*quietly stares at TurboTax*

"NKato" (NKato) 01/18/2019 at 07:48 • Filed to: the tax man cometh

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So, I did up my taxes in a preliminary pass tonight after coming home from work. Presently, it looks like I’m going to owe $548 in taxes for 2018. This, after all the shit the Republicans have done to get their new tax plan passed . Am I impressed? No. Should I be?

I fully expect there to be a colossal shitstorm over it come April. Meanwhile, I’m prepping to start doing overtime shifts in February to make up for this. Originally, I was going to use the extra money from my weekend half-day shifts to pay for the work on my car and invest the extra into savings/retirement...

Sigh.

Can someone please fucking grab Trump by the balls and make him sing? Preferably someone that isn’t Russian, thanks.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > NKato 01/18/2019 at 07:55

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I’m really hoping for a return. Last year was the first year we could claim Jonah as a dependent, and the first time we actually got money back from state and fed. But now I make nearly double what I was then... I guess we’ll see

NKato > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 07:57

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It doesn’t help that I am TRYING to save up for a house. And having this tax fuckery by Trump get in the way of that isn’t doing me any favors.

I really want Trump to get punched so hard, he falls out of office.

E90M3 > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:01

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Did they not withhold enough or something? 

Sovande > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:03

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How is it the fault of the Republicans that you underpaid your taxes and therefore owe money? I don’t understand. 

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:09

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I’ve owed the past few years because the wife was working at a Dr.’s office that didn’t take out taxes while working her main job. This year the office job was her only job along with school, so I’m really hoping for a return.

Also, doing your taxes this early (especially with the shutdown) could screw you over because they haven’t added all of the programs or finished all of the updates.  Almost got even more screwed last year because when I first checked, I couldn’t deduct tuition because that bill had expired.  A few weeks later, congress extended the bill and I could deduct again.

facw > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:11

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Did your withholding change? I vaguely remember there being some confusion as they were rushing out the new calculations, it wouldn’t shock me if they weren’t very good.

I haven’t done my taxes yet, but I’m enough of a pessimist that I’m always expecting that I’ll somehow end up owing $5000 or something.

In theory Trump’s cuts should lead to lower taxes for most people (though most of the benefit is towards the very rich). Generally the people who get hurt most are people who previously could claim a big deduction for state and local taxes. And of course as we’ve already seen, these cuts blow up the deficit, so now various Republicans are demanding big cuts to government programs to close that gap, even though they could have just not given huge tax cuts to corporations and the rich.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:13

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im expecting a bill for about 3-4 grand sometime soon

started earning a lot more last year but for some reason the gubment thinks i only earnt 14 grand.... soooo im expecting to have to cough up some tax owed

coz when the gubment screws up you still pay..... and they’re pretty bloody quick about wanting said pay too.... unlike when they have to pay you.. wich takes months (or up to three years if your late handing in your tax returns...)

Sovande > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:14

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I mean you can change your filing status at any time and as often as you want so you can adjust the amount that is withheld, have additional money withheld or pay additional money in taxes and guarantee a return. There are about a billion calculators online that will walk you through how to maximize the return. I prefer when I owe about $25 or get a similar return which means I paid the correct amount of tax and the Fed didn’t get to use my money interest free for the year.

NKato > E90M3 01/18/2019 at 08:23

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I’m thinking due to Trump’s new tax plan passing into law, that things kinda went fuck-a-titty. I was employed at a dog food company for the first half of 2018, and then a medical instrument manufacturer for the second half (which is my current employer). When I put in the W-2 for the doggy company, I had a return of $700+. Then, when I put in my current employer, I ended up owing $548.

So yeah, the withholdings are part of the problem. Doesn’t help that I am trying to pay off my credit card, which is at 0% APR for now. It’s around $400 (which isn’t too bad).

vondon302 > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:24

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I usually pay about a grand but I expect to pat more this year. Also if you owe wait until the last minute to file. No sense giving the mon ey early and their might be some changes especially this year.

And yeah screw Trump

NKato > Sovande 01/18/2019 at 08:25

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I didn’t underpay. These are based on calculations for my 2018 taxes; it’s because my current employer didn’t use the correct calculation to determine the withholdings for the year that I ended up owing money for 2018. Fortunately, the deadline is in April, so I can wait and see if the tax situation becomes clearer.

Which is a little difficult to have faith in since Trumpyboi is playing the part of a 80's Middle School Drama Queen .

Tekamul > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:29

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I have a large tax credit this year for adding solar panels. Without it, I’d owe around $4000.

The IRS did a shit job estimating taxes, so people are going to be all over the place this first year.

What’s really great is that we get to do it all over again in a couple years, because the 21% corporate rate is unsustainable.

I’ve spent roughly 25 hours since Q3 of last year, talking to CPAs about the new changes (mostly about the corporate side) and nobody is looking forward to this mess.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:36

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Sounds like a problem with your W4 or the employer. I had an employer once that put my withholding of 1 in as 7 and owed $1000+ at the end of the year because I didn’t catch the error.

You can blame Trump and the Republicans for lots of things, but I don’t think this is one of them. 

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 08:36

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Solar? That's  neat. How big of a setup if you don't mind me asking?

Sovande > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:39

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So explain to me how your employer making a payroll error is the fault of the Republicans? Or Trump? It sounds like your taxes were underpaid (through the fault of your employer).

I get that Trump is an easy target (and rightfully so) , and by association (and a general lack of a soul) the preponderance of the Republican party is as well, but payroll errors hardly fall under the purview of the President or Congress .

TysMagic > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:40

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I suspect it will be a fun tax season this year for sure. 

E90M3 > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:53

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That’s surprising to me. I changed jobs last year as well, so I’m really hoping I don’t end up owing anything. 

Sovande > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:54

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Withholdings and wages are the entirety of y our problem. Sounds like you over paid $700 at the dog food spot and underpaid by $1248 at the medical place and the net is -$548. (-1284 +700 = -548)

I don’t know what fuck-a-titty means in this context, but the tax plan actually saves you money - almost across the board. For someone earning $59,000 a year (the median income in the US) it lessens your tax burden by about $14 50 .  Obviously that number decreases as the salary decreases, but it still amounts to a savings.

The last stock SC 5speed > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:57

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Taxation is theft.

That said, are you sure what you owe is on “ income tax ” and not the social security part? Or did you increase your income at the same time mistakes were being made on your withholding? Do you live in a high tax fiefdom and lost a significant deduction? That sucks man, if you could have spent that money getting out of debt the economy would be a   548$ Richer, minimum.  

The Dummy Gummy > NKato 01/18/2019 at 08:59

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Better to owe than receive. I’m all for a blaming someone when they deserve it, but blaming the Republicans on your obligation to the IRS is pretty dumb. You / whomever guided you messed up on your withholdings.

Individual taxes have been locked down since last year. Source on this: I’m a CPA and do taxes for people 4 months out of the year and Corporates 2mo’s.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Sovande 01/18/2019 at 09:00

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The pittance of a tax break we got was not worth the effort to implement it. An effort that was sure to go wrong in some cases. Much like this post. So in a way Trump is to blame. Maybe I’m reach a little, but that piece of shit deserves every piece of criticism that we can make stick.

Tekamul > BaconSandwich is tasty. 01/18/2019 at 09:05

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21 panels, 6.6kW peak, but the inverter is only 6kW. There’s a big cost step up above 6 (next inverter is 8kW, and adds active cooling, so it’s less efficient). I clipped a bit in the Spring and Fall, but once you get above ~75 degrees, the panel e fficiency drops enough that they’ll never go above 6.

It’s been really good, I’m just over a year in, and still have a sizable credit. I produced 7.96MWh in 2018.

Tekamul > Sovande 01/18/2019 at 09:10

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You can’t make number claims like that w/o knowing a lot more about someone’s situation. Some key pieces :

State of residency (state taxes are not deductible anymore)

Mortgage interest paid

# of dependents

Charitable givings

Property taxes paid

Those are kind of the big pieces. I’ve already mathed out that my taxes are higher under this year’s laws than they would’ve been under last year’s laws. For most anybody living in a high tax state, it’s a net loss.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 01/18/2019 at 09:11

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I don’t know how my wife’s previous employer calculated withholding but it wasn’t nearly enough. We had a 1 for withholding but ended up owing like $3000 from her job. While I’d rather owe than be owed, the goal is to be close to $0.

facw > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 09:11

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21% corporate rate isn’t necessarily  a problem in and of itself. The issue arises from the fact that we had tons of loopholes that made our old “highest in the world” corporate tax burden actually pretty modest, and most of those remain, so big corporations are unlikely to be paying anywhere near 21% or whatever their listed rate is.

ttyymmnn > NKato 01/18/2019 at 09:11

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You aren’t rich enough, duh.

But Sovande makes a solid point. 

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > The last stock SC 5speed 01/18/2019 at 09:13

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Taxation is theft.

Okay Scrooge, lol. While I despise property tax, overall, taxes are a necessary evil for a well functioning society.

Sovande > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 01/18/2019 at 09:18

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I certainly don’t think the tax cut was a good idea, but I also don’t think blaming the President of the United States because you checked the wrong box on your tax form is an especially adult or educated response to a very localized and personal problem.

The OP’s problems sound very much like a clerical error, not the result of a nationwide tax policy. And I don’t think the OP would agree that the tax break is a pittance. He has written a post where he invites us to give the President’s balls a tug because he owes $548 which is not what most would consider a great sum of money but which is going to somehow preclude him from saving up for a house or paying off a $400 credit card bill

Tekamul > facw 01/18/2019 at 09:19

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It’s a multi-prong issue.

First, the old tiered rate is gone, so small businesses no longer have the modest $75k 0% cushion to kee p their heads above water year-to-year. That was important for a lot of cash basis companies.

Second, government revenues are shrinking. The code change did little to close loopholes, and the gov’t was already running a steep loss. Accelerating that loss is going to turn a lot of heads.

Third, with the C -corp rate now so close the the S-corp rate, some non-LLC S-corps are looking at making the transition to C to reap added benefits from things like cafeteria plans. This adds a lot of headaches down the road, as many of these S-corps are more basic (cleaning companies, farmers, small landlords) and can go into it w/o understanding the implications. Additionally, if the laws do change down the road, the transition back is more difficult.

Big corporations don’t pay that rate because they’re not US companies. They have US headquarters, hold all of their money in US banks, trade their stocks on US exchanges, but register in places like Ireland to pay minimal taxes.  Until there’s a more global approach to corporate regulation, that loophole will never be closed. 

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 09:22

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OP has willingly posted details before, so , I don’t feel bad about replying:

- no state income tax in WA

- he has no dependents

- he rents

He also posted how much he makes on here, which I will not repost, but basically: I don’t think he’s getting a break at his level.

facw > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 09:22

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Good points!

functionoverfashion > NKato 01/18/2019 at 09:24

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Since 2011, we’ve made just about every life change you can make, adding kids, changing jobs, taking a pay cut and getting a massive pay raise due to a job change - oh, and becoming an employer . We haven’t been able to nail down our withholdings in several years. Last year we owed close to $3k. This year we adjusted, thinking we’d be all set since nothing changed ... but then the laws changed. So who knows?

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Sovande 01/18/2019 at 09:25

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These needless tax restructuring that did very VERY little to benefit the average American caused a lot of confusion and errors, I’ve heard countless stories of people with similar problems. Could’ve been avoided. It was all a headline grab with hardly any real benefits for the average person.

But yes, at the end of the day it was an error on the part of that company.

he owes $548 which is not what most would consider a great sum of money

This I have a problem with. It’s quite insulting to a LOT of people. I bet that to well over 50% of adult Americans $548 is a lot of money. It’s downright alarming how many people in this country live in poverty. People that, mind you, didn’t get much of a tax break. There’s also a great many people that have -$548 to their name, or worse, due to debt.

To some people paying of a $400 credit card bill is a big deal.

Sovande > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 09:26

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That’s fair -

T he calculator I used didn’t waiver too much regarding state of residence so I ignored it.

The OP mentioned he was saving to buy a house so I made the assumption that he doesn’t currently own one.

Dependents does matter - but generally only to the good. You aren’t going to be penalized for having a dependent.

I ignored charity (both in my personal life and for the sake of this argument) - but adding $5000 in contributions only lessens the figure by about $100

Property taxes didn’t seem to have a discernible impact.

http://taxplancalculator.com/calc

WRXforScience > NKato 01/18/2019 at 09:26

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If you get a return that means you gave the government a 0% interest loan and they are finally getting around to paying you back. Also, if you don’t get a return, no one can steal it so you don’t have to worry about doing your taxes super early.

The ideal return is $0.

fintail > Sovande 01/18/2019 at 09:28

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And it’ll all trickle down lololawl

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > NKato 01/18/2019 at 09:29

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I’m not gonna pretend to be a fiscal or political wizard, but knowing what you know now, I would definitely have them withhold more on your W4 if you are presumably staying with this employer through 2019. It would be more palatable to pay into what you owe the gubment in increments every two weeks than one big unfortunate bill every February. But whether you owe now or owe later, they’ll get your money one way or another. As to whether what you are taxed is “fair,” that’s another discussion altogether.

adamftw > NKato 01/18/2019 at 09:29

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My tax burden goes up like $ 2500-3000 thanks to the SALT limitation. Pretty upset about it.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > NKato 01/18/2019 at 09:30

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Sooo...yeah. There’s a reason that the IRS keep putting out press releases to do a “paycheck checkup” because A LOT of people are going to owe or at least receive a much smaller refund. I’ve been telling this to everyone i know and they all look at me incredulously.

The tax tables for W4s had withholding too low because they didn’t take into account the loss of the personal exemptions. It’s going to be a rough tax season that’s going to have serious repercussions for years in the future.

And it’s definetly the fault of Congress for passing a stupid, half-assed tax law without proper time for us to get prepared or do analysis of how best to implement it. 

Sovande > The last stock SC 5speed 01/18/2019 at 09:30

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What?  

fintail > The last stock SC 5speed 01/18/2019 at 09:30

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Trickle down pity the rich policy is theft

Sovande > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 01/18/2019 at 09:50

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I have already agreed with you that the tax plan is not good so I don’t feel the need to go through that again.

Sorry you have a problem with my assertion that $548 is not a great sum of money. My intention wasn’t to insult.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > NKato 01/18/2019 at 09:54

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Owing a little > getting a return

MUSASHI66 > Sovande 01/18/2019 at 10:05

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Logic vs Trump bashing ;). I mean, there are plenty reasons to give him shit, but this is really grasping at the straws here. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > NKato 01/18/2019 at 10:08

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You think you are in a spot? The middle class let’s say the $ 100k-$ 50k families that have relied on the mortgage interest to save their ass at tax time will be hosed if they didn’t plan correctly. I think I’m near max withholding so it will probably break even but I’m not that excited to do my taxes this year either. Bush JR was the best he got that child tax credit that put cash in my hands.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > NKato 01/18/2019 at 10:15

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I’m no fan of Trump but why is it anybody’s fault other than your own for not witholding the proper amount on your W4?

Sovande > MUSASHI66 01/18/2019 at 10:16

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I love bashing the guy.  He’s a stain.  He’s terrible for the country.  I’d like nothing more than to see him run out of town.  But I agree with you, I think making him responsible for clerical errors within a private business is a bit of a reach.  

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 10:25

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Sadly, since we have farm deductions we don’t have enough liability to make the solar credit work. We’d love to mitigate our electric bill (and be greener) , but without the tax credit the panel install ends up costing as much, or more over the long term :/ Maybe if prices keep coming down we’ll get a system in a few years if they get cheap enough to match the credit savings.

Tekamul > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/18/2019 at 10:29

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Yeah, w/o the credit you’re looking at 20 + years for a break even point, depending on your use and how clear your area is.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > NKato 01/18/2019 at 10:30

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Oh hey look.  I remember reading this!  https://www.npr.org/2018/08/01/634474267/more-taxpayers-will-owe-the-irs-in-april-due-to-under-withholding-report-says

NKato > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 01/18/2019 at 13:48

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Yup, that's the one. 

The last stock SC 5speed > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 01/18/2019 at 15:23

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.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > The last stock SC 5speed 01/18/2019 at 15:51

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Society would be fine

Uh...no taxes means no state. Have you looked around the world at places where the state is virtually non-existent. Are you willing to move there?

I’m very much in the middle politically, I have some beliefs that are conservative some that are liberal and even some that would be considered libertarian. But the belief that we’d be better off with no taxes just ignores the realities of our world.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 16:35

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That's awesome. I've wondered about doing my own solar instal on my garage roof (shingles are newer, roof is lower down, and I could likely do the majority of it myself) but there are a few trees that cast shade in the early evening. The house roof is more ideal, but also higher up (two storey house), so I likely wouldn't be able to do it myself).  Electricity here is also dirt cheap, so I wouldn't be doing it for economic reasons, so it's a bit of a hard sell. It's still something I would eventually like to do, though.

NKato > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/18/2019 at 17:54

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Because the tax laws changed in the middle of the year, creating a shitshow for accounting departments and tax firms everywhere? Like almost every PR oriented political bill that passes, it’s half assed.

NKato > Tekamul 01/18/2019 at 17:59

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Case in point: Amazon is registered in Luxembourg, but bills itself an American company. This kind of tax fuckery needs to be outlawed.

Tekamul > NKato 01/18/2019 at 18:48

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Read up on Apple's model sometime. The double Irish with a Dutch sandwich. Their best engineering is financial.