https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 17 May 2026 03:12:21 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489895 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:53:52 +0000 lamariniere 1489895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: this will be my first year having to pay since we only lived here 2.5 months the previous year (I barely scraped under the threshold to not pay). No estimate since I'm self-employed, but my accountant told me to estimate half (eek!), and I just gave him my documents yesterday. My DH's salary is tax-exempt, lucky b*st*rd. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489802 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:20:15 +0000 doodlepoodle 1489802@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: same here! Someone on HB has knowledge about EVERYTHING. What did I ever do without this amazing place?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489799 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:18:37 +0000 snowjewelz 1489799@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@babyjmama: Haha no! I loved reading about the working of taxes cause I'm kinda clueless too. And the few long posts before about loans were really interesting too! I swear I learn everything I need in life from HB now :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489788 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:15:34 +0000 doodlepoodle 1489788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LindsayInNY: oh I don't make THAT much money hahahaha...I wish! ;-) I was in the poverty level before, now we are comfortable. Not as comfortable as we will be when DH graduates.....lawd have MERCY I'm ready for that! </p> <p>@snowjewelz: good thinking!!! Ps sorry for the thread jack ;-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489773 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:06:17 +0000 snowjewelz 1489773@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@babyjmama: I actually just emailed our accountant asking her if we should change our withholding or anything else. I didn't know what to expect either this year b/c both our lives changed so much in 2013! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489772 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:06:08 +0000 LindsayInNY 1489772@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@babyjmama: If your pay increased, you may be in a different tax bracket which would mean you have more taxes taken out (not a ton in the grand scheme of things though). Basically, the more you claim (withholdings of 1, 2 3, etc. versus 1 or 0), the more money you get NOW. Versus less taxes out. The idea is that you need more money to care for more dependents. But if you claim 1 or 0, you'll have less money now and more taxes taken out. If DH is a student, you can probably get credits for him as well as LO (unless you earn too much for that). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489751 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:59:07 +0000 doodlepoodle 1489751@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlek: @LindsayInNY: DH is a student so it's just my income...I left a note with our accountant. I guess I'm nervous bc I have NO idea what to expect from this year since my pay increased by about $20k from the previous year. </p> <p>I'm money dumb. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489696 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:39:07 +0000 looch 1489696@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lamariniere: do you get an estimate of what it would be, based on the previous year's filing? We always did, but it was wildly off when we actually had to file and pay. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489690 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:35:42 +0000 lamariniere 1489690@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I owe, but taxes here are not deducted from your pay throughout the year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489680 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:31:17 +0000 snowjewelz 1489680@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@babyjmama: Don't worry, I get so confused about taxes too even though on the surface I do get it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489678 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:29:29 +0000 LindsayInNY 1489678@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@babyjmama: The calculator is a good place to start. But, if you and DH make significantly different amounts or combined you are in a higher tax bracket, you will want to ensure enough is being withheld. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund/page/2#post-1489672 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:26:41 +0000 deactivated_account 1489672@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlek: I always get screwed on taxes.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489666 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:24:03 +0000 littlek 1489666@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@babyjmama: there's a calculator on the IRS website which you can use to determine your withholdings for payroll purposes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489659 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:22:08 +0000 doodlepoodle 1489659@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlek: @LindsayInNY: okay, I may be asking a dumb question so don't laugh (too hard). How do you know what to claim?! I asked our accountant last year but then got a new job (different bracket) and forgot to update so idk what our taxes will look like when we get them back....I'm nervous!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489643 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:16:42 +0000 BSB 1489643@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yup, we got more money than we expected and I'm happy/ thrilled with it. As someone who isn't the best saver, I like looking forward to that refund. (We do have 'forgotten' savings like ING that saves for us.) I don't know the amount I get every year, so I don't spend that refund before I receive it. I know others don't want to give the government an interest free loan, but I don't care. I like that money away from my eyes. We might use if, if I see it. Shoot, I got a bonus for work around the same time that I filed my taxes and most of my bonus went to taxes. I was shocked and bummed. So my tax return sorta made up for the bonus. At least in my head and my savings account where it is sitting. ;) </p> <p>DH's job did change and we had no idea what to expect tax wise so we did withhold a little more so we wouldn't owe. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489637 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:12:45 +0000 littlek 1489637@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LindsayInNY: I'm already at 0 plus additional withholding. DH is I think at 1. We pay soooo much in taxes. We got screwed because I forgot schedule A phases out as part of the expiring of the bush area tax cuts. I did not take that into account. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489629 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:09:57 +0000 gingerbebe 1489629@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: Yeah, we basically just bit the bullet. If it wasn't for getting pregnant and having the reduction in income from maternity leave and what not, I think mine would have been paid off a year from now (we started this crackpot plan last year). Right now, we're putting everything we have towards mine so we can at least get rid of one monthly payment, but we'll probably still be paying on mine until the end of 2015 at least with the baby. DH's loans we're hoping to be done 2-3 years after mine, but that assumes I keep working and we get regular increases in salary. I think the only reason we can stick with it is because we can't afford to do the 10 year repayment on both our loans and the 30 year payment is just insane from an interest standpoint. So for us, it was either buckling down for 5 years or pay a huge monthly payment on DH's loans for 30 years. It just wasn't worth it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489608 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:02:11 +0000 LindsayInNY 1489608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlek: We started having more withheld out of each paycheck and moving both of our withholdings to single-0. That seemed to help counteract the bonuses. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489568 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:50:46 +0000 Mae 1489568@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: that is AMAZING if you can get them all paid off that soon! We talked about trying to really aggressively pay them down but I work in a small firm and my husband is an accountant (although unfortunately not the kind that handles taxes, so we still have to pay someone to do ours lol) so realistically if we lived like paupers it would still take us almost 10 years to pay them all off and we just weren't willing to delay all our other goals and our quality if life for THAT long to get it done. We have paid off everything except the mortgage and student loans though and we'll have 2 of the 4 loans paid off in 10 years (which comes up in 2018-- cannot WAIT) which was sort of the compromise. We still get to have a pretty good quality of life and are saving for emergencies and retirement and we're not paying AS much interest as we could be on our loans if we did all of them over 25 years… but we just sort of accept that loan payments are going to be a part of life for a really long time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489541 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:45:50 +0000 gingerbebe 1489541@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: Yeap, we have 2 sets of law school loans over here and DH went to a private Catholic law school part-time for 4 years in a super expensive city. So....yeah. We basically own a 4-bedroom house in loans. We're basically deferring any kind of savings, house, retirement (beyond what our employers require), and purchases until we pay off the loans. While my coworkers roll into work with new Lexuses with their school of law license plate holders, I'm driving a turquoise beater, meal planning on a strict food budget, and using coupons. WOOP! It'll be worth it in the end - we're setting a goal of paying off everything within 5 years total if we can keep up the pace and not let baby derail everything! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489527 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:41:44 +0000 HLK208 1489527@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, we sold our house last year and had to pay quite a bit for the profit from the house (even though we didn't make much profit at all - not even enough to cover 3.5% of a down payment on our next house that we had to buy). </p> <p>Along with that, our CPA said that our child deductions were $1500 less this year per LO. DH made a little more so we are in the next tax bracket (which, trust me, I would rather be in). We barely got anything back this year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489526 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:41:42 +0000 gingerbebe 1489526@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Alivoo01: I knooooow it sucks so hard. We do the safe-harbor pre-payment quarterly to the feds, plus the state quarterlies, plus all our regular payroll deductions (which of course went up last year and ate my entire raise) but the April payment is always the worst because even if you pre-paid the 110% from the prior year, you almost always still owe more anyway, plus the accountant, plus the April quarterly payment. Last year we cut the largest check I've ever written in my life and it made me so sad. I'm driving a 12 year old beater and was like "WELP, there goes a brand new SUV out the door!" </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489504 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:36:13 +0000 Mae 1489504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. bird: @snowjewelz: @gingerbebe: Ugh. Loans. We have loans in the 6 figures (thank you law school). I figured out a few months ago that if we keep chugging along on them as we have been they'll finally be all paid off about 9 months before our LO starts college. Did I mention-- ugh?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489495 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:33:54 +0000 snowjewelz 1489495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. bird: I know. DH's loans seem to never go away! I have been tempted a few times to just bite the bullet and use our savings to pay them off just so I never have to see them again! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489492 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:33:10 +0000 snowjewelz 1489492@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pen: Yeah! I didn't expect to get this much; I was just venting to DH about how we need to cough up a good chunk of money to replace our roof this year but haven't been diligent in putting aside money, and suddenly tada, I got half of it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489485 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:30:38 +0000 mrs. bird 1489485@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It all went toward mr. Bird's student loans, not that it was a ton, but we really need to get rid if those. I swear, we'll have kids in college before they're gone! Blah! He shoulda gone to a state school! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489484 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:30:35 +0000 littlek 1489484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LindsayInNY: We always owe 5 figures. My husbands bonus always kills us. We also got hit hard by the new taxes that came out of Obama care. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489479 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:28:00 +0000 Alivoo01 1489479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: Same here. I have my own corporate job, and DH runs our business so we always owe money. It sucks! Especially since we pay various quarterly taxes already and those always sting as is, then one last stinger when it comes to federal tax return time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489475 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:26:53 +0000 looch 1489475@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsH: what I get stressed about is deducting too much, then being in the position where you might not get any of that money back, like the IOUs in the state of California. Believe me, I like to keep my money in my bank account, but this past year, we didn't have the right deductions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-your-tax-refund#post-1489470 Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:25:11 +0000 Mrs. Pen 1489470@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well, yes and no. We had a huge refund last year because of LO, medical bills and I was a SAHM so we were only on DH's income. This year, I worked so it went way down - I thought my tuition would balance it out, but it didn't. I was expecting a little more, I like having that large chunk to do debt payoffs. It is so satisfying. We did that last year with our car loan and it felt so good. </p>