Taxes?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Liesje

Liesje

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
Mar 13, 2002
Messages
19,535
Location
In the dog house
I'm 19, sophomore in college and not very good at understanding complex forms like W2's, FAFSA, etc. People always say "yeah, you pay income tax, but you'll get some back...." Is there some sort of fancy equation for guestimating if or how much I "get back"? Like 1%, 5%...? This past year (Jan '03-Jan '04) I worked 40 hrs/wk all summer and about 15 hrs/wk during school. Do I really get some money back? :hyper: I've worked other jobs before, but they were full-time babysitting jobs and I never paid taxes on that :reject: so this is a new concept to me.
 
you will probably get money back. do you have your W2 yet from your employer? It should say how much you paid in federal income tax this year on it, you will probably get most of that amount back.
 
basically how i understand it, if you don't make over a certain amount of money (i don't know the number, and it might depend on where you are...although if they're federal i guess i that doesn't make a difference...) then you get it back. and if you do make over a certain amount of money, you get a percentage back based on various things you answer on the other lines of the forms.

all i know is that i don't make enough money to have to give them money, i get money back, and your work schedule (40 hour weeks during the summer 15 during school) look like mine...

FAFSA is the devil. i fucking hate filling that out. which reminds me i've got to do that soon...

i hope i didn't lose my W2 :yikes: :yikes: :yikes:...oh good, it's over there *points*
 
I :heart: doing my taxes!! I can't WAIT until I get my W2. I've been anxiously checking my mail every morning as soon as I get up! :hyper:

Come on, money!!
 
Lies,

You should have a W-2 from your employer (they must provide them by 1/31 each year). As you may know, the W2 will show your gross income as well as the amounts withheld for taxes.

How much you get back depends on how you set up your withholdings and the number of deductions you have. If you really want to put some effort into this, a program like TurboTax can help you decide the best way to file (1040EZ, 1040E or 1040). Without a mortgage, the standard deduction is probably best for you.
 
The tax code is an unusual creature - essentially, everything is taxable, unless it is not.

And yes, for the vast majority of us, returns must be filed each year.
 
Also, if you have student loans, you may be able to deduct the interest you've paid. Your loan company should send you a form, and when you're filling out your 1040, you'll come to a box where you just fill in the amount. You can download the instructions on the IRS website, which are pretty helpful with the formulas and all. Also, in a lot of states you can file online, and it does all the calculations for you. You usually get your return faster that way, so just look at the requirements to make sure you qualify for online filing. Telefile isn't bad either.

It's pretty straight-forward for the most part, though I had a lot of issues last year because I lived in Washington, DC for most of January and Maryland for the rest of the year, so I had to file in two states and use weird forms since I didn't spend the entire year in either state. :crack:
 
bammo2 said:
The US tax system seems really demented if you ask me :huh:

do you all have to fill in tax returns every year? The inland revenue do it all for us here.....
Click to expand...

The thing that's really confusing is that the US is one of the only countries that requires expats to file each year. Most income earned abroad is subject to exclusion (up to $80,000, adjusted each year for inflation), so they usually don't have to pay, but they're still required to report foreign earnings. There's no penalty for not filing, but if someone came back to the US after not filing forever, they'd have to file for the past three (I think) years. :huh:
 
I've always had good luck with TurboTax.com.

For students with the expected low incomes, preparation and electronic filing are free or very low cost. Its all self-explanatory and VERY simple. All you need is your W2 and they pretty much walk you through it all. Yesterday it took me a total of 20 minutes to prepare and file my stepson's taxes.
 
As a college student , you are exempt up to a certain income level from taxes, so its quite likely you'll be getting a return. I assume you should only need to file the 1040EZ form for your Federal return, which really only takes a few minutes.
 
nbcrusader said:
Lies,

You should have a W-2 from your employer (they must provide them by 1/31 each year). As you may know, the W2 will show your gross income as well as the amounts withheld for taxes.

How much you get back depends on how you set up your withholdings and the number of deductions you have. If you really want to put some effort into this, a program like TurboTax can help you decide the best way to file (1040EZ, 1040E or 1040). Without a mortgage, the standard deduction is probably best for you.
Click to expand...

mmm, ok, my dad said the W2 came to their house (which is fine since he does my taxes) and he uses TurboTax b/c he does all my relatives' taxes too. I'll try and remember to pick up my payment stubs from work and see how much I've paid in taxes this past year.

So do I get it ALL back? or MOST of it back?

oh, and I do have LOTS of student loans! I'll make sure to ask my dad if that changes things....
 
nbcrusader said:
Turbo Tax will check all of these things for you.... You should get a good chunk back. :up:
Click to expand...

Great! b/c this stupid college (seriously, I don't even know why I go here anymore...) is so :censored: expensive and I had to spend $400 of my U2 tour savings on books :banghead:
 
yeah, it can be really complicated. but since you're single, you'll definitely get a refund, unless you like claimed no taxes on your W4 or a ton of deductions. (which no employer would really let you do anyway, at least not without asking if you're sure first.)

me, i'm getting less and less of a refund each year. there's the marriage penalty for you! this year, i'm looking at less than $100 back. and that's INCLUDING my husband and i marking married, but withholding at the higher single rate. go figure! :banghead:
 
Okay, I have a question. Is there any free way to do your taxes on line. I have used Turbo Tax the past two years and have loved it but this year they have raised the price. Is it worth buying the computere software? Can I use that stuff year after year? Turbo Tax is almost idiot proof when it comes to taxes if you don't mind paying for it.
 
Last edited:
Depends on the size of your potential tax liability. If you have a single source of income and few deductions, it is probably just as easy to use the forms. Multiple sources of income and different categories of deductions would prompt me to pay for the software.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
NBA 2023-24 Thread
9 10 11
Replies
314
Views
10K
Hewson
Hewson
dan_smee
Hypothetical U2 MTV unplugged
Replies
20
Views
2K
Headache in a Suitcase
Headache in a Suitcase
LemonMelon
Desert Island XI - QUARANTINE ISLAND - Group 3 Listening Thread
3 4 5
Replies
133
Views
5K
iron yuppie
iron yuppie
LemonMelon
Desert Island XI - QUARANTINE ISLAND - Group 2 Listening Thread
4 5 6
Replies
175
Views
6K
namkcuR
N
A
the little stranger chapter 4
Replies
0
Views
574
annj
A

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom