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hafitalSorry to invoke the dreaded T word, but I'm a freak and I like to do my taxes early. *ducks*
Okay, I lied. There is neither death nor cake behind the cut tag. Fooled ya!
So, this year I'm making more money than I ever have (although still low enough to qualify for free filing! Woo!) and yet I'm getting more money back then I ever have. This is good! Yet, I will always be amazed at how that works out. I mean, when I was a starving student in NYC, just barely making ends meet and attempting every trick in the book just so I wouldn't have to pay taxes, never mind getting any back (and I always had to pay state taxes, no matter how hard I tried, and I *tried!*), I used to cry (and by cry, I mean, gnash my teeth) because it was so ridiculous! not to mention cruel. And I'm about 95% sure I was filing correctly, too. Because I had multiple jobs and multiple W-2s and not enough expenses, not enough taxes were ever taken out of my earnings -- thus, unless I could cobble together a schedule c (which I did do, when I could), I would just barely scrape by on my federal taxes and always have to pay at least $400 on my state taxes. (And I even remember a year when I did get back a nice chunk o change from the federal government but I still had to pay NY money. Bastards! Cruel, cruel state.) But, you ask, you were paying tuition! Whyfore you have to pay more and not get a whole bunch back like you're doing now? Well, because my tuition amount was very low, and not enough to get the credit up past 2 or 3 hundred dollars.
Going from that to nearly getting all my money back, is, well, a bloody miracle. This is in large part because of the ridiculously high tuition I have to pay for Grad School and the fact that none of it is funded by scholarships or grants or anything like that. So, I get to take a nice big fat credit. And even without that credit, I was already getting more than $1000 back.
I was so startled by all the money, I was dead certain I was doing something wrong. I almost reduced the amount I could claim just so my return wasn't so high, because, it's just so strange to get so much back! I wasn't sure I could trust it! I had to camp out on the IRS website just to make sure I was applying the education tax credit properly, and claiming the proper amount, as well as figuring out what my actual tuition *was*, since I, um, didn't keep proper paperwork from my school (and incidentally, if there are any students reading this who need their 1098-T, go here and get it!). But, being stubborn, I figured it out and made all the #s work and got all the records I need, etc etc. I actually ended up being able to claim *more* than I thought, but consequently I had to adjust my income to reflect the amount from my loans not directly applied to tuition, which was also more than I thought. But even that adjustment didn't change anything, and I'm still getting the same amount on my return. Wahoo!
And, since my income level is only going to increase, I gotta take advantage while I can still claim the credit, 'cause it goes away the more you make. :)
*has a moment and thinks about Sonny saying "It's about TAXES! It's about screwing Uncle Sam!" heeee.*
Okay, I lied. There is neither death nor cake behind the cut tag. Fooled ya!
So, this year I'm making more money than I ever have (although still low enough to qualify for free filing! Woo!) and yet I'm getting more money back then I ever have. This is good! Yet, I will always be amazed at how that works out. I mean, when I was a starving student in NYC, just barely making ends meet and attempting every trick in the book just so I wouldn't have to pay taxes, never mind getting any back (and I always had to pay state taxes, no matter how hard I tried, and I *tried!*), I used to cry (and by cry, I mean, gnash my teeth) because it was so ridiculous! not to mention cruel. And I'm about 95% sure I was filing correctly, too. Because I had multiple jobs and multiple W-2s and not enough expenses, not enough taxes were ever taken out of my earnings -- thus, unless I could cobble together a schedule c (which I did do, when I could), I would just barely scrape by on my federal taxes and always have to pay at least $400 on my state taxes. (And I even remember a year when I did get back a nice chunk o change from the federal government but I still had to pay NY money. Bastards! Cruel, cruel state.) But, you ask, you were paying tuition! Whyfore you have to pay more and not get a whole bunch back like you're doing now? Well, because my tuition amount was very low, and not enough to get the credit up past 2 or 3 hundred dollars.
Going from that to nearly getting all my money back, is, well, a bloody miracle. This is in large part because of the ridiculously high tuition I have to pay for Grad School and the fact that none of it is funded by scholarships or grants or anything like that. So, I get to take a nice big fat credit. And even without that credit, I was already getting more than $1000 back.
I was so startled by all the money, I was dead certain I was doing something wrong. I almost reduced the amount I could claim just so my return wasn't so high, because, it's just so strange to get so much back! I wasn't sure I could trust it! I had to camp out on the IRS website just to make sure I was applying the education tax credit properly, and claiming the proper amount, as well as figuring out what my actual tuition *was*, since I, um, didn't keep proper paperwork from my school (and incidentally, if there are any students reading this who need their 1098-T, go here and get it!). But, being stubborn, I figured it out and made all the #s work and got all the records I need, etc etc. I actually ended up being able to claim *more* than I thought, but consequently I had to adjust my income to reflect the amount from my loans not directly applied to tuition, which was also more than I thought. But even that adjustment didn't change anything, and I'm still getting the same amount on my return. Wahoo!
And, since my income level is only going to increase, I gotta take advantage while I can still claim the credit, 'cause it goes away the more you make. :)
*has a moment and thinks about Sonny saying "It's about TAXES! It's about screwing Uncle Sam!" heeee.*
