Tax Time...again

[DarkHand]

Question: I was always told its good to get a little back and not owe anything, which is what Ive always done. True?

Pretty much... Pay too little and you end up with a bill at the end/start of the year, pay too much and you're giving the government an interest-free loan.

If you're a really bad saver, you can put on your W4 to have extra money taken out of your check every week, then get it back as a return. You're giving out an interest-free loan, and there are much better ways of saving/investing, but I did it one year when I was working in high school and it helped me save money when I didn't yet have the self control to do it myself.

 

[hondasaurus]

stock loses are limited to 3k (last years figure, have to check this year limit)
you can take your stock loses to offset any realized gains you had last year, plus the 3k loss

word. but don't u have to sell them as 'worthless securities' for that?

 

[cheese9988]

My wife and I just got married in November, we bought our house in June.

How does the marriage tax deduction work, I have heard a combined income can decrease the amount you will get back? It usually works in your favor right? Is the mortgage deduction alot?

 

[nootrac22]

On the basis of filing status, the standard deduction for 2008 is
Standard Deduction for 2008
Single
$5,450
Head of household
$8,000
Married filing a joint return
$10,900
Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child
$10,900
Married filing a separate return
$5,450

$10900 is the amout of deductions granted to you by the government to start. To itemise you have to have more than that in deductions. As far as the mortgage goes, you write off the intrest paid. Being you've had the house 6months it will all be intrest. Your mortgage company will send you a tax document.

 

[B16]

stock loses are limited to 3k (last years figure, have to check this year limit)
you can take your stock loses to offset any realized gains you had last year, plus the 3k loss

Oh really?

So the money I took out for the down payment on my house, would be a realized gain i believe? Then I could subtract my losses for the year from that gain? That would be awesome. Makes it almost worth it to lose that much in the market. lol

 

[reckedracing]

My wife and I just got married in November, we bought our house in June.

How does the marriage tax deduction work, I have heard a combined income can decrease the amount you will get back? It usually works in your favor right? Is the mortgage deduction alot?

married filing joint more or less doubles your standard deduction
it usually works out better for couples to file as married filing joint

the mortgage deduction is a little deceiving
if you choose to itemize you can claim your mortgage interest, and your real estate taxes paid for 2008.

those 2 things, plus other things like medical, charitable, unreimbursed employment expenses, local taxes, all get combined with percentages and formulas to make up your "itemized deduction" figure

if your ID figure excedes your standard deduction then thats how you file

 

[reckedracing]

Oh really?

So the money I took out for the down payment on my house, would be a realized gain i believe? Then I could subtract my losses for the year from that gain? That would be awesome. Makes it almost worth it to lose that much in the market. lol

your situation is a little different
i'm not 100% on inheritence of IRA funds, so this is a little grey to me without reviewing

from what i understand the FMV of that IRA at the time of inheritance is now your cost basis
so if you received it, and cashed it, your tax obligation should be close to zero assuming you did not realize any gain while you held it

if you have a realized gain from the stocks, you can offset that with reazlized loses from sales of capital assets (stocks)
the money you LOST in the market is NOT realized until you sell the stock
and there is also short term and long term gains and loses since they are taxed at different

 

[cheese9988]

married filing joint more or less doubles your standard deduction
it usually works out better for couples to file as married filing joint

the mortgage deduction is a little deceiving
if you choose to itemize you can claim your mortgage interest, and your real estate taxes paid for 2008.

those 2 things, plus other things like medical, charitable, unreimbursed employment expenses, local taxes, all get combined with percentages and formulas to make up your "itemized deduction" figure

if your ID figure excedes your standard deduction then thats how you file

Thanks guys.

Is NYS generous in the tax deduction for local taxes? They tax us every which anyway.

 

[reckedracing]

Here's how it works.

You get credit with the IRS for taxes you paid to local gov't's
aka state and city

You get credit with your state for taxes your paid to the IRS

but you usually have to itemize for that to benefit you

NYS's standard deduction was 7500 last year, not sure on this years

 

[whiterabbit06]

I did mine on turbotax and I'm getting $3,500 back.

 

[jamesA]

I'll be exstatic to get 2000 back.

 

[get_nick]

still haven't gotten my w-2 yet.

 

[jamesA]

I've got mine, I think I still need a K1 (k3? I don't remember what its called) and my mortgage shit.

 

[Briansol]

if you're getting back more than a couple hundred bucks, you should really re-do your w4 at work and have less taken out of your check.

The goal is to come as close to 0 without owing as possible.

Anything else, you're giving the gov't an interest free loan for a whole year. You could bank that and earn like .3% now on it

 

[George777]

I found an article that laid out the rules for claiming moving expenses, however I would like some clarification.

Tax Topics - Topic 455 Moving Expenses

According to this, I can't claim my moving expenses until I have been in my area working for 39 weeks? 39 weeks would mean I have to file my moving expenses with next years tax return--still possible with receipts that will say 2008 on them for a 2009 tax filing next year? Since I didn't transfer with my previous company, is any of this deductible at all?

 

[jamesA]

if you're getting back more than a couple hundred bucks, you should really re-do your w4 at work and have less taken out of your check.

The goal is to come as close to 0 without owing as possible.

Anything else, you're giving the gov't an interest free loan for a whole year. You could bank that and earn like .3% now on it

I can do more with 1k in my bank at one time than that 1k spread out over a year. Most likely I wouldn't even be able to dump it into any interest accruing accounts because "oh shit my registration is due..." or "holy crap that heating bill raised 30%" throughout the year.

On top of that, if I sit here and try to play with my W2s, and end up owing I'm going to be in the hole for the rest of the year trying to dig myself out anyway. I'd rather overpay and get a large lump sum back and spend it how I need it.

 

[George777]

I'm with you on this one. I would rather be missing that money every paycheck than I would try to figure out how I would pay it back at the end of the year if I ended up owing.

 

[B16]

I can do more with 1k in my bank at one time than that 1k spread out over a year. Most likely I wouldn't even be able to dump it into any interest accruing accounts because "oh shit my registration is due..." or "holy crap that heating bill raised 30%" throughout the year.

On top of that, if I sit here and try to play with my W2s, and end up owing I'm going to be in the hole for the rest of the year trying to dig myself out anyway. I'd rather overpay and get a large lump sum back and spend it how I need it.

Then instead of paying that money to the govt, have a small portion of your paycheck direct deposited into a savings account instead.

 

[nootrac22]

I'm in a weird situation on this. My W4 is about right I believe, because I'm only getting back $4 on state, but I'm getting back about $3800 fed. Does W4 withholdings effect your state withonldings?

 

[Briansol]

you can do different claims for both.

ie, you can claim 1 on state, but 0 on fed for your son, or vice versa, or claim 0 on both but take an extra $20 a check or something to the fed.