# April 15th looms: Are your taxes done? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389 "2011-04-14T17:56:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/41 "2011-04-15T07:13:29Z")
Took a bit longer then usual because of dealing with my car donation and the credit on our windows, but done in early March and refund in the bank. It was fast this year. No refund from California yet, but they need the money more than I do. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/42 "2011-04-15T09:12:56Z")
I try to get my taxes done before my birthday. That way I know how much I can afford to spend on myself that day. Since I have the earliest birthday in my family, we all pretty much do this. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/43 "2011-04-15T12:20:27Z")
Finished them about three weeks ago. Much cash back from feds A bit back from state A big check to be written to the city Urgh. First time I’ve done them myself in ages. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/44 "2011-04-15T12:39:48Z")
Beginning of February. Got my whopping $42 refund in just a couple of days. Think I blew it on a bunch of games from Steam. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/45 "2011-04-15T12:42:01Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > I ask, because tax refunds aren’t normally painful, but if you owe $8400, you’re also paying an additional penalty for underwithholding or for underestimating your quarterly payments. > > One time, and one time only, I learned way back in the 80’s, and at that time, the threshhold was only a lousy $500. Might be higher now, but it wouldn’t be over $1000. He said we owed $8400, which was then dropped to 2K after factoring in the deferred home purchase credit. There wasn’t mention by our accountant of any underreporting penalty though. I ask my company to withhold the maximum amount possible for the government and don’t claim any exemptions even though we have a child, this in an attempt to pay more during the year and have the smallest payment possible come tax time. You’re saying that if at the end we owe more than 1k that we pay a pro rated penalty to boot? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/46 "2011-04-15T12:59:38Z")
I said “underreporting”, what I meant of course was underestimating. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/47 "2011-04-15T13:25:21Z")
As mentioned above, ours aren’t due until April 30th but I filed early in March after all the information slips arrived. The deadline for delivering them in Canada is Feb 28th. Small refunds arrived and spent already 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/48 "2011-04-15T13:29:32Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > Did them the end of February and already spent the Fed and State refunds. I am doing what I can to keep the economy going.😃 Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/49 "2011-04-15T13:43:08Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Ditto. QFT ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/50 "2011-04-15T15:03:03Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > You’re saying that if at the end we owe more than 1k that we pay a pro rated penalty to boot? Yes. See my post above. I had skipped my January estimated payment, so I owed a small penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/51 "2011-04-15T16:06:46Z")
I did but I didn’t know about something called a Form M, so I’ll have to amend it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/52 "2011-04-15T16:10:12Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > Not to be pedantic (okay, I guess I am, actually), but if $8400 is painful, I’d think that $1344 of it ranks up there as more than a minor nuisance. Besides, I can think of lots of stuff I’d rather spend $1300 on, than a gift to Uncle Sam. But then, I figure you’re probably being facetious when remarking about the “pain.” > " My point was our penalty was less than 1% of what we owed. So, perhaps the guy who owed $8400 was hit with only an $80 penalty. Not sure if there is a minimum, or how it works. Just throwing it out there. I’m not happy about paying the $1344, but it is a rather small price to pay for keeping my money all year. ---
**Author:** ![Sparklo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sparklo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparklo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/53 "2011-04-15T16:21:11Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > You’re saying that if at the end we owe more than 1k that we pay a pro rated penalty to boot? It depends. You have to owe more than $1000 and it has to be more than 10% of your total tax due. There’s also an exception where if you pay enough to cover your total tax liability for the previous year (sometimes it has to be 110% of the previous year) but still end up owing money, you don’t have to pay a penalty. Now, if you skip estimated payments, you could owe a penalty even if you are getting a refund. ---
**Author:** ![Marc\_Xenos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Marc\_Xenos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marc_Xenos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/54 "2011-04-15T19:21:49Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > You’re saying that if at the end we owe more than 1k that we pay a pro rated penalty to boot? It was any underpaid withholding or quarterly estimated tax payment back in the 80’s, and the threshhold was $500 at that time. Apparently the threshhold has been raised to $1,000 now before penalty applies. Also, quarterly estimate payments must be paid by a due date each quarter or some penalty applies. Near as I can tell, in general, the penalty is an additional 4% of the tax owed, if you owe more than $1,000. If you owed $8400 in tax, there would be an additional penalty of roughly $336. Yeah, not a killer (at least to someone who makes enough to owe some $8G on TOP of what’s already been withheld), but if someone walked up to me and told me to just give them nearly $350, guess what? Ain’t doin’ it! So I sure wouldn’t be happy to pay it out to Uncle Sam, especially due to my own stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Marc\_Xenos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Marc\_Xenos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marc_Xenos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/55 "2011-04-15T19:26:52Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > My point was our penalty was less than 1% of what we owed. So, perhaps the guy who owed $8400 was hit with only an $80 penalty. Not sure if there is a minimum, or how it works. Just throwing it out there. I’m not happy about paying the $1344, but it is a rather small price to pay for keeping my money all year. As I said, I was being pedantic. But the mathematics bother me. A $1344 penalty on top of $8400 is 16%. Unless you’re Warren Buffet, I just can’t see how you managed a return on investment of more than 16% to “make it worth it.” Even if you did earn 16% on your investment, by the time you got done with penalties, your net earnings is Zero. Kind of a waste for “holding onto your money all year.” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/56 "2011-04-15T19:40:40Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > As I said, I was being pedantic. But the mathematics bother me. A $1344 penalty on top of $8400 is 16%. Unless you’re Warren Buffet, I just can’t see how you managed a return on investment of more than 16% to “make it worth it.” > > Even if you did earn 16% on your investment, by the time you got done with penalties, your net earnings is Zero. Kind of a waste for “holding onto your money all year.” Agreed if the $1344 penalty applied to the guy who owed $8400. I owed over $150,000, therefore the $1344 for keeping my money until the end of the year is not so drastic a fee. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/57 "2011-04-15T21:20:27Z")
Just mailed Form 4868 (automatic six-month extension) and a check for twenty grand–a wholly arbitrary amount that should keep us out of jail until we separate out business and personal finances. We are our accountant’s comic relief. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/58 "2011-04-15T21:36:49Z")
My taxes were done months ago. Already spent the refunds. ---
**Author:** ![Marc\_Xenos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Marc\_Xenos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marc_Xenos)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/59 "2011-04-16T00:56:08Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I owed over $150,000, therefore the $1344 for keeping my money until the end of the year is not so drastic a fee. Owing $150K, that indicates your AGI was some half a mil for the year, which means your actual income was much higher. Seems for that money, you could have bought a little money management education. So, the penalty on $150K was some $1300. That comes out to a penalty of nearly 1%. Hard to buy since the IRS isn’t typically that charitable. But okay, let’s take that at face value. Now, the inflation rate for 2011 is running about 1.6%. Add to the fact that you just paid 1% on top of that, 2½% is a hell of a loss to take, just to hold onto your money for a year. Now, if you were to change your story and claim that you invested it, say at 4, 5, maybe 6%, I still have to wonder why you’d just throw away 1% of those earnings for shits and giggles. One thing I’ve learned about money is that if you don’t try to hold onto it, it fritters away a lot faster than people imagine. So I’m figuring you either have a lot of imagination, or you’re destined to be broke sooner than you expected. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389/60 "2011-04-16T01:46:44Z")
Georgia taxes are annoying. I you make over a certain amount, GA makes you include a copy of your federal 1040. It cost me seventeen extra cents to mail in the state return. I got the state refund back last week. Cashed it. Tuesday, I get a letter from the feds saying I forgot to fill in a line on the 1040 along with a form to write the number on and send back. I guess Georgia didn’t care. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-15th-looms-are-your-taxes-done/578389.md?page=4)