2017 taxes

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Did you guys owe or get a refund? Anyone within $10? within $5? I owe $3500 which is fantastic. Getting closer, I believe I owed $6500 last year.

[Thrif-t]

If not for the American Opportunity Tax Credit, we would've owed $52, as it was we got back $4915.

I've always adjusted my with-holdings so I got a small refund. Now that the kids are in college, and I know we got the AOTC, I've not adjusted my with-holdings in the last 4 years. We still have 6 more years to go of college expenses.

[corn18]

I was within $1000 until I got a surprise plus up at the end of the year to cover my apartment expenses. They used the regulatory percentage which did not cover my marginal taxes. So I owe $5742 federal and $142 state. Total income taxes paid is just shy of $225,000.

[disneysteve]

We're getting back $1,311 Federal and $279 state for a total of $1,590.

Now the challenge will be to figure out how to navigate through all of the changes for 2018. My accountant wants me to send him 6 or 7 paystubs (late April/early May) that were done under the new rates so he can see if I need to adjust anything. The expectation right now is that our taxes will go up by about $6,000 this year so we want to make sure enough is getting withheld.

[AJSimon]

Got back $2,065 this year - $1,603 federal, and $462 state.

My withholding is at Single (0) which largely explains it.

[creditcardfree]

We owed $91. We get the American Opportunity Tax Credit too, but I have figured that into our withholding. We are getting that benefit all year and just save it to pay for the next tuition bill.

It really helps to read the instructions on the W4 and know how your taxes work and how much to withhold. I've been filing my own taxes since I was a teen. I force myself to learn the new changes that affect us every year.

FWIW, We claim 9, have two children over 17. Standard deduction.

[Like2Plan]

I was within $1000 until I got a surprise plus up at the end of the year to cover my apartment expenses. They used the regulatory percentage which did not cover my marginal taxes. So I owe $5742 federal and $142 state. Total income taxes paid is just shy of $225,000.

Did you guys owe or get a refund? Anyone within $10? within $5? I owe $3500 which is fantastic. Getting closer, I believe I owed $6500 last year.

Do you have to pay penalties on top of the tax you owe?

[corn18]

Do you have to pay penalties on top of the tax you owe?

Negative, safe harbor applied. As long as I pay at least 90% of what I owe or 110% of last year's taxes (whichever is less), there is no penalty.

[sblatner]

We got back a few thousand but that was because we set up a donor advised fund on 12/28/17 so we could take advantage of the charity deduction. We won't be able to itemize in the future unless we bunch deductions so this was a way to take advantage of the charity deduction before the new standard deduction kicks in. Otherwise, I think we would have been within a few hundred dollars either way.

[Fishindude77]

We're paying about $15,000. Had some additional income that didn't get accounted for in my quarterly payments. I'd rather use their money all year than let them use mine and get a refund.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

no penalty. We always paid what we owed the year before or 90%. Although I recall one year we owed $10k.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Tax season is depressing for me. Every year I pay $2000'ish. So I wait until the end of March to start doing my taxes. I'm single, no kids, no deductions.

[disneysteve]

Tax season is depressing for me. Every year I pay $2000'ish.

Is it owing the money that depresses you? If so, have you considered adjusting your withholding so that doesn't happen? If you get paid biweekly, having an extra $75/check withheld would bring you out about even.

[tripods68]

We received 3977 Fed + 1240 CA = 5217 that's because we been increasing our tax-deferred contribution year after year while and kept withholding the same (married = 1) + 2 kids.

With the new tax reform, unsure if we have to pay more so we are keeping our withholding the same as last year.

[Thrif-t]

We received 3977 Fed + 1240 CA = 5217 that's because we been increasing our tax-deferred contribution year after year while and kept withholding the same (married = 1) + 2 kids.

With the new tax reform, unsure if we have to pay more so we are keeping our withholding the same as last year.

Maybe this will help? https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-...ing-calculator