I owe income taxes?

**juroara** · 02-12-2012 09:25 PM

How could I possibly owe taxes when I only make $10 an hr and my mom pays for my car and student loans are kicking my butt? I'm not even making 15k a year - but I OWE taxes? I dont understand how that is even possible.

I'm on turbo tax and one second its telling me I qualify for a refund the next its telling me I owe money? WHAT?

I really needed that refund too

Whats going on?

**Alric** · 02-12-2012 10:03 PM

I would double check things, since if you had money automatically taken out to pay taxes each month, you should still get a refund. That said, the cut off line is like 8,000 or something a year. If you make more than that, you have to pay taxes. It is a myth that poor people don't have to pay income tax, they do. You have to be almost living on the street to get a break.

Which of course is why I am supporting Ron Paul, who wants to get rid of all income tax.

**DuB** · 02-12-2012 10:05 PM

Maybe you screwed up your W-4 when you started your current job and they haven't been taking the right amount from your checks.

**cmind** · 02-12-2012 11:19 PM

Ah, I love the sound of liberal college kids getting crushed with the realization that THEY TOO have to pay taxes.

**Supernova** · 02-13-2012 02:53 AM

Originally Posted by cmind

Ah, I love the sound of liberal college kids getting crushed with the realization that THEY TOO have to pay taxes.

Maybe next time you should read the post before responding to it. It'll make it much easier to not sound like an ass.

**Original Poster** · 02-12-2012 11:36 PM

Cmind don't be retarded, taxes get taken out automatically from your paycheck. It would shock anyone who isn't receiving dividends on capital gains that they owe taxes and don't get a refund.

**AURON** · 02-12-2012 11:54 PM

Did you only do a 1040? Because you should be able to file your return from your school and that should bring in 1k.

**Universal Mind** · 02-13-2012 12:03 AM

Income tax:

National Lampoon's Vacation "& I'm askin' you how much you got?!" - YouTube

**juroara** · 02-13-2012 03:27 AM

Originally Posted by DuB

Maybe you screwed up your W-4 when you started your current job and they haven't been taking the right amount from your checks.

Originally Posted by Auron

Did you only do a 1040? Because you should be able to file your return from your school and that should bring in 1k.

W-2 and 1098-Es?

I dunno how I can screw up a W-4, I mean all I do is put my address, put a 1 here and there, sign it

Its not a lot more the government is asking for. I'm just confused! This is my first time having this income level so I wasn't sure if this is normal, but it can't be. My sis was making $15 hr last year and she didn't owe a penny, she got a return. Did tax laws change that quickly? For now I'm gonna look for a different free tax-preparer.

Feel free to use this thread to angst and whine about income tax

**Original Poster** · 02-13-2012 03:34 AM

Originally Posted by juroara

W-2 and 1098-Es?

I dunno how I can screw up a W-4, I mean all I do is put my address, put a 1 here and there, sign it

Its not a lot more the government is asking for. I'm just confused! This is my first time having this income level so I wasn't sure if this is normal, but it can't be. My sis was making $15 hr last year and she didn't owe a penny, she got a return. Did tax laws change that quickly? For now I'm gonna look for a different free tax-preparer.

Feel free to use this thread to angst and whine about income tax

No, by the way you're describing it there's obviously a mistake. I made 10/hr (plus overtime) and I'm getting something like 2400 back

**DuB** · 02-13-2012 04:12 AM

Originally Posted by juroara

...put a 1 here and there...

Okay, well, there's obviously a lot more to this part than you've let on. The number and combination of 1s that you fill in on your W-4 are mostly what determine the proportion of tax that gets taken from your paychecks. Those 1s go a long way toward determining whether you are going to get a big refund, or owe a lot of taxes, or come close to breaking even. And typically nobody is going to double-check these for you, so it's pretty easy to make a mistake that you later regret come tax time. I've done it and ended up in the same situation that you're describing. You should talk to your employer about reviewing and possibly revising your W-4.

**Alric** · 02-13-2012 04:38 AM

Keep in mind that this isn't an issue of how much you make but how much you paid already. If you owe 10,000 in taxes and had 12,000 taken out of your paycheck then you would get a refund. If you owe 50 dollars and you had nothing taken out of your paycheck, then you would owe 50 dollars.

The area I would check is how many dependents you have. If that doesn't match up, then it one of the things that cause a major problem.

**InvisibleWoman** · 02-14-2012 12:21 AM

Originally Posted by juroara

Feel free to use this thread to angst and whine about income tax

I think there's enough whining going on at DV already.

**cmind** · 02-13-2012 01:39 AM

That works on so many levels, UM.

**Xei** · 02-13-2012 01:43 AM

cmind liking UM is probably the least surprising event to have occurred so far this century.

**cmind** · 02-13-2012 02:28 AM

Originally Posted by Xei

cmind liking UM is probably the least surprising event to have occurred so far this century.

I think there may be some things we disagree on, but I can't be sure without knowing more about his views.

**Original Poster** · 02-13-2012 03:07 AM

Originally Posted by cmind

I think there may be some things we disagree on, but I can't be sure without knowing more about his views.

I'm guessing you two will be exchanging vows by the end of the week

**mcwillis** · 02-13-2012 02:28 AM

Vote for Ron Paul & you shouldn't have to pay in the future

**stormcrow** · 02-13-2012 03:30 AM

Vote Ron Paul, free candy for everyone!

**StonedApe** · 02-13-2012 07:32 AM

Originally Posted by stormcrow

Vote Ron Paul, free candy for everyone!

No vote Vermin Supreme. He'll give you a free pony.

**tommo** · 02-13-2012 04:12 AM

Tax is fucking ridiculous here. I didn't really think about it too much until I started working. But it ends up being that if you earn over $100, yes, $100 per week, you have to pay taxes.

It's absolutely insane. They are changing that now, from $5200 a year to $18,000 or something, but our taxes are going up too. Not sure how it's gonna pan out yet.

Juroara - If you can't fix this I would look in to getting as many things deducted as possible. Not sure what you can claim as tax-deductible there, but you should be able to get things like petrol used driving to and from work,
or any uniforms you needed for work etc.

**Xei** · 02-13-2012 04:35 AM

God, tax forms make me so fucking depressed. I mean, I wouldn't mind just paying whatever lump sum it is that I need to pay. It's just the sight of the exposed surface of the massive bureaucracy and the complex web of meaningless numbered and lettered forms which make me feel like throwing in the towel and leaving the planet.

Originally Posted by tommo

Tax is fucking ridiculous here. I didn't really think about it too much until I started working. But it ends up being that if you earn over $100, yes, $100 per week, you have to pay taxes.

That's right tommo, nationalised services require money.

**stormcrow** · 02-13-2012 04:38 AM

It is pretty amusing when people who take full advantage of public roads, public schools, etc. complain about paying taxes.

**tommo** · 02-13-2012 05:30 AM

Originally Posted by Xei

God, tax forms make me so fucking depressed. I mean, I wouldn't mind just paying whatever lump sum it is that I need to pay. It's just the sight of the exposed surface of the massive bureaucracy and the complex web of meaningless numbered and lettered forms which make me feel like throwing in the towel and leaving the planet.

Tell me about it. Everything is so complicated. It's really unnecessary.

Originally Posted by Xei

That's right tommo, nationalised services require money.

I agree. They shouldn't be paid by people earning 100 fucking dollars a week!

**Xei** · 02-13-2012 05:36 AM

Why not? That's far more than is earned by the millions of people in your country who no longer work due to old age.

Obviously there is a thing called 'gradation', it's just taxes or no taxes. What do you think would be fairer?

Are you going to say how much of that $100 is lost in tax?