Taxes...why me?

Question

I file single and claim zero on my taxes, so needless to say this damn government takes the max out. I dont have kids, my total federal taxes withheld is usually 4000 each year, however my refund is alway less than 1000, usually 900. How come its not even close to what i pay in. I feel i should get more back. I just dont understand. Please someone explain.

Answer 1

It's not going to be close to what you pay in, because u don't have any exemptions.
Exemptions allow u to keep more money, or even get a large refund, if your tax liability is less than your tax deposit.

Your tax deposit is not Zero, and as such, you should only be getting back whatever amount you over-paid by.


Those taxes go to fund federal and state funded programs, including road and city maintenance, public schools, transportation, welfare, hospitals, and other public works projects. Of course, those funds also go to fund war, government expenses, the wages and salaries of elected officials, and of course, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delagadillo's wife's personal shopping habits.

damn the man.

Answer 2

That is the way it works in America. And not even Ron Paul will be able to cut taxes enough to matter to most of us.

Here are some things you can do to lower your tax bill.

1. Invest as much as you can, up to the maximum $10,500 in a 401(k) or IRA plan that offers tax reduction benefit. Any money you sock away will be deducted from your gross income, thus reducing your taxes.

2. Have kids, oh yeah, they cost a lot more than what you pay in taxes, so that might not be a good idea.

3. Get a mortgage and buy a home. Then your interest & taxes can be written off. But since the standared deduction is now $10,000 that might not help you much either

4. You need to reduce your withholding by around $20 a week. Right now you are gifting the feds 12 months of your money and not making any interest. If you put that $20 in the bank every week you could at least earn a few dollars in interest. The ideal amount of tax refund/bill is zero dollars. I refuse to give the government my money any faster than I have to and they definitely cannot keep it for free.

Finally, the only true way to pay less taxes is to make less money. The less you make, the less they take.

But come on now, that isn't much of a solution is it?

100% of NOTHING, is NOTHING.

ADDED LATER: STEPHEN! You really need to use a real CPA and not HR Block if you own your own business. H& R is the WORST for taking legitimate business deductions and a real CPA might be able to get you some of your overpaid taxes back. WELL WORTH the extra money. I would have sent you this via email, but you don't allow that.

Answer 3

If you are single and claim 0 withholding allowances on your W-4 at work, your refund is about right. Most taxpayers earning less than $45k per year will see a refund of around $900 - $1,000.

You only get back what was overpaid. If you get back $1,000 out of $4,000 withheld in Federal income tax that meant your tax liability was $3,000.

Spending money to save taxes never makes sense on it's own. If you want to own a home, fair enough. But buying a home for the "tax break" will almost certainly disappoint you as the break for most folks is MUCH less than they expect. Same with having kids. You might cut your tax liability by a few thousand but I promise you that raising kids will cost a LOT more than the tax savings.

Answer 4

My first year of running my own business I paid over $35,000.00 in state and federal taxes. I felt like I was kicked in the nuts with combat boots. My HR Block guy told me I was by the far the person who paid the most taxes that he had seen at that branch for that tax season. I was seriously depressed for over a month. Heck, I did not even have health insurance.
Someone has to pay the $2 Billion+ a week for the war in Iraq, President Bush's Helicopter, all the federal, state, and local politicians, police, etc, health care and pensions. OH, but let us not nationalize health care for the small business owner who actually pays F$%@%!!g taxes.
Sorry for the rant, a very touchy subject for me.

I personally knew someone, business owner, that the IRS was investigating for close to 10 million in undisclosed revenue, I went to their house and in the drive-way was a Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, and an Audi, yet, he had free health care from the state because he qualified based on low income, go figure.

Answer 5

What you get back as a refund is the difference between what was withheld for income tax and what you actually end up paying in tax per your tax returns.

Don't forget that you NEVER get back refunds on FICA (Social Security), Medicare or SDI taxes.

Answer 6

You should claim on for yourself. You'll get more in each paycheck and less of a refund. You have to pay for police, fire department, roads, bridges, schools, social security, parks, the armed forces, government paychecks, and so on.

Answer 7

Your lucky your getting back don't be so beeee about it.

Answer 8

turbo tax. tax program. it helps bigtime.