Have you started taxes yet?

[kimblebee]

You can?!? I've never heard of such a wonderous thing - that would have been like a lottery win for all those years we paid $2,000.00/mo in rent.

It’s amazing. I don’t know what percentage it is but our refund goes up at least 1K after we add it.

 

[tvguy]

You can still claim 1000 allowances, and then tell them how much to withhold on the next line. There is no rule that says w4 allowances must equal to any number in reality.

You can't tell them a percentage anymore was my point. That was nearly always spot on. Allowances are useless in my experience.

 

[kdonnel]

You can't tell them a percentage anymore was my point. That was nearly always spot on. Allowances are useless in my experience.

What I am saying is you can still claim a ridiculous number of allowances that puts your withholding at zero and then just tell them exactly how much to withhold. Not quite a percentage but serves the same purpose of putting the withholding calculation in your hands.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

All done. Refund should be here before the end of the week.

 

[soccerdad72]

Just in the process of accumulating documents. Everything goes to my wife's tax department and we file an extension on April 15th with our estimates.

Tomorrow, I start doing taxes as a volunteer in the VITA program - first year I've signed up to do that.

 

[cmarsh31]

Done. Significantly less, as expected. Lost a huge chunk in deductions. Just property tax alone puts us at the cap, so now we're paying federal income tax on our state income tax. Getting the child tax credit helped a tiny bit.

 

[Katie Dawn]

I haven't started ours yet, but I'm confused. When the tax changes went into place I kept hearing that people were supposed to be get MORE back, not less. But so many of you are getting less and it sounds like you were expecting that to happen.

(But maybe I'm not remembering it right.)

Is it more a matter of whether the Family is low income, middle income, or upper income?

 

[longboard55]

I haven't started ours yet, but I'm confused. When the tax changes went into place I kept hearing that people were supposed to be get MORE back, not less. But so many of you are getting less and it sounds like you were expecting that to happen.

(But maybe I'm not remembering it right.)

Is it more a matter of whether the Family is low income, middle income, or upper income?

Yes you are confused, Corporations get the big tax break, companies like the Lebron James Corporation, or the Kim Kardashian Corporation, do you get it now?

 

[kdonnel]

I haven't started ours yet, but I'm confused. When the tax changes went into place I kept hearing that people were supposed to be get MORE back, not less. But so many of you are getting less and it sounds like you were expecting that to happen.

(But maybe I'm not remembering it right.)

Is it more a matter of whether the Family is low income, middle income, or upper income?

Many are talking only in relation to the size of their refund compared to past years. They are not comparing their total tax paid from year to year. They are not comparing apples vs apples.

The withholding tables were adjusted to give people more money in each paycheck, spreading the reduced tax burden out over each payday, reducing the refund when compared to a prior year.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We use TurboTax and e-filed our returns this weekend. We are getting $2,500 back from Federal and $300 back from State. In previous years we usually owed $2,500 to Federal and got a small refund from State. I quit my job in January 2018 and forgot to have DH change his withholding that's why we ended up with such a large refund. I prepared a new W-4 for him for 2019 so we should be closer to break even at tax time next year.

Another thing that contributed to the refund was the $500 'credit for other dependent'. Our DD is 21 (and was a FT college student in 2018) so she aged out of the Child Tax Credit several years ago.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Nope! I do taxes for a living, so the last thing I want to do when I come home is do our taxes. Besides, I work doing taxes for low to moderate income people for the United Way, and most of our clients are getting thousands of dollars back. And we usually owe.

 

[cmarsh31]

Many are talking only in relation to the size of their refund compared to past years. They are not comparing their total tax paid from year to year. They are not comparing apples vs apples.

The withholding tables were adjusted to give people more money in each paycheck, spreading the reduced tax burden out over each payday, reducing the refund when compared to a prior year.

Unfortunately, not the case with us. In January I figured out the "increase" in our checks (mine was about $25), not even close to the difference in tax returns from last year to this. The amount we paid didn't differ significantly but our refund did. My accountant went through it line by line with me (I'm a math teacher, I love this stuff). Difference was the $20k less we could deduct.

 

[GreatLakes]

Not yet. We have all of our documentation but don't sit down with our accountant for another week.

 

[longboard55]

Since I am a sole proprietor, apparently I get to deduct 20% from my income

 

[FlightlessDuck]

We also got less than last year, but I haven't checked to see if in total our tax contribution is much different than last yera, since we also had less taken out per paycheck.

 

[siren0119]

Nope and I'm mad.

Hubby worked for a restaurant last year until August. They shuttered the business right after new years. We moved in August, and sent them our new address shortly after the move.

He's been trying to reach someone since Mid-January to confirm they have our new address for his W-2. Can't get an email, text or callback from anyone. As of now we haven't received that W2.

We can get an IRS transcript to see what the IRS shows as his reported income, but can't request it until Feb 15.

One of his old coworkers (who was still working there at the time they closed down) tried to file for unemployment and was told by the unemployment office that they have NO RECORD of the business from last year. This has us VERY worried that 1) they weren't taking out taxes at all (which we can't verify, the last two months he worked there he wasn't getting a proper payroll check - sometimes it was a handwritten check, a couple of times it was cash...that was a big motivator for getting a different job) or 2) they weren't reporting his income at ALL. We've never been in this position and aren't really sure what could happen.

I'm already pulling records of all our deposits from last year so we have some kind of documentation of what he was paid. But the whole thing is driving me nuts.

 

[longboard55]

Nope and I'm mad.

Hubby worked for a restaurant last year until August. They shuttered the business right after new years. We moved in August, and sent them our new address shortly after the move.

He's been trying to reach someone since Mid-January to confirm they have our new address for his W-2. Can't get an email, text or callback from anyone. As of now we haven't received that W2.

We can get an IRS transcript to see what the IRS shows as his reported income, but can't request it until Feb 15.

One of his old coworkers (who was still working there at the time they closed down) tried to file for unemployment and was told by the unemployment office that they have NO RECORD of the business from last year. This has us VERY worried that 1) they weren't taking out taxes at all (which we can't verify, the last two months he worked there he wasn't getting a proper payroll check - sometimes it was a handwritten check, a couple of times it was cash...that was a big motivator for getting a different job) or 2) they weren't reporting his income at ALL. We've never been in this position and aren't really sure what could happen.

I'm already pulling records of all our deposits from last year so we have some kind of documentation of what he was paid. But the whole thing is driving me nuts.

I would contact the state, you are in a bunch of trouble for missing employee payments

 

[siren0119]

I would contact the state, you are in a bunch of trouble for missing employee payments

Well no, it doesn't work that way.

The employer may be in a lot of trouble for not accurately reporting wages paid.

We will be liable for the taxes on what he was paid, whether the company sent those payments or whether we report them based on the information we have from our deposits. We aren't dishonest and wouldn't *not* report income paid.

The employer can get in a *LOT* of trouble for paying people under the table. Which I imagine will come to light as all of their employees from last year file their taxes.

I'm just worried because I want to make sure our reporting is accurate, and I have a strong feeling the employer wasn't paying taxes to the state/fed which will have a negative effect on any refund we might have been owed, or put us in a position of owing taxes.

 

[Christine]

Done. Significantly less, as expected. Lost a huge chunk in deductions. Just property tax alone puts us at the cap, so now we're paying federal income tax on our state income tax. Getting the child tax credit helped a tiny bit.

This happened to me too. Stinks.

 

[longboard55]

Well no, it doesn't work that way.

The employer may be in a lot of trouble for not accurately reporting wages paid.

We will be liable for the taxes on what he was paid, whether the company sent those payments or whether we report them based on the information we have from our deposits. We aren't dishonest and wouldn't *not* report income paid.

The employer can get in a *LOT* of trouble for paying people under the table. Which I imagine will come to light as all of their employees from last year file their taxes.

I'm just worried because I want to make sure our reporting is accurate, and I have a strong feeling the employer wasn't paying taxes to the state/fed which will have a negative effect on any refund we might have been owed, or put us in a position of owing taxes.

sorry did come out right, meant to say the restaurant is in a lot of trouble