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Em_Adespoton t1_j69zkwg wrote

Reply to comment by ChickenCheeks7 in LPT Request: Why is my tax return so low? by ChickenCheeks7

Seems like it.

I generally get my company to do standard witholdings and then I donate to charity and top up my tax free savings, and so end up getting a nice chunk of money back each year. But that’s just money that really shouldn’t have been withheld in the first place.

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ChickenCheeks7 OP t1_j69zs92 wrote

Why would be different if I kept that $0. Would I end up owing money instead of getting more at the end of the year?

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Em_Adespoton t1_j6a09xu wrote

Yup. If you pay nothing up front, it’s up to you to hold back what you think you’ll need to pay at tax time.

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ChickenCheeks7 OP t1_j6a0ihg wrote

Oh okay I see. It’s more like you decide if you want your money during your paychecks and owe nothing at the end, or withhold more to get more of a refund. Is that kinda correct?

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Em_Adespoton t1_j6a1gj0 wrote

Yup. In low interest periods, there’s no difference. In high interest periods, it’s sometimes more profitable to keep the money yourself and collect interest on it.

But either way, you’re going to have to pay it, so don’t spend it.

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ChickenCheeks7 OP t1_j6a29lg wrote

Awesome! Thank you for the lesson it’s good to know all this! One more thing. I usually use turbo tax and I’m most certain I don’t owe the irs anything. But turbo says I owe them $79. Is that turbo tax’s fees and such or is that what I owe the irs?

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acgilmoregirl t1_j6b2h0l wrote

Use freetaxusa. They don’t charge for tax returns. Never pay to file your tax return unless you’re making a goodly amount of money or have a difficult situation.

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Em_Adespoton t1_j6acitx wrote

Best to ask someone who uses Quicken products in the US.

Thing is, it sounds like you’re not making enough money to be having to pay for tax returns; you should just be able to do the web-based free filing.

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UselessRube t1_j6olv52 wrote

It’s always in your best interest to get your money when you’re owed it. The goal is not getting a tax refund and also not owing any taxes.

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NofksgivnabtLIFE t1_j6mkptl wrote

This plus Tax breaks for the pleebs went away recently just not the tops break. Welcome to hell on earth.

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