

[Mustang]

Don't know if this is the appropriate thread to ask this, but since it is tax related why not. My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a house and I know this would give us a large tax break, but I am not sure how to go about investigating it. Basically I want to calculate what the tax advantages of home ownership would be so I can change my witholding at work and have more money to pay towards my mortage each month. Anyone have any experience with this that could point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

For starters, I wouldn't buy a house with anyone that you aren't married too. You are just opening yourself to major headaches if it doesn't work out. (And that goes for buying a house with family, friends, college buddies)

But, to determine the tax savings, just do a sample return this year and compute in all the deductibles that you probably aren't doing right now. State income tax, medical, student loans, personal property tax, property tax and mortgage interest (should be easy enough to find a mortgage calculator that will tell you the amount of interest you will pay).

That should at least give you a rough idea of the tax savings...

[stevew]

That XBR is a really sweet set. Plus, if you want to, you could fork over another 300 and get a different colored Bezel for it. It's 2499 with 10% cash back via mir(takes 10-12 weeks) at sears this week if you put it on your sears card.

[Craptacular]

I was thinking of getting an Ipod or Zune or whatever, but now that I have to take my car in to get the clutch fixed, the music will likely have to wait. The rest of the refund is going to either the "finished basement" or "new car to accommodate the twins and dogs" funds.

[Neuqua]

That XBR is just a really sweet tv no doubt. I can't think of a better LCD out on the market.

[Rizon]

I don't see why people would do anything but? I hate getting a tax refund - it simply means I have provided the government with an interest free loan.

I hate paying a shitload. Worst part was that it took us 2 years for her job to get it right, and they are one of the largest retail chains in the world. They "didn't know how" to set her up as Married-filing-single, and even after we submitted the change for the 5th time (and I threatened to come down there and show them) it took them a few months.

[Dr. Sak]

I am putting in a new kitchen and bar with my return.

[MizzouRah]

That XBR is a really sweet set. Plus, if you want to, you could fork over another 300 and get a different colored Bezel for it. It's 2499 with 10% cash back via mir(takes 10-12 weeks) at sears this week if you put it on your sears card.

Thanks, makes it even better as we are paying our Sears card off. :)

[dj_morton]

Buying tickets for the baby, my wife and I to go back home! I'm stationed in the UK (Air Force). Tickets to the states are CRAZY. Cheapest I can find is 800 bucks round trip! It only cost 400 to fly from the states to here roundtrip.

[stevew]

Thanks, makes it even better as we are paying our Sears card off. :)

The 40v2500, or s2500...not sure which name exactly it is, 40" Bravia is a 1080p set but does not have the XBR features. It's on sale for 1999, may be another thing to consider.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&pid=05771666000&cat=Televisions&subcat=Plasma+%26+LCD+TVs&vertical=ELEC&ihtoken=1

[Ksyrup]

I don't see why people would do anything but? I hate getting a tax refund - it simply means I have provided the government with an interest free loan.

I wish it was so easy. But with bonuses, stock proftits/loss, giving to charities, etc., and particularly since we moved last year, it is impossible for me to accurately figure what my tax bill is going to be.

We got a huge amount back this year, but I'd rather get something back than pay.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Apparently, my wife and I owe the government $400, so I'm not buying anything extra. :(

[KevinNU7]

My refund check cleared last week and I just paid off some debt and put the rest in savings :)

[gstelmack]

Since my wife and I have been so good over the last 2 years putting stuff into the house and the kids (including bonuses, etc), and because our withholding is impossible to get right, when we got a nice refund this year we got:

- A new Dell XPS410 for my wife, including a 20" widescreen LCD (it was her turn for the big upgrade)
- 1GB RAM (to go to 2 GB), a 7600GT AGP, and Vista for my box
- A computer desk for our 4-year-old daughter (she's getting the hand-me-down machine)
- Miscellaneous other required bits for the computer setup (another hub, UPS, etc).

[CleBrownsfan]

Sucks being responsible - paying bills and CC with my return. bla

[akw4572]

Nice having a baby this past year, return went wayyyyyyyyy up.

[jbmagic]

The 40v2500, or s2500...not sure which name exactly it is, 40" Bravia is a 1080p set but does not have the XBR features. It's on sale for 1999, may be another thing to consider.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&pid=05771666000&cat=Televisions&subcat=Plasma+%26+LCD+TVs&vertical=ELEC&ihtoken=1

Sony KDS-50A2000 Grand WEGA 50" SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV is on Sale: $1,999.99 at Best Buy and Circuit City.

[JeeberD]

The check all went into savings. Hopefully by this time next year we'll be damn close to being in our own house...

[terpkristin]

I wasn't walking funny on Saturday because of a tough leg workout Saturday morning (ok, not ENTIRELY because of that)...

Sucks (ok it really doesn't, but I still end up paying a bit more because of my current status) to make a good salary and be single without anything going for me (I need to buy a house).

/tk

[molson]

I can't decide between 3 poor hookers or 1 very good one...

Go with 2 above average hookers - that's your best bet.

[Hurst2112]

I'm paying in $900. boo hiss

I kicked my own ass this year. I didn't buy enough goodies (recording gear). Made more on 1099 than I did since 2003. Guess I need an accountant.

[KevinNU7]

I wasn't walking funny on Saturday because of a tough leg workout Saturday morning (ok, not ENTIRELY because of that)...

Sucks (ok it really doesn't, but I still end up paying a bit more because of my current status) to make a good salary and be single without anything going for me (I need to buy a house).

/tk
I never get this statement. If you set your exemption status to 0 you will always get a return in tax season, if you have to pay every year and don't like this you should lower your exemptions.

[KevinNU7]

Here is a nice online tool to figure out what you should use

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/page/0,,id=14806,00.html

[terpkristin]

I never get this statement. If you set your exemption status to 0 you will always get a return in tax season, if you have to pay every year and don't like this you should lower your exemptions.

I thought I had been carrying the minimum exemptions, but perhaps I am not. Is it too late to change this for 07?

I'll have to look at my latest stubs to go use that tool you posted.

/tk

[KevinNU7]

You can change it anytime of the year. There is even an online form in the link I sent you once you go through the instructions. Last year I changed mine in April.

[KevinNU7]

I thought I had been carrying the minimum exemptions, but perhaps I am not. Is it too late to change this for 07?

I'll have to look at my latest stubs to go use that tool you posted.

/tk
1) Make sure you fill out the how much taxes you have paid to date and how much you pay per paycheck properly. They can be screwy with the calculation if you mess it up.

2) Unless you have income that is not taxed during the year (self employed) you should never get surprised by taxes. My guess is that when you filled out the form you wrote 1 instead of 0, but you must be making alot of money for 1 to cause a loss. Congrats :D

[Buccaneer]

We got our refund 4 weeks ago and part of it went to charity, part on a new quilt and sheets, part on baseball cards :) and the remaining to my wife, a full-time mom, to have fun with (shopping for clothes, boots and whatever else she could stuff in our closets, drawers and dressers).

[stevew]

Sony KDS-50A2000 Grand WEGA 50" SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV is on Sale: $1,999.99 at Best Buy and Circuit City.

I was just going to say that it is $1899 at sears this week.

[MizzouRah]

The 40v2500, or s2500...not sure which name exactly it is, 40" Bravia is a 1080p set but does not have the XBR features. It's on sale for 1999, may be another thing to consider.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&pid=05771666000&cat=Televisions&subcat=Plasma+%26+LCD+TVs&vertical=ELEC&ihtoken=1

Oh make no mistake, I've been wanting that particular set since I've read review after review at how it's the best LCD picture most have seen.

[Glengoyne]

I'm just screwed. Last year in April the company I work for transfered payroll function to corporate. This coincided with a change from a semi monthly pay schedule to a bi weekly schedule along with a substantial raise for me. As a result I didn't closely monitor the details of my compensation. Essentially I just blindly allowed the funds to be deposited. Well since I'm always getting a refund, I promptly punched in all of my earning and withholding information into Turbo tax, and was pretty surprised with all of the money and fines it said I owed. I did some research, and my witholding levels were extremely low compared to 2005. Considering the pay increase this simply wasn't right. So I went down the road of thinking that corporate had simply screwed something up.


Today I got the final story. In early 2006 I changed my status from Married/2 dependents to Married/4 dependents. Well locally the payroll system reported this as Married 2/4. When the information was entered at corporate. This was interpreted as Married/24. Yes 24 dependents.

I'm simply screwed.

[KevinNU7]

That is just terrible. With that said you really should have notice with how little taxes you were paying per paycheck. Check out irs.gov and see if there is some way you can get out of the penalties

[KevinNU7]

Does anyone know at what point you start getting nailed with penalties? My company gave me a fairly large sum of money on a debit card to use for relocation costs and it was not taxed. At the end of 2007 it looks like I will now owe about $1,800. I don't have a problem with this as I don't plan to use all the money and get to just use the remaining balance for the taxes, however I am concerned that they may penalize me for not taking enough taxes out during the year. Anyone know how penalities in this situation work?

[KevinNU7]

I'm just screwed. Last year in April the company I work for transfered payroll function to corporate. This coincided with a change from a semi monthly pay schedule to a bi weekly schedule along with a substantial raise for me. As a result I didn't closely monitor the details of my compensation. Essentially I just blindly allowed the funds to be deposited. Well since I'm always getting a refund, I promptly punched in all of my earning and withholding information into Turbo tax, and was pretty surprised with all of the money and fines it said I owed. I did some research, and my witholding levels were extremely low compared to 2005. Considering the pay increase this simply wasn't right. So I went down the road of thinking that corporate had simply screwed something up.


Today I got the final story. In early 2006 I changed my status from Married/2 dependents to Married/4 dependents. Well locally the payroll system reported this as Married 2/4. When the information was entered at corporate. This was interpreted as Married/24. Yes 24 dependents.

I'm simply screwed.
See below
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=123423,00.html

Removal of Penalties - Reasonable Cause
The law lets us remove or reduce the penalties explained in this notice if you have an acceptable reason. If you believe you have an acceptable reason, you may send us a signed statement explaining your reason. We’ll review it and let you know if we accept your explanation as reasonable cause to remove or reduce your penalty. This procedure doesn't apply to interest and, in some cases, we may ask you to pay the tax in full before we reduce or remove the penalty for paying late.

[Ksyrup]

Here is a nice online tool to figure out what you should use

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/page/0,,id=14806,00.html

I still don't know how to deal with bonus. Do I treat it as earned income, other than salary, at the end? If I treat it as total wages at the beginning, and then input the amount received on my last paycheck and taxes taken out, it distorts the numbers. And of course, I have no clue how much (or little) extra I will get at the end of the year, so it's all a guess anyway.

[Butter]

I have a stupid question:

I recently got a promotion which will include things like a paid cell phone and I will get reimbursement of expenses for lunches, parking, and such.

Is reimbursement of expenses considered taxable income?

[Ksyrup]

Although this is causing me considerable pain in recalling my preparation for the Bar last summer, I seem to recall there being some tricky rules about whether this is reportable as income or not. I tend to think it is, unless the company has a plan in place that closely follows some IRS guidelines.

I'm sure there is an IRS publication on the issue.

[Lathum]

I have a stupid question:

I recently got a promotion which will include things like a paid cell phone and I will get reimbursement of expenses for lunches, parking, and such.

Is reimbursement of expenses considered taxable income?

I would double check but I used to have a similar job and I never received any tax documents.

[KevinNU7]

If the company is giving you $$ every month for you to get those things taken care of then it is taxable, if the company it paying for those items directly then it is not taxable. For example if you have an AMEX company card and you charge all your meals, travel and even cell hpone bills the company will pay those bills for you and there is no tax impact. But if the company gives you $500 per month for incidentals then you have to pay. Often if a company goes that route they will gross up the money to allow for taxes and will taxes you in your paycheck. So they may give yu something like $575 and take $75 out for taxes.

[Butter]

I'm pretty much going to be expense report-ing everything, so I think it will be such that they are only paying for actual expenses and not giving me a set amount to spend.

Thanks for the help.

[KevinNU7]

Yep no tax then. Another good example is my relocation debit card. If the coming had chosen to go the route of giving me money whenever I submitted a receipt it would not be taxed, however they are giving me WAY too much money so I am not complaining.

[Logan]

If the company is giving you $$ every month for you to get those things taken care of then it is taxable, if the company it paying for those items directly then it is not taxable. For example if you have an AMEX company card and you charge all your meals, travel and even cell hpone bills the company will pay those bills for you and there is no tax impact. But if the company gives you $500 per month for incidentals then you have to pay. Often if a company goes that route they will gross up the money to allow for taxes and will taxes you in your paycheck. So they may give yu something like $575 and take $75 out for taxes.

Are there some subtle differences in this? I get food per diem from my gov't job when I'm traveling...I don't need to show receipts, and really don't need to even spend the money at all, but I don't have to pay taxes on it.

Or...since the per diem rates come directly from the GSA, are these figures (ie $64/day in the DC area) really an after-tax amount, along the lines of what you described?

[KevinNU7]

That I am not sure of. Seems like you have a nice deal going there :)

[Craptacular]

Are there some subtle differences in this? I get food per diem from my gov't job when I'm traveling...I don't need to show receipts, and really don't need to even spend the money at all, but I don't have to pay taxes on it.

Or...since the per diem rates come directly from the GSA, are these figures (ie $64/day in the DC area) really an after-tax amount, along the lines of what you described?

Even though you don't show receipts, do you still have to file an expense report? If so, it should not be taxable, as long as you are not on extended travel (like working on a project across the country for a year). Basically, this is treated the same as being reimbursed for actual expenses. Per diems just make things easier. However, if you don't file an expense report, then I believe it is treated just like taxable income.

[Logan]

Even though you don't show receipts, do you still have to file an expense report? If so, it should not be taxable, as long as you are not on extended travel (like working on a project across the country for a year). Basically, this is treated the same as being reimbursed for actual expenses. Per diems just make things easier. However, if you don't file an expense report, then I believe it is treated just like taxable income.

I do file an expense report, but it's a straight claim of the per diem; i.e. I claim 4.5 days of PD for the week @ $64/day = $288. That's along with my mileage, tolls, hotel, etc.

[Wolfpack]

I'm getting a sizeable return thanks to child #2 arriving last year, but now I'm having to fork some of it over to a plumber because we developed a leak in a pipe in a wall behind the kitchen sink. Grrrr.....