# How Much Are You Getting Back From The IRS? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 6, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403 "2011-02-06T16:13:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/21 "2011-02-06T23:36:23Z")
I paid in about $300 this year. Am I correct in assuming that those getting $2000+ have kids? My brother is getting many thousands of dollars from the IRS. He has four kids. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/22 "2011-02-07T00:05:34Z")
I don’t know what I’m getting yet; all my documentation is at my accountant. I usually get between 8K and 10K from Federal, and $1200 to $1500 from State, so it should be in that range. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/23 "2011-02-07T00:08:09Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > I paid in about $300 this year. > > Am I correct in assuming that those getting $2000+ have kids? My brother is getting many thousands of dollars from the IRS. He has four kids. I get much more than that, and I have no children. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/24 "2011-02-07T00:08:50Z")
I owe them money, which is exactly how I like it. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/25 "2011-02-07T00:13:28Z")
> [@Trubie](#): > > Do you mean someone can be too old to claim or that she’s just at the age where she’s become independent? Just asking because I’ve heard people can claim elderly parents and relatives. The latter. She’s on her own. ---
**Author:** ![Trubie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@Trubie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trubie)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/26 "2011-02-07T00:15:11Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > The latter. She’s on her own. Thanks for clarifying. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/27 "2011-02-07T00:19:14Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I owe them money, which is exactly how I like it. Which is actually how it should be. I reap no benefit on the money the government is holding for me for the tax year. I could restructure my withholding to deduct much less from my salary, and sometimes I seriously consider doing so, but I never actually follow through. I’ve gotten used to the large lump sum payout every February. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/28 "2011-02-07T01:31:07Z")
I haven’t figured it out yet but if I get money back it will be the first time in many, many years. I always owe. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/29 "2011-02-07T01:35:00Z")
I’m self employed, so I have to send them money, every year. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/30 "2011-02-07T02:00:15Z")
I am absolutely guaranteed to neither owe the IRS money nor have them owe me money. 😃 Now, with regards to the Canada Revenue Agency I suspect I’ll owe them a small amount this year. Usually I get a few hundred back, but since I probably won’t contribute to my RRSP for the 2010 tax year and have had a reasonable amount of income from mutual funds in the past year I’m guessing I won’t be getting a refund this time. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/31 "2011-02-07T02:03:31Z")
About $4K. Should be enough to pay off my motorcycle and the new TiVo I just bought with a few dollars left over. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/32 "2011-02-07T02:15:36Z")
I owe them about $4k. Actually I owe the Feds about $5.5k and the state owes me about $1,500. Still, I can’t keep up with the tax man through my paychecks. I will have to start to pay estimated taxes as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/33 "2011-02-07T02:34:40Z")
More than $5,000. Adoption tax credit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/34 "2011-02-07T04:41:56Z")
If you’re getting money back,that just proves you’re lousy at doing your tax witholding calcs. I always owe at the end of the year. Giving them an interest-free loan is not on my list of things to do. I gotta say though that the OP came within $33, which is pretty close to getting back zero. A lot of people have an irrational fear of owing money on April 15th. It’s not like the storm troopers show up if you have to send in a few hundred along with your return. But it does help a \*bunch \*if you actually have the few hundred available to send in if needed. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/35 "2011-02-07T05:29:51Z")
I’m getting about $1,600 federal and about $200 state. Most of this is because I bought a house at the end of 2010, and the mortgage insurance premium needed to close the loan is deductible. I think monthly mortgage insurance premium deductions are going away for 2011, but between mortgage interest, state income tax and local property tax deductions, I’m estimating I’ll be getting $5,000 to $8,000 back next year. I _suppose_ I could change my W-9 to have more each month, but I kind of like putting myself on a tighter budget and then having a large refund that I can use for something significant. If I had the extra each month I’d probably just fritter it away. Back when I was a postdoc, I had to deal with paying quarterly estimated taxes and always ended up having to send in an additional $1,000 or so with my tax returns. I did not enjoy that! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/36 "2011-02-07T06:29:06Z")
I expect to get back something over $5,000. Looks like I really messed up my withholding. But in my defense, my taxes were quite complicated this year, and in different ways than in previous years. I can never get the IRS W-4 forms to figure the correct withholding. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/37 "2011-02-07T07:24:02Z")
I’ll tell you when it’s closer to April 15, eh. ---
**Author:** ![bahimes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bahimes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahimes)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/38 "2011-02-07T10:58:04Z")
Worked my taxes. Pretty simple. One W-2, one 1099R, two 1099INTs. didn’t have the INTs came up owing $250. Finally got the INTs $600+ in savings account interest and my tax debt is now $450!!! That’s what I get for saving and no debts? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/39 "2011-02-07T12:43:10Z")
Foreign Income Inclusion FTW! With the “making work work” credit or some silly such thing, I’m actually getting more money back from the IRS than I actually paid to the IRS. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403/40 "2011-02-07T13:10:47Z")
We’ll pay in a ton. We cashed in a lot of stock last summer since my brother in law had cancer and needed some help getting through the year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-are-you-getting-back-from-the-irs/570403.md?page=3)