Having received my final W-2 from the previous employer yesterday, I decided to do the taxes and get them out of the way. Maybe, just maybe, I would get a small refund for my efforts.
So, after a coffee, juice, and an egg sandwich I settled in and did the deed. Then I did it again. Triple checked, even. OK, unless I did something remarkably stupid and TurboTax didn't catch it, I owe a lot to the Fed and State. This is only the second time in my life that this has been the case. And it happens when I can least afford it. At least the other time I was making really good money and had fewer expenses. Not so this time.
And I thought things were looking up for 2010. Ha!
Ok, ok, so I think the culprit may be the withholding by the restaurant last year. I worked so few hours weekly that there was hardly anything taken out of each paycheck. That has to be the culprit. I'll have to make changes to my status so this doesn't happen again next year.
Well, any thoughts of putting a few bucks aside for a holiday this year are out of the question. Bother!
Anyway, I printed out the returns, signed them, and they are now in addressed envelopes on the desk where they will remain until the last possible moment to be mailed.
What a great way to ruin an otherwise lovely day off. Sunshine instead of snow had me ready for a day outdoors. Now, not so much. Like they say, "whether the pitcher hits the stone, or the stone hits the pitcher - it's going to be bad for the pitcher." Hello stone. Meet pitcher.
I hope your tax news is better than mine.
Maybe I'll watch a movie and wait for 5 o'clock to roll around to drown my sorrow in olives.
More later.
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I am guessing that your suspicions are correct. We were headed for a similar scenario. At Mrs. G's new job she earns squat to begin with, but she is now the provider of [*very* expensive] medical benefits that amount to 47+% of her gross. It puts her into a $0 fed tax withholding. When added to my [former] income however, we would owe. I caught it late in the summer and made two adjustments. I made two quarterly tax payments and then I adjusted her W-4 to have her employer force the withholding that she really needs.
ReplyDeletePerhaps others might be alerted to this plight and make sure that their withholding is sufficient. It's nice having the money at payday, but for me it's worse having to pay at tax time.