Tax day today...it pays to lose money!

[stevej37]

H&R Block appointment this am. Only took 20 minutes and it was all done.
Nothing has changed from last year in my finances, so I was expecting the same outcome.

My refund turned out to be double of what it was last year...happy with that.

I asked the lady."Why?" She answered "Your capital gains were much lower than the year before"

If I buy any shares of new stock...I'll look for losers now.

[masraum]

LOL! Yep, I hear that's the smart way to go about it!

[stevej37]

I'm thinking about becoming a financial advisor. I could help a lot of people out.

[pwd72s]

Buy high-sell low. Works every time. Problem is, this makes it difficult for you to "pay your fair share".

[911 Rod]

Lose a bit with each investment, but make it up with volume!

[stevej37]

But winning with the cap gains tax makes it worth while.

I saved mucho bucks by losing on my investments this last year.

[stevej37]

If it happens like last year... I will see the refund in my account in the next two days.
I already received an email saying that the return was accepted by the IRS.

Amazing how fast it can happen.

[MBAtarga]

I submitted our Federal and GA State returns via TurboTax last night. We owe a small amount to Uncle Sam (just less than $1k) and get back about $1500 from GA - so in the black in terms of taxes due. I've got spreadsheets that I used to model/update our tax obligation throughout the year - so I'm able to fairly accurately determine taxes so there aren't any surprises.

[stevej37]

The speed of the IRS for refunds is incredible now...I expect it before the weekend.
In past years I remember about a month for the refund to happen.

[rwest]

Originally Posted by stevej37

The speed of the IRS for refunds is incredible now...I expect it before the weekend.
In past years I remember about a month for the refund to happen.

Got your eye on a shiny new can of Staks, I bet.

[stevej37]

^^^ Lots of them...and a whole bunch of Chipotle Ranch Grilled Chicken Burritos.
Stax are the best...esp the Mesquite flavored ones.

[stevej37]

The H&R fee for filing was $335...a little high....but worth it.

[rfuerst911sc]

My wife and I have a meeting with our tax dude this morning. Hopefully it will be uneventful 😁

[hbueno]

Getting a refund is nice but it just means you overpaid during the year. It's kind of a game for me in that I try to fine tune everything to try to get as close to zero paid or refunded at tax time. I haven't managed zero, but have gotten very close!

[stevej37]

^^^
I would rather have some refund than a bill to pay....but I admit, my fed refund has been larger than it should be the last few years.

When she had finished mine yesterday...I asked her to look at my withholdings and see if one of them were out of line. She said the fed withholding on my pension plan is almost double of what I need it to be.

So, I'm going go online or call them to get that lowered.

[GH85Carrera]

I always try to be as close as possible, and if needed kick in a grand or two, but low enough that no penalties are owed. I can put my money to better use earning something more than the nothing the IRS pays.

Now that interest rates are going back up I am much happier. For all the years the interest rates were insane high, I was broke. When I finally accumulated some money interest rates were almost negative.

[Sooner or later]

I can't wait. I may still owe tens of thousands. I am afraid to figure it out.

[tadd]

What I dont like is withholding at zero and single and still owing enough to encour a penality.

Picking the most extreme option should leave you with some money back.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by tadd

What I dont like is withholding at zero and single and still owing enough to encour a penality.

Picking the most extreme option should leave you with some money back.

It's been many years, but I think when I chose my fed withholding on my hire in, I was
given the option of full withholding plus a chosen set amount.
I chose single at that time, but it was 45 years back and I was married at that time.

[GH85Carrera]

The tax laws are just so convoluted and complex that truly, not one person on the planet understands them. Congress changes the laws constantly, adds in loopholes to help their lobbyist that contribute the most to their election campaign, and does nothing positive for anyone else.

They need to scrap the entire thing, and start over from scratch. No deductions for anything, there is no logical reason that a married and single person should pay different rates for the same income.