jfn111
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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.
Poll:2019 Federal Tax refund - more or less? poll
- Thread starter robnplunder
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Big_Hitter
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
just did my parents taxes; theirs went up due to the elimination of the personal exemption
jcretire77
Recycles dryer sheets
2018 Federal taxes - $0
2018 ID taxes - $573
Managed income for 2018 quite well.
2018 ID taxes - $573
Managed income for 2018 quite well.
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
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).
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.
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
Recycles dryer sheets
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.
OP
OP
robnplunder
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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?
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
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
My effectiveness fed tax rate increased by 1.5 % more than last year.
Maenad
Recycles dryer sheets
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
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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.
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
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Our effective rate was the same. We got a 400+ back because did not take the full PTC on a monthly basis.
Dawg52
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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
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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.
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
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
i would hope most if not all of us will continue to contribute to charity despite the potential loss of the deduction....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
easysurfer
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I hope so too. But makes me think charities will take a big hit overall.
Dash man
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Archman
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2017: 0% effective rate.
No refund this year. I owed. Effective tax rate of 4% if I use total income. It's 6.8% if I use taxable income.
In 2018 my DW had to take the RMD for the first time. Also, had capital gains.
No refund this year. I owed. Effective tax rate of 4% if I use total income. It's 6.8% if I use taxable income.
In 2018 my DW had to take the RMD for the first time. Also, had capital gains.
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Big_Hitter
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
we owe big time this year both federal and state
we got a refund last year
we got a refund last year
I'm not retired yet, and though I claimed zero, the additional amount owed (and even a penalty) makes me sick.
My tax situation is pretty simple since the only deductions I have is charitable, property tax, and license fees. That being said, the number owed is so obscene I don't feel comfortable with the number that Turbo Tax provided. I'm going to spend the $500 to have a competent tax advisor look it over.
My tax situation is pretty simple since the only deductions I have is charitable, property tax, and license fees. That being said, the number owed is so obscene I don't feel comfortable with the number that Turbo Tax provided. I'm going to spend the $500 to have a competent tax advisor look it over.
The size of your refund is irrelevant so I will not bother answering the poll. What matters is the amount of tax you owed for the year. We are comfortable, but nowhere close to rich. Our marginal rate was 15% in 2017 and 12% in 2018. We itemized deductions for the past 35 years and lost that this year because the standard deduction was above what our itemized deduction would have been. Like everyone else, we lost the personal exemption. Despite all that, we owed $700 less in Federal income taxes this year than we would have paid under the previous tax law. Using this year's taxable income, our effective rate under the old law would have been 7.3% . Under the new law it was 6.5%.
For us, our itemized deductions + personal exemptions in 2017 were just above the 2018 standard deduction so the reduction in rates more than made up for the slight increase in taxable income. I imagine that the big losers are people for whom itemized deductions + personal exemptions far exceed the 2018 standard deduction.
For us, our itemized deductions + personal exemptions in 2017 were just above the 2018 standard deduction so the reduction in rates more than made up for the slight increase in taxable income. I imagine that the big losers are people for whom itemized deductions + personal exemptions far exceed the 2018 standard deduction.
Latest update from the IRS (per Bloomberg):
All the normal caveats:
-- this is not the median refund, it is the mean refund
-- this is info about refunds, not overall taxes paid
-- We'd expect an uneven distribution of refund amounts, with those expecting a big refund to file early, while those expecting less (or to owe money) to file later.
This number gets updated frequently. At the beginning of the filing season, average refunds were down compared to last year, they have been trending up, but are still pretty close.
All the normal caveats:
-- this is not the median refund, it is the mean refund
-- this is info about refunds, not overall taxes paid
-- We'd expect an uneven distribution of refund amounts, with those expecting a big refund to file early, while those expecting less (or to owe money) to file later.
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Finally got in all the 1099's.There were two tax bombs in there which should not be repeated next year.
2018 will probably be our peak earning year/ worst tax year. We are not sure whether we will make it through this year, or one or both of us will run screaming into the night. I set up my operating fund bucket: I need to set up my emergency fund bucket, so I am moving closer to launching.
I am getting rid of my worst funds (Dreyfus) shortly, and will make sure I harvest some losses this year.
2018 will probably be our peak earning year/ worst tax year. We are not sure whether we will make it through this year, or one or both of us will run screaming into the night. I set up my operating fund bucket: I need to set up my emergency fund bucket, so I am moving closer to launching.
I am getting rid of my worst funds (Dreyfus) shortly, and will make sure I harvest some losses this year.
OP
OP
robnplunder
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Our poll number has been trending to "got less." The poll started out with "got more" in the lead for awhile but now it's the reverse.
For the first time in our w*rking careers, we had to write Uncle Sam a check. The unexpected bonuses were probably the primary cause since they bumped us up a tax bracket. We had a baby in '18, too, AND capital gains and losses. The most complex tax year thus far, and frankly I had no idea how it was going to play out once I was done in TurboTax. Good learning experience.
Refund, no refund, life goes on. Still felt weird to owe $.
Doing my 2019 taxes will be a helluva lot simpler!
Refund, no refund, life goes on. Still felt weird to owe $.
Doing my 2019 taxes will be a helluva lot simpler!
Right. Two observations:
1) Like we've found so often in the past, the folks here aren't representative of the public at large.
2) This poll is going to find the "mode" of those who respond (i.e. the most frequent response--either "got more" or "got less"). The IRS press release discussed the "mean" refund. If the poll here shows most respondents got a lower refund, it's still very possible that the average (mean) of all refunds among respondents is higher than in 2017.
