Taxes

Your age has nothing to do with how much taxes you pay, marital status would affect it though. Likely what happened was your overtime caused you to go into the next tax bracket and had a higher tax percentage rate.

The percentage of taxes that is taken out of your paycheck most likely didn't change with your overtime so you were falling behind a little more with each hour you worked.


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Gotcha, idk like said just goin off what the people did taxes said and was wondering from what Fletch said

 

I feel your pain brother. My goal is to break even every year.

 

Yup, welcome to the "It Sucks" club.

The best advice I received was to start SOME sort of home-based business... I don't care if it's Mary Kay, Amway, Avon or Tupperware; it will pay HUGE dividends if you treat it as a business in the form of tax write-offs.

You're allowed a few years of losing money while you're attempting to get your business going. It does throw you into the arena of "more-flagged" returners but it's well worth it; just keep meticulous records. I've been through an IRS audit and if you have everything in order they can't touch you.

 

I haven't been audited by federal - but have been audited by Pennsylvania in the past and now currently Massachusetts. Thankfully we have a tax guy that takes care of everything - but is a pain in the rear. PA still is fighting us from 2013!

 

I paid in 16 k federal and got back 5800 total from federal and state. My wife works part time and claimed 1 kid. Next year get to claim 2 kids. My wife making peanuts is what offsets it in my favor

 

Just as an FYI... you can claim up to 7 at any time you want; it has nothing to do with how many kids you have.

My wife and I have claimed 7 for almost two decades because we file a schedule C form and always have enough tax writeoffs to offset the diminished withholding rate. I'd rather have use of my money throughout the year as opposed to the government.

 

Smart. In my opinion, you should not get a refund. If you do, you just let the government use your money for the year with zero interest paid. Work with a good CPA and financial planner to figure out how to put that same money to work for you during the year. Do that, and retire several years earlier than you might otherwise. Or, you can still blow it on toys, but you will have more to blow. If you wouldn't loan someone money at zero interest, why loan it to the government.

 

Now I'm confused, how can you claim up to 7 at any time?

 

except this year it would have been smarter to let the government hold onto it instead of getting that nice -12% return

my days of getting a refund are long gone

 

LOL! That's the one risk you take I guess. Year in and year out, you will be ahead to invest it.

 

Actually it will, my yearly bonus would all be in the next tax bracket which I do not want. I won't mention how much my yearly bonus is but if in the next bracket for my bonus, I'd lose thousands (thousands more than if I didn't get bumped).

EDIT: To explain better, I got a pay increase and bonus increase this past year and prior to my bonus, our combined incomes are close to the threshold whereas my bonus would all be in the next bracket.

 

It's simple; you just write down a "7" in the number of exemptions you want to claim.

The corresponding calculator that's provided on the form to help you come up with a total is just there as a guide. You can claim whatever you want.

 

Yep, mine would be too if it weren't for figuring out how gain write-offs outside of my day job.

 

Tax loopholes are wonderful thing sometimes....I am not there yet, but I do owe the goverment a couple G's. I'll chalk it up as I'm doing okay and God is good right now.

 

I thought being able to write off my daughters childcare expenses this year would help, but nope. Still owe.

 

but you are still making more money

 

I wish I could even write off day care at all We pay family under the table, which is a benefit for both of us I guess but a write off would be nice, BUT, in principle I'm for lower taxes and no refunds/write-offs anyway so I guess I can't complain.

 

You don't get bumped on all of your earnings though. So, if you make enough money to hit the next bracket, you only pay the higher rate on those earnings that fall into the higher bracket. So, to say that hurts you is to say that you would be better off to refuse the money. You are still making more money. You just might be paying 28% percent rather than 25% on the earnings that fall into the higher bracket. But, bottom line is, you still keep 72% of the bonus etc. You are better off.

 

All true. Just realized I was actually looking at the wrong percentage when I was checking the brackets and thought I was paying more.