how much tax do you get back end of year (real estate, mortgage) - New Jersey (NJ) - City-Data Forum

muslim123 · 09-09-2010, 02:39 AM

I heard end of year you get back some of tax money...i was wondering how much do you get back

BobKovacs · 09-09-2010, 04:38 AM

Depends on how much you pay in- if your employer is deducting the proper amounts and you don't have much in the way of deductions for mortgage interest, etc., you'll get nothing back. If you own a home and can write off interest, real estate taxes, etc., you can get a substantial amount back.

tahiti · 09-09-2010, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Depends on how much you pay in- if your employer is deducting the proper amounts and you don't have much in the way of deductions for mortgage interest, etc., you'll get nothing back. If you own a home and can write off interest, real estate taxes, etc., you can get a substantial amount back.

but then if you adjust your withholdings to account for this, you may get nothing. in other words, what is the OP talking about? LOL.

joe moving · 09-09-2010, 06:42 AM

should go to personal finance. The "report thread" says it should only be used for spam...?

Obrero · 09-09-2010, 08:42 AM

You should manage your deductions so you get nothing back.

Praxis · 09-09-2010, 08:58 AM

$2.73 on a good year, $1.59 on an okay year and -$0.66 on a bad year.

BobKovacs · 09-09-2010, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obrero

You should manage your deductions so you get nothing back.

For some people, that's the best plan. For others, it's nice to receive a chuck of cash all at once- kinda like a "Christmas club" of sorts. Rather than tweaking my deductions as my income, property taxes, mortgage interest, etc., change, just to get an extra $300 or so per month in my paycheck (which may tend to vanish anyway in many cases), it's nice to get a fat $3,000+ tax refund direct-deposited once a year.

Sure, some will say that I'm loosing interest on that money, and the government gets to use it all year interest-free, or that if I managed my finances better, that extra $300 could go to savings, rather than vanishing, but it works for us. To each his own.

Praxis · 09-09-2010, 10:15 AM

Not to mention, for several thousand dollars (at best), interests in less than 1 year will net you like nothing these days.

NJGOAT · 09-09-2010, 10:41 AM

It all depends on how you do your taxes. Many will argue that you should game it so you net zero or as close to it as possible. Others like using the standard lines and getting back a big refund. I used to game it and net to zero, but since getting married and having three kids and my wife being a stay at home mom, I've found just running the standard witholdings and getting a refund back is a better plan. If I had that money in my check each month it would simply get spent in other ways. Getting it back in one lump sum allows me to manage it better. Money goes in the kids accounts, we do some home improvements and it pays for our vacation. Besides with interest rates what they are these days, this "forced savings" really isn't costing me more than a trip to the movies.

Also, it has become rather hard to "game" your taxes the past several years with the ever changing tax code and deductions. You can do it, but it's pretty easy to end up owing if you aren't careful.

bradykp · 09-09-2010, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Praxis

Not to mention, for several thousand dollars (at best), interests in less than 1 year will net you like nothing these days.

there's no excuse to not earn at least 3% through muni bonds or index funds.

i'm not giving the gov't an interest free loan if i can help it. lol