Poll:2019 Federal Tax refund - more or less? poll

[robnplunder]

Did you get bigger federal tax refund this year (2019)? Yes, no, or same?

 

[Just_Steve]

Yes................but........only because I had a large medical write off.

 

[Dtail]

Same as last year, no refund no taxes.

 

[DrRoy]

The change in the standard deduction produced a notable refund vs. last year. Already been to Vegas, tho.

 

[grasshopper]

2017 effective tax rate 0%, 2018 effective tax rate .94%. Called it even.

 

[Tadpole]

effective rate went from 10.6% to 8.5%.

 

[scrabbler1]

After I retired 10 years ago, I have zero tax withholding, so I never get a refund. What I owe in April is simply what I chose not to pay in estimated taxes 3 months earlier.


But even in my working days, I very rarely got a refund. My withholding covered my taxable wage income, but the taxes on the smaller investment income I paid in April (or in 4th quarter estimated taxes if it were a large tax bill).

 

[db79]

Effective rate was reduced despite an increase in AGI

 

[Lakedog]

Never get a refund since I adjust withholding (pension) throughout the year based on my estimated tax spreadsheet. Never understood why anyone would want to overpay taxes in order to get a refund but seems to be in the news a lot of late. My fed taxes decreased by about $1,000 even with a slight increase in income compared to last year.

 

[jebmke]

I never get a refund more than ~25 -- I always pay estimated and an additional amount when I extend in April.

 

[Choices]

Seldom any refund, one year between the state and feds owed one $36 and got a $36 refund. Best year ever for our figgerin’.
We try not to lend money to the state, federal government, friends or relatives.

 

[jimbee]

^^^^^I didn't get a federal tax refund this year. Owed about $132. Just about matched my state refund, so figgerin' was good, almost as good as Choices.

 

[Dtail]

Never get a refund since I adjust withholding (pension) throughout the year based on my estimated tax spreadsheet. Never understood why anyone would want to overpay taxes in order to get a refund but seems to be in the news a lot of late. My fed taxes decreased by about $1,000 even with a slight increase in income compared to last year.

You know it is a forced savings for many folks, of who most on not on this site.

 

[Dawg52]

Haven't even looked at it. I know I will owe and I like to wait until I feel corrections to 1099's etc have been made.

 

[mrfeh]

Size of refund really isn't relevant. Effective tax rate is better but even that isn't the best way to gauge things.

For a true apples-to-apples comparison, you'd need to compute your 2018 taxes using the current rules and the previous rules.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We pay 100% of our estimated tax out of our RMD in December. We fine tune our tax estimates prior to setting up the tax payment, so that in a perfect world, we would not owe anything nor receive a refund. But if you are asking if we are better off under the new tax code vs the old tax code, we benefited from the new tax code. Our federal taxes are 16% less than they would have been under the old system, largely because we are in a lower tax bracket than we used to be. This year, because of 2 RMD's we will be bumped up to the 24% bracket so the situation will be different, but still a savings over the oldsystem.

 

[Tadpole]

For a true apples-to-apples comparison, you'd need to compute your 2018 taxes using the current rules and the previous rules.

I assumed everyone reporting their effective rate change was using the same 2018 data.

 

[RE2Boys]

Asking if my refund is more or less than in the past is like asking if your planning was as bad as last year or worse.

My ideal planning is to owe as much as I can get away with without incurring any penalties. ANY refund means I screwed up badly.

Of course, didn't vote.

 

[grasshopper]

Size of refund really isn't relevant. Effective tax rate is better but even that isn't the best way to gauge things.

For a true apples-to-apples comparison, you'd need to compute your 2018 taxes using the current rules and the previous rules.

Sounds a lot like w**k.

 

[mrfeh]

Sounds a lot like w**k.

Yup, and it's not something I'm willing to do. Just pointing out not to draw conclusions from flawed metrics.

 

[Ian S]

My tax situation is totally different in 2018 vs 2017 so I can't compare. Also haven't done my taxes yet so there's that.

 

[jimandthom]

Went up a tad, nothing that really made any difference.

Our normal deductions/exemptions in previous years were generally a bit higher than the new standard deduction. Last year we lumped a couple of extra years of scholarship donations to take advantage of higher medical costs that same year.

 

[Independent]

My tax refund has zero impact on how much I spend. The taxes I pay matter, but the refund is just a measure of how much I mis-estimated my tax bill during the year.

 

[PatrickA5]

My overall tax liability decreased due to the tax law change - which has little to do with the change in my tax refund which actually decreased due to a number of factors.

 

[PatrickA5]

Never get a refund since I adjust withholding (pension) throughout the year based on my estimated tax spreadsheet. Never understood why anyone would want to overpay taxes in order to get a refund but seems to be in the news a lot of late. My fed taxes decreased by about $1,000 even with a slight increase in income compared to last year.

The vast majority of people out there are actually better off getting a refund rather than owing taxes. It's a forced savings - savings that they wouldn't do otherwise. These people don't invest in the stock market. They don't even make the 2% they could get in a MM fund. They spend what shows up in their paychecks. Even if they didn't let the government have a "interest free loan" the amount of money they'd save by investing their $2,000 refund is a couple of bucks a month. Big deal. If they end up owing taxes at tax time, they don't have the money to pay it. I'm a strong believer that getting a tax refund is much better for most people - but probably not people on this board.