I’ve always taken a larger than required RMD and then have large w/h to get a large tax refund. I’ve done this for so many years I don’t even recall why I began.
But many advise against this for fear of getting my refund hijacked. Is this really common?
I have a federal PIN so feel relatively safe. How would they steal my PIN?
Opinions?
I use my RMDs to make QCDs and bump up my FIT witholding in December. But I see no advantage to withholding more than the tax that I will owe when I file.
I buy Turbotax in December and run a quick check on my current year’s tax and try to come in just under my taxes that will be due in April.
The ideal situation when filing taxes is to have a zero balance. You do not have to pay anything additional, and you get no refund. Getting a large tax refund is simply letting the government have a no interest loan during the year.
To reduce the amount of taxes owed, I have started doing Qualified Charitable Distributions too. Charitable donations are deductible if you itemize, and you exceed the standard deduction. Qualified Charitable Distributions allow charity donations to be deducted even if the standard deduction is used.
The exception to that rule kicks into play when you have to prepay 110% of your previous year’s taxes to achieve “safe harbour” status.
True… but if you are looking at a year that is complex and difficult to predict, even in December, it’s a good idea to pay the margin to make sure. If your last-year AGI is over $150k (married) or $75k (single) that’s 110%. That’s cheap insurance.
Mistakes can be costly.