scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Apr 8, 2019 14:51:25 GMT
Compare your total tax - not just what you owe - to prior years. We paid far less in tax. This ^ exactly. Because of changes in withholdings, deductions, tax rates, etc, just comparing the bottom line doesn't give you a true comparison. It's important to compare year-over-year tax liability as a better comparison rather than straight-up refunds or balance due. Or better yet (because income varies from year to year), compare the % of your tax liability divided by total income, from one year to another. That's where you can really compare apples to apples. Pam Except for some people tax brackets were blended which ended up putting them in a higher tax bracket. My SigO made less money than last year, but he saw this coming so he changed his withholdings to have the government take out an extra $300/mo. He ended up only getting $1K back because he's now in a higher tax bracket. I fared better because I make just above poverty level. My taxable income went up by $8k, but I got the same amount back this year that I did last year. When my paycheck increased by about $80 last year I changed my 403b so that extra $ went into retirement. |
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Post by liya on Apr 8, 2019 14:56:01 GMT
Ugh. Now I don't feel as bad. I still got a small refund. I lost an educational credit. I don't really get much more in my paycheck each time but I'll have to really check to add it up over a year. I still don't think it will make up the difference but I am realizing I should not complain (too much or out loud.)
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gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,093
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Apr 8, 2019 15:04:49 GMT
We are getting a refund for the first time in years. Compare your total tax - not just what you owe - to prior years. We paid far less in tax. TurboTax shows a comparison. I am paying more. Everyone I have talked to so far at work had a similar shock. |
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scrapngranny
Pearl Clutcher
Only slightly senile
Posts: 4,840 
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Post by scrapngranny on Apr 8, 2019 15:05:10 GMT
We had to pay for the first time this year.
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,404
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on Apr 8, 2019 15:07:00 GMT
We paid more $$ but it was a lower percent of income.
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gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,093
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Apr 8, 2019 15:08:28 GMT
Most people don't know this (I didn't) but there are 3 boxes for witholding. The last one is something like "married witholding at a higher rate". You need to do check that. Our accountant neighbor said that if you don't, you are only witholding $24K for BOTH of you. When you check it, you are taking out enough taxes for $24K for each of you. After you do that, you need to check your amounts to make sure that you are holding back enough and you can adjust with additional money taken out.
Thank you. We have always withheld at higher single rate. |
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Post by cadoodlebug on Apr 8, 2019 15:24:08 GMT
Could you explain this? 100% of my DH's income is commission. Income is income.  I feel like your DH Is a realtor? Does he receive a 1099? My DH is a salaried employee who also makes commission. He receives a W2, not a 1099. I can't speak to the validity of this source, but this is a good explanation as I understand it... How Commission is TaxedThat article made it sound like the withholding is larger but not necessarily your taxes. I believe the the highest effective tax rate is 37% which is for people making over $500,000 a year. |
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Post by 950nancy on Apr 8, 2019 15:24:58 GMT
We just received our final piece of information needed to file taxes. They usually get it to us by the end of March and this year we got it April 6th. Calling it a little close. We find out Wednesday what we owe.
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scrappinspidey2
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,511
Location: In the Parlor with the Fly
Mar 18, 2015 19:19:37 GMT
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Post by scrappinspidey2 on Apr 8, 2019 15:26:30 GMT
Im glad to see this thread. I did mine and the amount I owe has me in tears. I withheld the highest single rate cause I didn't have a choice and I still owe way more than anticipated. Does anyone know if they offer payment plans?
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Post by ladytrisha on Apr 8, 2019 15:28:21 GMT
We had ours done and the thing that saved us is that my hubby still isn't working. So although we're in the hole every month, we ended up getting our usual refund. Our son had already stopped being a dependent and the only other deduction (besides our mortgage) was my hubby's work tools but that all stopped when his knee and career blew up.
So we collectively breathed out and relaxed after she got them done.
She did warn us that when hubby (if?) he goes back to work, then we need to restructure our withholdings in order to not pay.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 2, 2024 7:22:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 15:31:34 GMT
I’m not sure hoe the stars aligned for us but we usually owe a few thousand and this year got about the same amount back. I prefer to break even or owe a bit. I don’t like giving the government an interest free loan every year. Exactly this for us as well. |
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,791
Location: Kentucky
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Post by Kerri W on Apr 8, 2019 15:32:22 GMT
I feel like your DH Is a realtor? Does he receive a 1099? My DH is a salaried employee who also makes commission. He receives a W2, not a 1099. I can't speak to the validity of this source, but this is a good explanation as I understand it... How Commission is TaxedThat article made it sound like the withholding is larger but not necessarily your taxes. I believe the the highest effective tax rate is 37% which is for people making over $500,000 a year. So sorry. The withholding is higher. Which was my point...more is taken out of his check monthly resulting in a large refund. Even making adjustments per our accountants recommendations, we usually ended up with a huge refund. "However, if you are like most sales reps and your commission is paid monthly/quarterly/annually then you will pay taxes at a supplement rate. IRS guidelines require employers to withhold tax at a 25% rate on top of withholdings for social security and medicare taxes." |
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freebird
Drama Llama
'cause I'm free as a bird now
Posts: 6,927
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Post by freebird on Apr 8, 2019 15:33:27 GMT
Im glad to see this thread. I did mine and the amount I owe has me in tears. I withheld the highest single rate cause I didn't have a choice and I still owe way more than anticipated. Does anyone know if they offer payment plans?
They do. you fill out a form and submit it. I've had to do it before (we have to pay a LOT every year but expecting ours to go down this year). Stretch your payments out as long as you can and then pay extra. That way if you have a month you're short you're not struggling.
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
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Post by sassyangel on Apr 8, 2019 15:39:37 GMT
We are getting a refund for the first time in years. Compare your total tax - not just what you owe - to prior years. We paid far less in tax. While that may be a way to evaluate the bottom line, for most people the bottom line for them is their refunds - or lack of. When they’re suddenly paying in, after years of getting refunds, that’s their bottom line in evaluating how much this tax hurts them. Because most people aren’t fortunate enough to have money sitting around to pay these back taxes they now suddenly owe, like people who are accustomed to paying in each year might do. We paid more. Without even looking at our last years tax returns to confirm, I know that for sure. |
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,970
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Post by peppermintpatty on Apr 8, 2019 15:49:46 GMT
We did as well. It wasn't only bc of the crap tax code but also because our investment corporation made quite a bit in investments. Even without that, we still owed over $2K. With it, it's almost double that.
My parents always get thousands back. This year they owed $8K. They are retired!!!
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Post by kikitwo on Apr 8, 2019 15:56:33 GMT
We got about the same from federal. We got less from our state than last year due to last minute changes right before the deadline. Thanks, Virginia!
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Post by christine58 on Apr 8, 2019 15:57:07 GMT
Im glad to see this thread. I did mine and the amount I owe has me in tears. I withheld the highest single rate cause I didn't have a choice and I still owe way more than anticipated. Does anyone know if they offer payment plans? They do....but you pay a shit ton of interest |
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anniebeth24
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,756
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Post by anniebeth24 on Apr 8, 2019 15:59:51 GMT
The biggest difference in ours was the reduction in allowable itemized deductions for income and property taxes paid.
Last year, we were able to deduct $18k but this year it's capped at $10k.
Huge difference in the bottom line.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 2, 2024 7:22:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 16:09:53 GMT
We are getting a refund for the first time in years. Compare your total tax - not just what you owe - to prior years. We paid far less in tax. TurboTax shows a comparison. I am paying more. Everyone I have talked to so far at work had a similar shock. I only have one client that was surprised. Most of them are getting refunds. The one that was surprised never pays enough in with his estimates and shouldn't have been surprised but whatever. He owes 17k. Refunds are smaller across the board. But I am not seeing the sticker shock from my clients that has been expressed here. YMMV. |
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Post by bigbundt on Apr 8, 2019 16:17:57 GMT
We were lucky. We got more in our paychecks, paid less in taxes overall, and received about the same refund we did last year. We've itemized in the past but the new higher standard deduction was the better choice this time around. We are W2s and live in a low cost of living area so I figured that is why we weren't adversely affected by the new lowered deductions, specifically mortgage interest and local taxes. #notanaccountant
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Post by tentoes on Apr 8, 2019 16:26:39 GMT
I am getting a much bigger refund than usual, and we adjusted our withholdings to take less out.
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freebird
Drama Llama
'cause I'm free as a bird now
Posts: 6,927
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Post by freebird on Apr 8, 2019 16:27:29 GMT
Im glad to see this thread. I did mine and the amount I owe has me in tears. I withheld the highest single rate cause I didn't have a choice and I still owe way more than anticipated. Does anyone know if they offer payment plans? They do....but you pay a shit ton of interest Honestly, I didn't find the interest to be too terrible. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 2, 2024 7:22:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 16:40:57 GMT
They do....but you pay a shit ton of interest Honestly, I didn't find the interest to be too terrible. yeah - it's 6%. Cheaper than putting it on a credit card in most cases. |
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Post by sabrinae on Apr 8, 2019 17:05:49 GMT
Im glad to see this thread. I did mine and the amount I owe has me in tears. I withheld the highest single rate cause I didn't have a choice and I still owe way more than anticipated. Does anyone know if they offer payment plans? They do offer payment plans. But, the interest rate is horrible. Pay as much as you can up front. I’d also suggest looking at your withholding and have extra withheld each pay period on top of what coming out now. I have an extra 50 a check come out. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 2, 2024 7:22:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 17:08:35 GMT
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Apr 8, 2019 17:08:51 GMT
The biggest difference in ours was the reduction in allowable itemized deductions for income and property taxes paid. Last year, we were able to deduct $18k but this year it's capped at $10k. Huge difference in the bottom line. Yes, and add in that you can no longer deduct state taxes if you happen to come from one of those states. The $10K cap is a big reason why my partner and I won't marry. Talk about a marriage penalty. |
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Apr 8, 2019 17:18:35 GMT
We are getting a refund for the first time in years. Compare your total tax - not just what you owe - to prior years. We paid far less in tax. Found the rich one |
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Post by workingclassdog on Apr 8, 2019 17:20:16 GMT
Nothing changed on our taxes.. almost the same as last year and getting about the same amount back.. (well IRS is keeping it because I massively screwed up our taxes a few years ago and still paying on it) BUT at least it is a good chunk paid off.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 2, 2024 7:22:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 17:27:32 GMT
We are getting a refund for the first time in years. Compare your total tax - not just what you owe - to prior years. We paid far less in tax. Found the rich one Excuse me? |
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Apr 8, 2019 17:30:15 GMT
It's a joke. 83% of the tax cuts went to the top 1%. It's tongue-in-cheek. |
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