Clark doesn’t recommend big tax refunds. See his tax refund advice instead. Do you agree or disagree? Tell us why!
1 Like
I not only agree but prefer to owe money. That way I’m able to hold more money in savings until it’s due and earn a bit of interest. Just be careful not to under withhold to the point of getting an under withholding penalty,
Since I retired I pay estimates for Federal tax instead of having money withheld from my pension and social security. I use a tool I found a couple of years ago that is surprisingly accurate. Since I am on a mostly fixed income, I plug in my income numbers and it will tell me how much tax I owe. I divide that by 4 and pay the IRS online every quarter. For 2021 I had a refund of $7.
Yes I prefer to owe too
My wife likes the refund. Guess who wins?
1 Like
Try to come out about even, usually pretty close.
2 Likes
I always want to owe money come tax time. This is especially reinforced when I hear about all of these people waiting to get refunds back for over a year.
2 Likes
I try to owe a little and don’t mind missing the mark too far because the late penalty isn’t too bad. This year I ended up with a $49 penalty on a $4600 under estimate.
2 Likes
I owe another $4100.00 and got by without a penalty. Score one for me. 
I concur. We have taxes withheld from RMDs, but have a variety of other income. So, we wait until later in the year to take RMDs and get the withholding close but within the safe harbor. If I mistakenly over withhold, I just apply it to current year taxes. We owe the Feds $750 for 2021 and the state about $2,200 (but withheld more than 2020 tax, so no penalty).
I pay estimates. My income is not subject to state income tax, since it’s from a state pension, which is not taxable income in Kansas. But if I withhold Federal from it or any other source, the the state law says that I have to withhold 5% for the state, even though my taxable income will be zero. It’s easier and far more cost effective for me to estimate federal and pay them.
I paid a few thousand but had to paper file. I’ve E-filed for years but this year could not the PIN thing to work. Rejected about ten times so printed and mailed.
I’ve tried to log into my account for weeks to see if everything is okay, but sources say there are millions of paper returns to enter and it could take months.
Filing taxes is a little like balancing a checking account. The ideal tax return should be zero. You pay nothing and you get back nothing. Unfortunately, reality makes this difficult. Being aware of what income is taxable and adjusting withholding amounts accordingly can help. It is a constant struggle to keep everything in balance.