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A question for you tax monkies...

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
Well it's tax time. I'm having trouble getting this. I've filed before, and each year I've always got a refund from the government. At times I've had to pay the state a small amount. for 2006 I didn't have much to claim because I worked only 4 months, but I got back almost $900 from the government. So I figured cool :)

This year, I'm trying turbo tax and taxact and both are saying I owe money. Nothing has changed since last year except I worked a whole year. I didn't change the way I file or any deductions. I'm 26 (as of december 24th), on my pay stubs it says status Single/Single (for fed & state) & my allowances Fed 2/0 and same for state. I am single, not married, have no kids.

I know that on my W2 it says I made $23000. I paid $1750 in fed taxes, and $245 in state taxes. The SSI/Medicare and whatever else are just what gets taken out of my checks. Seems pretty standard as far as that goes.

I checked my W2 from last year and in the EIC credits I have nothing, this year I have nothing.

I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong to have it tell me that I "owe" money. It says I don't owe much (like $60) but it seems weird to get refunds the last 8 years and this year I owe. It's like I think I'm doing something wrong but can't find it. I figured someone on here would be able to figure this out or at least point me in the right direction.

Any help is appreciated!
 

Dartman

Old Bastard Mike
Feb 26, 2003
3,911
0
Richmond, VA
Welcome to the next tax bracket.

You didn't say what you made last year so I'm assuming that you made more money so's you pay more taxes. Ideally you should be within $100 either way (pay/refund). You don't want to be giving the gov't an interest free loan.
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,520
7,069
Colorado
You are not withholding enough.

btw, I find it odd you tell the world what your w-2 says. Do you give out your social too?
I find it odd that it's such a hidden number in the country. Sweden publishes annually the entire county's incomes. Transparency (read information) makes the world a better place.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
btw, I find it odd you tell the world what your w-2 says. Do you give out your social too?
:confused:

His income isn't exactly a highly confidential number. The other two numbers are completely meaningless since they're just what he chose to personally withhold...

Why is income such a taboo piece of information?
 

S.n.a.k.e.

Monkey
Mar 12, 2003
524
0
N. Tonawanda, NY
Your Fed withholding is only 7.6%, not enough for making 23k.

Drop your exemptions to 1/0 or 0/0. Either way, as Laura stated, get more taken out.

Or, if your work offers it, invest in a 401K or Roth IRA as the contributions to that lower your gross income.

I was in that trap for years, every year I made more money, but I didnt up my exemptions. Kept owing like 1500-2000 every year. Ended up at 0/0 exemptions and an extra tenner to the Feds and a sawbuck to the states. I should get money back now.
 

Dartman

Old Bastard Mike
Feb 26, 2003
3,911
0
Richmond, VA
I guess I don't understand why y'all are telling him to up his withholdings. I'd much rather pay $60 and have my money in my pocket paycheck to paycheck than give the gov't an interest free loan and get a couple hundred back. It's not a savings account.
 
I guess I don't understand why y'all are telling him to up his withholdings. I'd much rather pay $60 and have my money in my pocket paycheck to paycheck than give the gov't an interest free loan and get a couple hundred back. It's not a savings account.
He wants to know why he owes money. It's not a discussion on the advantages or disadvantages one way or the other.


So BV, how much did you make last year?

It's really no one else's business but your own.
 

Dartman

Old Bastard Mike
Feb 26, 2003
3,911
0
Richmond, VA
He wants to know why he owes money. It's not a discussion on the advantages or disadvantages one way or the other.
Um... I stated a possible reason in my first post to this thread. :think:

Spunger is in the next higher tax bracket...

For 2007, the Federal tax brackets for a single (unmarried) person are:[1]

10%: from $0 to $7,825
15%: from $7,826 to $31,850
25%: from $31,851 to $77,100
28%: from $77,101 to $160,850
33%: from $160,851 to $349,700
35%: $349,701 and above


You came back with needing to increase his withholdings. That doesn't explain why he owes more either.

I still maintain that plus or minus $100 bucks is close enough.
 

Austin Bike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
1,558
0
Duh, Austin
Every year the bonewipes in washington do something to screw with the tax code. You should never expect identical results for any 2 years.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
So BV, how much did you make last year?

It's really no one else's business but your own.
I agree, but he's offering it up freely. Just a personal choice, whether or not you think it's private information. IMO, not much different than a person's weight - some people might not want to state it publicly but others might view it as no big deal.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
Thanks guys for replying to all this. I see I started some sort of rant LOL.

It's my earnings. It's not top secret information to me or anyone else really. I just gave the rounded numbers anyways. If someone at worked asked me I dunno if I'd tell them what I made (as I know there's probably loads of violations with doing that) but to anyone else it's not a secret. It's not "that big of a deal".

I have thought about the IRA. It seems I could donate pretty little to it each year and still be ok. That was something I thought about starting this year for 2007 taxes (I'd have to give like $200 and I'd owe nothing). I know it's more than I owe in taxes but it forces me to save for when I get old. That's probably what I'll end up doing to just get that ball rolling.

I went to paycheckcity.com and they have tools to let you see what different deductions make your pay check. Right now after they rape everything out of my check I end up with $382 per week. If I change the deductions for taxes they take almost $20-30 more per check. I'm think if all I owe total combined for both state and federal is $85 then things are ok and I'm not giving them my money.

Thanks again guys, I guess it makes sense to me now. I just don't pay them enough........but I'm pretty close :)