Emily does her taxes
Last night I finally sat down to e-file. Tyler helped me and I 100% needed him to complete the operation (any type of government form tends to give me panic attacks).
Some snippets to paint you a mental picture.
Tyler: Okay, what was the federal income tax withheld on that W2?
Me: Um.... 6 cents.
Tyler: (beat) What?
ME: 6 cents.
Tyler: oooooh
Me: Not good?
Tyler: Not for your rebate, no.
This year I seriously had 5 or 6 W2's. And after entering every single one, I had a grand total of my combined incomes for '07. A whopping 10 grand.
For one whole year I made $10,000. It was the 9-month Americorps internship that paid $350 a month that did me in. Sure it was a great experience and a good way to make community connections but youch.
I honestly figured there would be some sort of kickback for that... like, "Hey you did a bunch of really hard work for almost no wages and it benefited your community and state.... Here's a hundred bucks for your trouble." Nope.
You get kickbacks for the weirdest stuff.
Example:
Tyler: Okay ... did you drive a hybrid car last year?
Me: (blink) Seriously?
Tyler: What? They ask!
Me: I made 10 grand last year, how the heck could I afford a new hybrid car?
Tyler: So no... okay
Me: Oooh! But I did donate $15 to a wildlife fund that says they're trying to save the polar bears...
Tyler: Great. There's no box for that.
Me: son of a...
The other fun thing about e-filing is you see immediately see how things affect (effect? who the hell can explain the rule on that one) your refund. A little box in the top shows your current refund total and it will literally roll up or down like a slot machine. The more W2's I added, the more it seemed to plummet. Especially when I added the $700 tax-free work I did as a freelance writer. That really, really sucked up my refund. My reaction was of course one of maturity and wisdom...
Me: WHAT IN THE HELL?
Tyler: It's tax free work. You have to pay on that eventually.
Me: (sputtering) Nu uh!
We finally finished and I was naturally a little grumpy.
Me: (pouting) So why do we even get a big hundred-some dollar refund. Why don't they just take the correct amount in the first place and leave us alone?
Tyler: Think of it like this. You helped the country by providing the government with an interest free loan last year.
Me: Are you kidding me? I made 10 grand! They should have given ME a loan.
The good news. 2008 has found me in a steady 40+ a week job with a decent wage so next year I will feel less like an impoverished ragamuffin when I file again.
For those of you lucky enough to get a refund or substantial "economic stimulus" check... do you have any fun plans?
posted by Tobes @ 5:49 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I did my taxes a couepl weeks ago and booooo for that. I got a couple hundred bucks back, but nothing worth being too excited over. What ended up helping me in the end is that I put money into a Roth IRA, and I also got to count some donations I made when I took boxes and boxes of clothes to the Salvation Army.
The downside: I was super excited at first because I had bought my new car in 2007 so I entered in the info about the taxes I paid on it and my refund went through the roof - until I realized, duh! I paid all the taxes and fees on it on January 3rd of 2008. BOOOOO! taxes.
I'm not sure if I am getting one of those rebate checks or not, how do you know if you qualify, or is it everyone who filed their taxes?
Haha, this post was great. In the most common use, if you want to use a noun, go with effect, and if you want to use a verb, go with affect. (Although effect is possible as a verb and affect is possible as a noun, they are rarer.)
P.S. Ben says that if you have a normal job and you filed a tax return, you will probably get a refund check.
Woohoo, I hope so, thanks for the help Christy :)
Mitch and I are both getting $600, so we're trying to decide how we want to use it. I want to do a fun trip, Mitch wants an IPhone or an IPod touch.... but most likely we will use it for the wedding. Boooo.
PS I made 9000 last year. I might as well be volunteering.
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