Tax Refunds

Because I procrastinate too much, I spent Wednesday evening doing taxes. It should've been fine but it wasn't; I used the same super-easy service that I used last year but with glitches this time.

In the end, my taxes got done and I've had confirmation, both from the IRS and from the state, that they went through. I'm getting a refund from both sources, thanks to a required contribution to a pension fund, which lowers my income, a deferred compensation fund that is optional and to which I divert almost more than I can afford; at the same time, not getting any younger, I can't afford not to beef up my pension fund. The other big thing was claiming interest on student loan payments. Capturing the full amount of the credit only makes me wish it was larger. My interest payments exceeded by far the allotted amount. With the massive student loan debt that's out there in this economy, why is it so small. It isn't just lawyers who went to private schools these days who have massive debt and are underemployed!

I guessed what my refund would be, without even looking at my tax information before doing so. My guess was a bit high, but only by $200. The resulting amount is sufficient to pay off miscellaneous bills I want to get rid of, including a medical bill, and to have a fairly significant amount to add to my savings. That's going to be important.

E-Filing

From a state that's a leader in e-filing, a reminder that it's quicker and easier to file online. I hope to ward off my personal insolvency with a refund. It goes quickly and easily. All information related to tax returns should be to you soon. I'm waiting for a couple of remaining statements and have targeted President's Day as a deadline on which to file my return. For those of you who haven't e-filed, I think I paid $8 for the state return. It was easy and fast. Last year I used my refund to pay on my smallest student loan. This year it goes toward a medical bill.

I'm putting a fair amount of money into deferred compensation one way or another; I have an automatic deduction for a retirement account, which I have augmented with what seems to be a hefty contribution to my deferred compensation account. It's like a 401K but the government ones have a different number.

The net result is that while my income for the coming year, at least most of it, will be more stable, it will also be less reflecting the pre-tax contributions both to retirement accounts and to other benefit accounts. I'm excited about that because not only am I saving for retirement but I'm reducing my immediate tax obligation.

Tax Refunds

Most of us live in states in which overpayments of taxes will be refunded upon filing our tax returns. Not if we live in California; the insolvent state is keeping overpayments!

I have an acquaintance who is a teacher in California and is no longer getting paid but instead receiving IOU's.