Yay free monies!

[Red Squirrel]

I finally got my taxes done, was waiting for my T4 slip which I finally got a few weeks ago, so I brought all my papers in. Got the call today that it was ready to be processed and I just had to go sign. I get $2,760! That's probably the highest I've ever gotten, at least that I can remember. I typically get maybe a bit over a grand.

The best part is, I don't really NEED the money, in the sense that I don't have any major upcoming projects or anything, so I'll probably put a chunk on the mortgage, and keep the rest in savings as an emergency fund, something I've been wanting to do forever but seems I just never get to that.

Yeah yeah, if you want to get technical it's money the government should not have taken in first place, but who cares about that, it's still money that I don't have now, and will get. It's better than having to pay them more money. Had to do that one year, that's no fun at all.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

I usually owe about $100-200 more. No refunds until I have dependents.

Sucks ***********.

 

[BoomerD]

How is it "free money" if it's a refund of tax withholding you overpaid?

Now if you are getting money from a program similar to the EITC here in the US of A...then that's free money.

 

[highland145]

nb4 interest free loan.......


wait, boomer beat me.






and I liked it.

 

[FelixDeCat]

You should send it back to Washington. Obama cant get the job done with the money he is getting and someone will be denied Obama care and an Obama phone if you dont.

Spending is not the problem, it never is, you just not pay enough to cover the governments tab.

 

[Iron Woode]

I did my taxes last week and will be getting back around $1400.

 

[coldmeat]

I'll probably get all my taxes back. Earning below the poverty line FTW!

 

[BoomerD]

You should send it back to Washington. Obama cant get the job done with the money he is getting and someone will be denied Obama care and an Obama phone if you dont.

Spending is not the problem, it never is, you just not pay enough to cover the governments tab.

O'Bummer would be especially pleased in this case...RS is Canuckistanian...

 

[MaxPayne63]

An EBT card is free money. A tax return is a return free investment.

 

[mistercrabby]

An EBT card is free money. A tax return is a return free investment.

Yep. The goal is to may as little tax as you possibly can without going to jail. Your return should be zero, plus or minus a hundred bucks.

 

[chalmers]

These threads are always fun. Some schmuck comes running in with the 'interest free loan' line that they've been waiting all season to use.

Condescending Wonka thinks you're incredibly original.

 

[Slew Foot]

I usually budget for owing 10K at tax time but this year I ended up with a huge refund. Not sure what I did differently but Im not complaining.

 

[gorcorps]

Why are you excited to admit your withholdings weren't set up properly and you overpaid your taxes all year?

 

[Red Squirrel]

How is it "free money" if it's a refund of tax withholding you overpaid?

Now if you are getting money from a program similar to the EITC here in the US of A...then that's free money.

It's free because it's money that I don't have right now, that I will get, and it's not like I have control over how much tax I pay. Now in a perfect case scenario the government would take exactly what it needs, but there are so many things that influence that, and things (such as buying RRSPs, stock dividends etc) that they can't really account for till tax season. It's not really something you can control all that well. I rather be in a position where I get money back, then to gamble and end up having to pay. That's why I buy lot of RRSPs and make lot of donations to charity, so it helps give a higher tax return. I also use my TFSA as much as possible.

I don't really care about the technicalities, it sure beats ending up having to PAY thousands of dollars and having to come up with the cash, or possibly having to dip into home equity depending on the amount they'd want.

 

[gorcorps]

...I don't really care about the technicalities...

You don't care about the technicalities of your taxes? How old are you? If you're doing your taxes then it's time to grow up and figure out how the world works. Especially when it comes to something that directly affects you. If you started to care about the "technicalities" you could have already had $2700 extra in the bank.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You don't care about the technicalities of your taxes? How old are you? If you're doing your taxes then it's time to grow up and figure out how the world works. Especially when it comes to something that directly affects you. If you started to care about the "technicalities" you could have already had $2700 extra in the bank.

Why should I care, I'm not an accountant, I leave that work to an accountant. They worry about their job, I worry about mine. WTF does age have anything to do with it? I'm not an expert in that field, some people are, some people arn't. It's the way the world works, everyone has their own expertise and is not expected to be an expert in every single field. There's no "growing up" to do. That's nonsense. You're talking like I could somehow have that arbitrary number in my bank ahead of time. Sure, if I could build a time machine, and go back 1 year and deposit it. The number is determined by many factors, some of which the numbers were only available as of recently (the T4, etc) so it's not like it can be predicted or "planed for".

Bottom line is, it's much better to get back, then to end up paying, or even end up with nothing. It's sort of like getting a bonus at the end of the year. There are things I can do to slightly influence the number, but without being an expert in that field, there's no way I'd be able to plan for it to be 0, and why would I anyway? The two main factors that most likely determined the money I get back is the RRSPs and donations. If I don't donate or buy RRSPs, I end up paying. Was my accountant that told me I should buy some, to avoid having to pay. RRSPs arn't a waste as it's money I'll have when I retire, and donations helped others. So are you saying I should donate less money and not buy RRSPs? That's pretty retarded.

 

[chalmers]

Why should I care, I'm not an accountant, I leave that work to an accountant. They worry about their job, I worry about mine. WTF does age have anything to do with it? I'm not an expert in that field, some people are, some people arn't. It's the way the world works, everyone has their own expertise and is not expected to be an expert in every single field. There's no "growing up" to do. That's nonsense. You're talking like I could somehow have that arbitrary number in my bank ahead of time. Sure, if I could build a time machine, and go back 1 year and deposit it. The number is determined by many factors, some of which the numbers were only available as of recently (the T4, etc) so it's not like it can be predicted or "planed for".

Bottom line is, it's much better to get back, then to end up paying, or even end up with nothing. It's sort of like getting a bonus at the end of the year. There are things I can do to slightly influence the number, but without being an expert in that field, there's no way I'd be able to plan for it to be 0, and why would I anyway? The two main factors that most likely determined the money I get back is the RRSPs and donations. If I don't donate or buy RRSPs, I end up paying. Was my accountant that told me I should buy some, to avoid having to pay. RRSPs arn't a waste as it's money I'll have when I retire, and donations helped others. So are you saying I should donate less money and not buy RRSPs? That's pretty retarded.

Nice try, but the 'interest free loan' weirdos will keep attacking you. They have no soul.

 

[zCypher]

it's not like I have control over how much tax I pay.

errr, yes you do sir. when you get hired there is a government form signed which you give to your employer, and that outlines the basic deduction and has forms for all these special cases which are usually blank. there's a field in there that allows you to instruct employer to withhold more or less taxes from your pay. and i'm pretty sure this can be changed even afterwards if you speak with your payroll department about it.

so yeah, i agree maybe it is a technicality and makes sense to leave it to accountants to do their job and you do yours, but you DO have some control over how much you're taxed. big refund = you were taxed too much. Not that it isn't nice to get a big refund when you weren't expecting, it definitely is.

The two main factors that most likely determined the money I get back is the RRSPs and donations. If I don't donate or buy RRSPs, I end up paying. Was my accountant that told me I should buy some, to avoid having to pay. RRSPs arn't a waste as it's money I'll have when I retire, and donations helped others. So are you saying I should donate less money and not buy RRSPs? That's pretty retarded.

The best is if your employer will withdraw gross income from your pay directly into an RRSP and give you a company match. Not only is that money tax deferred, but you're usually getting some growth on the holdings over the time it's in there.

 

[brianmanahan]

just curious, what was your overall rate (total taxes paid/total gross money made)?

if its low enough i might defect to canada :sneaky:

 

[soulcougher73]

What a tool. Don't you know you could have put that money in a .01% savings account instead of overpay to the gov. I mean you'd have a a whole $27.60 more that way. So worth the hassle :awe:

 

[brianmanahan]

What a tool. Don't you know you could have put that money in a .01% savings account instead of overpay to the gov. I mean you'd have a a whole $27.60 more that way. So worth the hassle :awe:

right right, because EVERYBODY throws their money into a savings account instead of investing in stocks/bonds

 

[Leros]

I got much less than I expected because I got bumped into a higher tax bracket. I wish I was poor so I could get more free money.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The best is if your employer will withdraw gross income from your pay directly into an RRSP and give you a company match. Not only is that money tax deferred, but you're usually getting some growth on the holdings over the time it's in there.

They have something like that too (shares). If I contribute, they contribute a percentage too. A big chunk of the money I get from shares I then put into RRSPs. The rest I keep. Then I get the tax refund, which I keep completely, so it works out quite nicely actually.

Never knew about that form, but seems like more hassle than it's worth. If anything I would rather them take out MORE (I do have that option) in order to ensure a even better return. If I try to make it even there's too much risk I may have to pay.

just curious, what was your overall rate (total taxes paid/total gross money made)?

if its low enough i might defect to canada :sneaky:

I made 74k and paid 16k tax, if I'm reading the form correctly. The tax is actually way lower than I figured given the high income. Of course there's other deductions too, but as far as taxes go, it's 16k for the whole year. And remember, we don't pay taxes on game winnings here, so if you win the lotto, or win in a casino, or win a new car from some contest, you don't pay taxes on that here. And we get free healthcare! :biggrin: People may argue "but it's not free" but look at it this way, if they suddenly decided to charge for it, do you really think they'd lower the taxes? Of course not. So it's free.:biggrin:

 

[soulcougher73]

right right, because EVERYBODY throws their money into a savings account instead of investing in stocks/bonds

Twas a joke.

 

[chalmers]

Twas a joke.

I was hoping your post would bait someone into an angry response. Well done sir.