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

[target2019]

I'm at a rural firm, and I suspect the average taxpayers are wealthier than those going to AARP. May be wrong about that.
But the lack of understanding of tax implications for decisions is there.

[rk911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nature Lover RK, I just looked it up and you're correct (and thanks for correcting me). Although it appears there are more than a few definitions online, the one that looks most consistent is comparing the total tax to taxable income (not AGI, as I had thought). NL PS. That being said, I guess my comment about my taxes would have been better if I had ignored the effective tax rate calculations and simply said: Surprise! I thought I'd be paying more than 2017, but in fact it looks like it'll be a few dollars less.

i see but i wasn’t correcting you and apologies if that’s the way it came across.

[gerntz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philliefan33 It may not be a much larger paycheck. Someone seeing a $1000 decrease in their tax refund, with a paycheck every two weeks, might see an additional $38 in each paycheck. But if their healthcare premium increased for 2018 that $38 bump would be reduced or wiped out. So let’s be conservative and say the taxpayer saw an extra $25 in each paycheck. That $25 every two weeks is easily frittered away. Not necessarily a significant lifestyle adjustment. Now it’s tax refund time, but the refund is $1000 lower than last year. That puts an unfortunate pinch on the people who use the income tax refund to pay real estate taxes / go on vacation / some other big purchase. You need to remember that posters on this board are generally more knowledgeable about tax matters, more disciplined in money matters, and (had) higher income than most people in the U.S.

Sorry, you don't get to tell me what I have to do.

The preparer wasn't talking about one specific client - as you make up, but in general terms across many clients. Now if you wish to claim your made up example applies across most taxpayers, show me the data. Otherwise, I'll stick to my belief. Thank you.

[Nature Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rk911 i see but i wasn’t correcting you and apologies if that’s the way it came across.

No worries. I was just acknowledging that not everyone calculates it the same way. I took no offense and learned something new!

[LastOfTheBoomers]

Sharing with the group - using 2017 L63/L22 vs 2018 L15/L6

2017 2.21%
2018 3.69%

[jfn111]

Just left the accountants office. The 20% deduction for being Self Employed (real estate) really helped. I ended with a $13,000 refund between State and Federal.

[Big_Hitter]

just did my parents taxes; theirs went up due to the elimination of the personal exemption

[jcretire77]

2018 Federal taxes - $0
2018 ID taxes - $573

Managed income for 2018 quite well.

[ziggy29]

We had a larger refund and a lower tax burden than 2017 only because we bought a plug-in hybrid in 2018 (producing a $4500 tax credit). Absent that, our taxes would have went *up* in 2018, because the new tax laws made employer-reimbursed moving expenses taxable income (made even worse by the fact that DW has to pay self-employment taxes).

[imoldernu]

Same as last year. $0.

And, even though we've filed tax returns every year to both Federal and State... we have not had to pay any taxes since the very early 1990's, right after we retired..

Yeah... I guess because we're basically poor, but it's the way our income was structured. This year, will be the first year we won't file, because we don't need to.... (age and income).

That will all end this coming year, as we'll finally be getting into those accounts with deferred interest. I'll take the 29 year State and Federal tax free run.

I think it's why they call us the "Lucky Few" Generation.

[Ed B]

It worked out well for us. I retired June 1st so our tax situation is unlike any before this year but I estimated based on 2017 tax laws and we ended up with a $2000 dollar refund. It was almost to the penny because of the change to the child tax credit that allows the full $2000 tax credit for incomes up to $200k for married filing jointly.

[robnplunder]

Got Less votes surged ahead, 69 to 65. More Ramen eaters, here we come.



For those who don't pay taxes and/or who pay taxes in advance, did you pay more or less this year?

[Al in Ohio]

My effectiveness fed tax rate increased by 1.5 % more than last year.

[Maenad]

I think our overall rate went down, but as I mentioned in another thread, our net between fed and state this year was $53 owed. I don't think we've ever been that close before!

[GalaxyBoy]

We owe a huge amount this year, but since it's my first full year of ER I'm not sure I'm a valid data point in this poll. I grossly under-withheld and had to scramble at the end of last year to have extra taken out of DW's pension check so we withheld at least what we owed in taxes the previous year. With an inherited IRA RMD, an inherited annuity which I'm withdrawing over five years, some unexpected income, and a botched calculation of how much of a mutual fund I could sell for "free" at the end of the year, I owe more than I expected. I actually had more taxable income last year than in the last year of employment, although the IRA and annuity aren't really income in my view.

Also, a pet peeve of the day. Many stories on TV and on the internet, written by people who should know better, keep calling the refund a "return." Lowers their credibility, IMO.

[N02L84ER]

Our effective rate was the same. We got a 400+ back because did not take the full PTC on a monthly basis.

[Dawg52]

Finally got around to running my numbers through TurboTax. As expected, I owe money to Fed and State. More than last year too. Will bump up my estimated payments a little in 2019. Will probably owe a balance next year too as I have better overall cd rates. But that's ok.....I would rather owe than let the IRS hold my money for a tax refund.

[easysurfer]

Finished my taxes yesterday. I voted about the same. The main variable was the premium tax credit from the ACA. In total, I got more back but also paid more during the year (I don't estimate during the year, but just let the numbers reconcile at tax time) so pretty much a wash.

Overall, my taxes were uneventful (which is a good thing). With new laws, I did fall into the taking the standard deduction group. Which for 2019 give no financial incentive to give anything to charity . Oh well.

[rk911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easysurfer ...Overall, my taxes were uneventful (which is a good thing). With new laws, I did fall into the taking the standard deduction group. Which for 2019 give no financial incentive to give anything to charity . Oh well.

i would hope most if not all of us will continue to contribute to charity despite the potential loss of the deduction.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rk911 i would hope most if not all of us will continue to contribute to charity despite the potential loss of the deduction.

I hope so too. But makes me think charities will take a big hit overall.