All Hail the W2

[jon12345]

 :D :D

I finally got mine  ;D  dreams do come true 


Now comes the hard part- direct deposit, or check   8) 


This has been a pretty depressing winter for me, and this definitely made my day.


Any suggestions on how I should spend it?   what is the 1 or 2 things I shouldn't be able to live without (besides a mill or  tract of forest - please no grits either  smiley_sick im allergic  :D )

[Modat22]

I have to pay this year.. So I guess I'll mail that around April 15th at 11:59pm

[SwampDonkey]

My experience is that if they owe me it's a might tiny cheque and if I owe them it's supersized.  I ain't worked it out yet, but I know they owe me some this time. Here it's a T1 form in Canuckistan. Hmmm all we need now is a T2 and a T3 and we'll have a cyborg Prime Minister. Wait! We do have those forms. Dohh!! ;D :D

[Dan_Shade]

i try to work mine out so I owe a little bit.  that way, they aren't keeping what's mine in the first place

actually, I think direct with holding should be illegal.  We'd have a revolution in the streets come tax day if we all realized how much we really paid in.

[breederman]

amen!

[Paschale]

There's that way of thinking...and then there's the forced savings plan way of thinking.   ;D  I take the minimum deductions possible, since when I first started out as a free lance musician just out of college, I always owed a boatload come tax time.  A free lance musician can't deal with that very well!   :  Now, I usually get a couple grand...and this year, it's all going into my emergency fund.  It works for me...and I know you lose some interest on it, but if it's in my checking account, it usually gets spent.  This year:  no toys...just peace of mind in case the unknown happens.  I always keep striving to get that three to six months amount of bills, but it's hard.  We're the worst savers in the developed world--come tax time, I always drop some into my savings account, so it works out OK for me.     

[jon12345]

I get quite a bit back for earned income credit because of my son and it sure helps.  I claim 0 deductions so I don't think I have to worry about owing, if I made enough I would have them keep a little extra so I really wouldn't have to worry about owing.

[thurlow]

. We'd have a revolution in the streets come tax day if we all realized how much we really paid in.

  Income tax is what??  28%?;  if you're self-employed 15.3%;  sales tax locally 9.75%;  and...........don't even get me started on the property taxes;  pulled a permit for a woodworking shop;  someone from the tax assessor's office was out here to scope it out before I got the footing poured.

[old3dogg]

jon12345,

Take the family out for a night on the town. After paying on a few bills thats what Im doing. Will also put a lot back for a rainy day. One never knows when they will need the extra money.

[isassi]

Jon; You should consider that by claiming "0" on your W-4, you are givind the government free use of YOUR money all year long. You notice they don't pay you interest because you are getting a refund? I know lots of people who use the refund check as a savings starter, but I never let anyone use my money without interest. You might note the feds will charge you interest if you owe them.  :D Since this thread will run to taxes, I am all in favor of a consumption tax, period. Pay tax on what you consume. I have read studies that suggest a 35% tax would do away with the income tax at both the state and fed level and property taxes. Of course, the liberals oppose this claiming the poor will pay more then the rich. If everyone recieved 100% of the pay check, they could consume more to a point. Another plan that keeps coming up is the flat tax. I wouldn't gripe if I could pay a flat 20% and not even fill out a tax return at the end of the year. To induce capital outlay by businesses, it would be optional to file for a tax refund based on investment credit. There are a lot of great ideas out there, but no wide support.  :P

[Cedarman]

Flat tax would be fine, but they gotta eliminate all taxes. And I mean all. No sales tax, no liquor tax, no FICA taxes, no property taxes, no inheritance taxes.  They all gotta go.  Because if they don't, flat tax won't solve a thing.

You know, if you make over 80 some thousand, the gov quits collecting SS taxes.  That is an example of how the rich get richer.

I want to owe a little. It is my responcibility to manage my money, not the govs.

[Tom_Averwater]

[You know, if you make over 80 some thousand, the gov quits collecting SS taxes/quote] I guess I'll be paying my S.S. for a good while.

[Patty]

The government collects ss on everybody who gets a paycheck from an employer, even the "rich". They just quit taking out their percentage after you reach $80, 000 that year. Then they start all over the next year, and the next.... :

[SwampDonkey]

Same here for Canada Pension, only the cut off is around $38,000 here. It's peanuts anyway. I'de rather have EU (employment Insurance) payments cut. After all they have a surplus in that account, and that's money owned by employees and employers, it's not some general revenue fund.  >:(

[Dan_Shade]

the real way the rich get tax cuts are with mortgage interest deductions.  if have a $500,000+ house, that's a LOT of interest each year, and it knocks down the income tax payments quite a bit.  and then the house appreciates, and they sell it before they retire, go buy a "cheap" retirement house in arizona or florida, or wherever, and they live happily ever after...

mortage interest is currently deductable up to a $1,000,000 house, I believe.

i see what the difference in tax I pay before I bought a house and now.  it's nice, but i'm not sure if it's "right".

now to clarify my stance, i believe i still pay way too much, i was just getting super raped before I bought a house.

[WeeksvilleWoodWorx]

This year' FICA limit is $94,200.  :( :( :(

[derhntr]

As a war vet I get this year tax free on my earning from over seas, but will pay out the hindend on my other side line jobs that are not taxed at pay day :(

[ohsoloco]

I also use my taxes as a savings plan...otherwise it just gets spent.  After being in my house for over a year and a half I finally decided to just spend the money to get radon mitigation.  It's always been in the back of my mind, but I couldn't scrounge up enough cash to do it without wiping out my backup money.  Decided to put my tax return towards it...and it turns out it should pay for the whole thing 

[pigman]

I am real lucky. 8)  Since I  make more than two thirds of my income from farming, : I do not have to decide what to do with my income tax refund.