How are you gonna use your tax refund?

[Pergamum]

How ya gonna use your tax refund (if you're gonna get one)?

How should I use mine? I want to use 80% or more towards collage savings for kids (we have no debt, but haven't done well saving)?

Any suggestions? What should I invest in?

 

[Solparvus]

I'll probably save mine for the next job search. And a trip back to Michigan to see my family if I get one pretty quick.

I'd personally recommend an Amazon Kindle if you don't have one. The devices run much cheaper for the older (and still very useful) models, and you can get volumes of good solid Christian books old and new either for free or dirt cheap.

 

[Marrow Man]

I wrote a total 6 checks to various levels of gov't yesterday (some to pay additional taxes for 2012, some to pay the first quarterly estimates for 2013, and then the city gov't for my "business license" since the gov't considers pastors to be "self-employed"). I won't post the total here, but it was slightly more than I make in a single month, gross.

Needless to say, no refund to spend.

 

[Romans922]

I used it to pay off my undergrad loans (ALMOST THERE --> all sinful debt paid off!)

 

[JML]

Mine is going to pay for the doctor and hospital bills from the birth of my son in February.

 

[Constantlyreforming]

We donated all of ours to the Presidential Campaign Fund.




































(kidding)

 

[reaganmarsh]

We put our state refund toward paying our Federal tax! I'm with Tim. No real refund here!

 

[Scottish Lass]

If some of y'all are getting that much back in refunds, aren't y'all overpaying to begin with?

 

[Marrow Man]

We donated all of ours to the Presidential Campaign Fund

You can donate that to the Tim Phillips 2016 Presidential campaign!

 

[irresistible_grace]

If some of y'all are getting that much back in refunds, aren't y'all overpaying to begin with?

Not in my case...
We are in the 10% tax bracket.
With the Earned Income Tax Credit, plus three covenant children & a Stay-at-home mom, we get back more than we put in (I think). We filed our taxes in January so I would have to look again but we do get a "Return" without "overpaying to begin with!"

 

[Romans922]

We don't make enough, we have 2 kids, and with things like housing allowance and claiming business expenses, mileage, medical mileage, giving, etc. we get some back. We don't put any in. I don't do quarterly inputs. I do once a year W-2 for ministers.

As a minister when we did 1099 we didn't any back, unless we overpaid on our quarterly inputs. Our tax friend told us to move to W-2 and we wouldn't be putting in anything. We are making here only 5k less a year than my first pastorate (and I don't have a manse).

 

[irresistible_grace]

As to the OP...
Between our mortgage, auto loan and two student loans...
We have about $100,000 of debt. So, our "Return" is spoken for.
No college fund for our covenant children.

 

[Pergamum]

Wow, sorry guys.... sounds like many folks won't get anything or use it all for debt repayment.

If you did get anything back, and wanted to put it towards college for your kids, where would you stash it? Gold? land? IRA? Etc? What is wisest in this economy?

 

[Marrow Man]

We don't make enough, we have 2 kids, and with things like housing allowance and claiming business expenses, mileage, medical mileage, giving, etc. we get some back. We don't put any in. I don't do quarterly inputs. I do once a year W-2 for ministers.

How does that work (the W-2)? Do you just pay it all at the end of the year, or do they take it out during the year?

Every accountant I've ever consulted has said I need to do the quarterly estimates. The problem with these is that they are almost never accurate because all the factors change from year to year. So, if you under-report (which almost always happens), there is a penalty (usually not much, depends on how much the estimate is off). The whole thing is a mess.

 

[Heath]

We added a bit to our kid's savings and are saving the rest to help with an extra long maternity leave for my wife in the fall.

 

[Romans922]

I've been where you are Tim.

You should get it in January from your employer (church). Since I am the only one employed by the Church, I just work with our Treasurer and make sure all the numbers are right on it.

I don't pay SS (opted out), so if you get SS, you'd have to research how that would work.

I have asked a few other pastor friends of mine and all of them do W-2's as well. You might start asking around. You may ask this question also in the Elders only forum.

 

[SolaScriptura]

I took the first $5500 and put it in my wife's IRA. The remaining amount was put in our savings account.

 

[Berean]

We put our state refund toward paying our Federal tax! I'm with Tim. No real refund here!

The entire state refund went to the IRS with additional funds added.

 

[Marrow Man]

For what it's worth, I did not opt out of SS/FICA; that is the drain down which most of my money to the gov't goes. The amount I pay out in FICA is probably 4x or 5x the amount that is strictly federal taxes. I do not want to derail the thread, but I could not in good conscience opt out at the time, for several reasons. I asked the opinions of a well-known theonomist when I was making the decision and was my question was brushed aside. Who knows; if I was on the PB at the time, things might have been different.

I do live in a manse, so that would be difference as well. I have never heard of a W-2 for ministers, however.

 

[nicnap]

Estimated quarterly here ... however, we set aside an amount larger than we have to pay, so that we can pretend to get a refund. It all goes to savings-- Edward Jones & our own private reserve which was greatly depleted by paying for an adoption.

 

[Rich Koster]

The fed- covered the cost of our last grocery shopping trip. Still waiting on the state, which will fill my gas tank. No big refunds here.

 

[Bill The Baptist]

How does that work (the W-2)? Do you just pay it all at the end of the year, or do they take it out during the year?

This really only becomes an issue if you make enough to pay taxes in the first place. Since I make very little money and I have five, soon to be six, kids, I don't have to worry about owing money. I believe you only have to make quarterly payments if your income exceeds a certain amount.

 

[Mushroom]

Payed nothing in, owed $4000 in self-employment tax, IRS wanted to give me $6500 of Other People's Money for EIC & child tax credit. I let them pay themselves out of that largess and keep the $2500 extra. Done that for years, and it always confuses 'em. So I guess I spent my 'return' (OPM) on paying down the debt. I'm a little troubled about using OPM to pay my self-employment theft, er, I mean tax, but there's no way I could pay that, so it's either that or the guys in costumes with badges and guns might come take me away. Maybe I should just let 'em do that - probably gonna happen someday anyway, and if I get there before the rush I might get to pick a good spot on the detention center floor. A bunk by a window would be nice.

But as for refunds, when I used to get them, I always wanted them to be as small as possible. My best was $36. My preference is to owe a small amount. Still despise the idea of my labor funding abortions, drone bombs, gay 'rights', & etc., and even more giving Leviathan an interest-free loan for same.

No refund here.

So you guys that are getting more in a 'refund' than you put in, how do you justify taking it? Isn't it participating in theft?

 

[tman]

What is a refund?

 

[mhseal]

My house needs a new roof... so there's that.

 

[Apologist4Him]

Dear Brad, my thought on the subject, most if not all taxation is robbery. Personal property taxes are the biggest financial scandal. Why should people have to pay taxes for property, and especially property they have bought and paid off including the taxes, and then continue to be taxed every year, even though it's paid off? That's just taxation on top of taxation. Almost everything we buy (offline) we're taxed for, including the essentials for living. The government gets a share, is part of nearly every transaction we make throughout the entire year. I do not agree with the government (neither federal nor state) deciding how to spend our money nor the percentage taxed, which in some instances is higher than the traditional 10% tithe. Governments do little to nothing to earn our money (don't get me started on what their salaries are versus the average citizen, nor their retirement plans versus the average citizen). In short, and this is my opinion, taxation itself should be abolished, it is like being robbed by the government throughout the entire year. In case anyone might be wondering, no I've never had to pay taxes like most people, but that's because I own nearly nothing, poverty stricken poor as dirt.

 

[Philip]

So you guys that are getting more in a 'refund' than you put in, how do you justify taking it? Isn't it participating in theft?

No. I consider it the prerogative of the Civil Magistrate to take taxes (as I recall, Washington is still on the $1 bill). I may not agree with his use of the money, but then again, I would have disagreed with the use of public funds to pay to string up Christians as human torches in the first century as well. And yet I do recall a verse telling the Christians to honour the emperor. Whether or not we agree with policies, we are to honor and pray for those in authority as ministers of God.

The theft argument has more in common with Frederic Bastiat than with Scripture.

And to keep this on topic, I'm sticking the money away toward my graduate work.

 

[au5t1n]

The theft argument has more in common with Frederic Bastiat than with Scripture.

Is there a percentage at which taxation becomes theft? Would 100% be theft? 99%? 80%? The taxation in Christ's time was the rough equivalent of maybe 3% in terms of modern income tax. The Scripture says in 1 Samuel that 10% is an oppressive tax. Samuel warns Israel that their king will oppress them -- he will tax 10%. So given that our federal government taxes up into the thirties, haven't we crossed the line?

I'm not saying don't pay; I'm just saying, it's wrong for this much to be demanded.

 

[earl40]

I took the first $5500 and put it in my wife's IRA. The remaining amount was put in our savings account.

Ya what's up with all the huge refunds this year? Ours was approx 3,000 more than last year and I about fell out of my chair when my wife told me.

 

[Edward]

Living in the what the Census Bureau has listed as the 'wealthiest city in America' has its costs. The city sent me a notice that my fully functional garage door was too old and ugly, and demanded that I replace it. The tax refund will just about pay for that.