Minor things that please you

[vdeane]

Curious how many people actually bothered to click the link I put in the NY thread yesterday (I know Rothman did at least).  I thought about the date and the fact that it was YouTube and it amused me that the fact that it was legit and not a Rickroll was practically itself a prank.

[hotdogPi]

Curious how many people actually bothered to click the link I put in the NY thread yesterday (I know Rothman did at least).  I thought about the date and the fact that it was YouTube and it amused me that the fact that it was legit and not a Rickroll was practically itself a prank.

I clicked the link and saw a real video, but I wasn't entirely sure if it was happening or a prank on their end.

[vdeane]

Someone (probably the guy with the lanyard) brought in a plush of Artemis the cat to NASA mission control for the Artemis II mission.

[mgk920]

Those people are always fun to follow when they are working (just like with their wake-up calls).   Remember the Christmas Tree in the mission control room for the Apollo 8 mission?

Mike

[Molandfreak]

The theme of Super Password.

[JayhawkCO]

For the first time in 23 years, I'm actually getting a tax refund. Finally got the extra withholding dialed in.

[kphoger]

For the first time in 23 years, I'm actually getting a tax refund. Finally got the extra withholding dialed in.

Our son should be filling out his first W4 today.  We were just talking about withholding, wondering how a person can know how much is the right amount.

[JayhawkCO]

For the first time in 23 years, I'm actually getting a tax refund. Finally got the extra withholding dialed in.

Our son should be filling out his first W4 today.  We were just talking about withholding, wondering how a person can know how much is the right amount.

Most of my issues have been down to my side hustle bartending gig where I make too much in tips for my hourly to account for the taxes. I tried to do extra withholding from my day job, but never calibrated it quite right.

[wxfree]

For the first time in 23 years, I'm actually getting a tax refund. Finally got the extra withholding dialed in.

Our son should be filling out his first W4 today.  We were just talking about withholding, wondering how a person can know how much is the right amount.

Financially, getting a refund is bad.  It means you gave the government an interest-free loan over the past year.  Most of my lifetime, it hasn't really made a difference, but during high inflation, the dollars you get back the next year buy less than the dollars you paid in could have bought the year before.  What's best for you is to pay nothing over the year and then all taxes due next year.  In most cases, that isn't allowed.  Paying the minimum that meets the requirements is the best option.

Of course, that's only a financial perspective.  If you don't have the habit of responsible behavior and tend to spend money just because it's there, then this is a terrible idea.  You'll end up owing a bunch of taxes and not having the money to pay it.  I'd suggest paying as little as possible and saving over the year to cover what will be due.  Estimate high so any surprise will be in your favor.  You can earn a little interest that way, but more valuable is learning how to let money sit in the bank and grow, which is a skill many people never learn.  If that turns out badly, it might be best to adjust the withholding the next year.

[JayhawkCO]

Financially, getting a refund is bad.  It means you gave the government an interest-free loan over the past year.  Most of my lifetime, it hasn't really made a difference, but during high inflation, the dollars you get back the next year buy less than the dollars you paid in could have bought the year before.  What's best for you is to pay nothing over the year and then all taxes due next year.  In most cases, that isn't allowed.  Paying the minimum that meets the requirements is the best option.

Sure, but going from a couple years ago owing a surprising $9k in taxes vs. getting about a grand back, it's better than a kick in the teeth.

[gonealookin]

For the first time in 23 years, I'm actually getting a tax refund. Finally got the extra withholding dialed in.

Our son should be filling out his first W4 today.  We were just talking about withholding, wondering how a person can know how much is the right amount.

My taxes are pretty simple and similar from year to year, it's just a matter of filling in that year's exact numbers when I file.  But I'm filling the same lines every time.

So I do a pro-forma at the start of the year based on the numbers I expect, which tells me what my total tax liability will be.  Divide by 24 or 26 depending on how often you get paid, and that's how much should be withheld per paycheck.

If you have an unexpected surge in income, or an unexpected deficit, you'll be off, sure, but if things go as planned you can get it pretty close.  I owed $123 this year which is about where I usually am on either amount owed or refund coming.

I used to make wxfree's argument with my co-workers and gave that up decades ago.  The typical response was, "I understand the idea, but I wouldn't really notice an extra $40 per paycheck and would just spend it, but if I get $1000 all at once the following year, that's a big deal to me."  And as wxfree adds, too many people can never learn how to set aside that $40 per paycheck in a savings account, which is why they have to keep working pretty much until they drop dead, or settle for a bare-bones retirement funded entirely by Social Security.

[Rothman]

For the first time in 23 years, I'm actually getting a tax refund. Finally got the extra withholding dialed in.

Our son should be filling out his first W4 today.  We were just talking about withholding, wondering how a person can know how much is the right amount.

The "new" W-4 is outright diabolical.  Referring you to the withholding calculator is the worst, since that forces you to make all sorts of assumptions.

The previous form was much easier to manipulate into getting the exact amount one desired.

[Rothman]

For the first time in 23 years, I'm actually getting a tax refund. Finally got the extra withholding dialed in.

For the first time in my lifetime, I had to file an amended return to fix a mistake I made...

[kphoger]

The "new" W-4 is outright diabolical.

I agree.  But...

The previous form was much easier to manipulate

... I'm sure that's why they changed it.

[Scott5114]

Financially, getting a refund is bad.  It means you gave the government an interest-free loan over the past year.

I went ahead and did my taxes a month ago and found out I owe this year. I'm waiting until the 14th to actually file and pay it because I want to make them wait as long as possible to get the money...

[wxfree]

Financially, getting a refund is bad.  It means you gave the government an interest-free loan over the past year.

I went ahead and did my taxes a month ago and found out I owe this year. I'm waiting until the 14th to actually file and pay it because I want to make them wait as long as possible to get the money...

You got an interest-free loan and want to ride it as far as you can.  If you get daily compounding interest, it'll be worth a little bit.

[Scott5114]

Financially, getting a refund is bad.  It means you gave the government an interest-free loan over the past year.

I went ahead and did my taxes a month ago and found out I owe this year. I'm waiting until the 14th to actually file and pay it because I want to make them wait as long as possible to get the money...

You got an interest-free loan and want to ride it as far as you can.  If you get daily compounding interest, it'll be worth a little bit.

Not only that, I think it's really much safer for the world if I have this eight hundred bucks than if they do.

[GaryV]

I had to file an amended return to fix a mistake I made...

I had to file an amended form because of a mistake the finance company made. ONE DAY after I e-filed, I got a new 1099 in the mail. Sigh.

As for the W4, if it's the only job and only income, stating the correct number of dependents will get it pretty close to what it's supposed to be. It's when you do other things like getting dividends or transferring money from an IRA to a Roth that you have to calculate the approximate taxes and make estimate payments. Then adjust for the next year if you estimated too high (or low) the previous year.

[Rothman]

I had to file an amended return to fix a mistake I made...

I had to file an amended form because of a mistake the finance company made. ONE DAY after I e-filed, I got a new 1099 in the mail. Sigh.

As for the W4, if it's the only job and only income, stating the correct number of dependents will get it pretty close to what it's supposed to be. It's when you do other things like getting dividends or transferring money from an IRA to a Roth that you have to calculate the approximate taxes and make estimate payments. Then adjust for the next year if you estimated too high (or low) the previous year.

I've never been able to get the witholding as close as I did with the old W-4.  It's miserable.

[gonealookin]

Financially, getting a refund is bad.  It means you gave the government an interest-free loan over the past year.

I went ahead and did my taxes a month ago and found out I owe this year. I'm waiting until the 14th to actually file and pay it because I want to make them wait as long as possible to get the money...

You got an interest-free loan and want to ride it as far as you can.  If you get daily compounding interest, it'll be worth a little bit.

Not only that, I think it's really much safer for the world if I have this eight hundred bucks than if they do.

It's unfortunate that US Treasury securities are considered the safest investment you can make...so I hold my nose a bit when I buy those.  I do charge them a fair rate of interest, though.

[kphoger]

I think it's really much safer for the world if I have this eight hundred bucks than if they do.

I'm confident the government will spend your money even if they don't have it.

[mgk920]

That level of paperwork will eventually bring down the entire 16th Amendment.  Already it claims from the private economy fully half of what the entire federal income tax brings in to the government in revenue.

Mike

[Scott5114]

That level of paperwork will eventually bring down the entire 16th Amendment.  Already it claims from the private economy fully half of what the entire federal income tax brings in to the government in revenue.

Mike

Every other country with an income tax just sends you mail containing either a bill or a refund check. After all, they already know how much money you made and how much was withheld. The only reason you have to do anything resembling a US tax return is if you dispute the number they came up with, which is really only likely if you're self-employed.

The US paperwork only exists because any time anyone tries to make changes to the system, the owners of TurboTax go door to door in Washington DC pissing everyone else's pants. You could easily have the 16th Amendment without the paperwork if someone would just shoot the CEO of TurboTax into space.

[kphoger]

the owners of TurboTax go door to door in Washington DC pissing everyone else's pants.

Socialists...

[freebrickproductions]

Recently I picked-up an electronic railroad crossing bell that didn't work. I'd suspected the speaker in it was bad, so, once a friend was able to point me to the replacement speaker online, I was able to buy the $5 speaker from the original manufacturer of that part. Well today, I finally received the replacement speaker and get it replaced and now the bell works again! It honestly wasn't too difficult to replace, all things considered.