TAX SEASON APPRECIATION!!! What are you doing with your withheld money?

[da r entertainment]

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04

Whens the wedding? How much you dropping on that?

9/9/11 and the tab is $7700 for the hall with everything included such as ceremony, dinner, open bar, etc.  I'm looking forward to the big day, just not looking forward to all this $$$$ we about to pay. 

 

[da r entertainment]

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04

Whens the wedding? How much you dropping on that?

9/9/11 and the tab is $7700 for the hall with everything included such as ceremony, dinner, open bar, etc.  I'm looking forward to the big day, just not looking forward to all this $$$$ we about to pay. 

 

[bennypowers]

Pay off my CC and new brakes for my batmobile

 

[bennypowers]

Pay off my CC and new brakes for my batmobile

 

[kingjames23]

Originally Posted by villansfinest

MrJordan,

One Itemized Deduction that people often overlook is gambling losses . You can add up the entire amount of money that you lost while gambling and deduct that. (but first you have to subtract out any amount that you won - don't worry, most gambling houses don't know how much you won unless they issued you a 1099 form to report your winnings; they only do that when winnings at 1 point are over $1,000.00 and they would take your info when it happened and you would know you were getting it. unless you blacked out in vegas for a weekend and have no idea what went on.)
As far as proving your 'gambling losses' if you don't have a 'receipt', you could use your bank statements showing a withdrawal from an ATM in a casino.

Was that what you were asking about?

That's not true you can only deduct losses to the extent of winnings. You don't do losses-winnings=deductions

If winnings>losses=deduct losses
Losses>winnings=deduct winnings

 

[kingjames23]

Originally Posted by villansfinest

MrJordan,

One Itemized Deduction that people often overlook is gambling losses . You can add up the entire amount of money that you lost while gambling and deduct that. (but first you have to subtract out any amount that you won - don't worry, most gambling houses don't know how much you won unless they issued you a 1099 form to report your winnings; they only do that when winnings at 1 point are over $1,000.00 and they would take your info when it happened and you would know you were getting it. unless you blacked out in vegas for a weekend and have no idea what went on.)
As far as proving your 'gambling losses' if you don't have a 'receipt', you could use your bank statements showing a withdrawal from an ATM in a casino.

Was that what you were asking about?

That's not true you can only deduct losses to the extent of winnings. You don't do losses-winnings=deductions

If winnings>losses=deduct losses
Losses>winnings=deduct winnings

 

[peep tha sneaks]

Originally Posted by LazyJ10

Only read one page...

Way to let Uncle Sam be your rainy day fund.

I try to have little returned to me and have more money per check

Yup.  If yall consistently get huge returns, you're better off changing your withholdings.  You want your money upfront.  If you're afraid you will spend your money if you get it, then that's a terrible problem.

 

[peep tha sneaks]

Originally Posted by LazyJ10

Only read one page...

Way to let Uncle Sam be your rainy day fund.

I try to have little returned to me and have more money per check

Yup.  If yall consistently get huge returns, you're better off changing your withholdings.  You want your money upfront.  If you're afraid you will spend your money if you get it, then that's a terrible problem.

 

[humpasaurus rex]

Originally Posted by peep tha sneaKs

Originally Posted by LazyJ10

Only read one page...

Way to let Uncle Sam be your rainy day fund.

I try to have little returned to me and have more money per check

Yup.  If yall consistently get huge returns, you're better off changing your withholdings.  You want your money upfront.  If you're afraid you will spend your money if you get it, then that's a terrible problem.

Everyone has their own preference.  For me it's like saving up money throughout the whole year and not being able to touch it.  It's a nice way to start the year too.

 

[humpasaurus rex]

Originally Posted by peep tha sneaKs

Originally Posted by LazyJ10

Only read one page...

Way to let Uncle Sam be your rainy day fund.

I try to have little returned to me and have more money per check

Yup.  If yall consistently get huge returns, you're better off changing your withholdings.  You want your money upfront.  If you're afraid you will spend your money if you get it, then that's a terrible problem.

Everyone has their own preference.  For me it's like saving up money throughout the whole year and not being able to touch it.  It's a nice way to start the year too.

 

[manny1]

ill be paying off bills and spending it on my kids

 

[manny1]

ill be paying off bills and spending it on my kids

 

[frenchblue23]

Going in the "Home" savings towards my first house purchase.

 

[frenchblue23]

Going in the "Home" savings towards my first house purchase.

 

[villansfinest]

Originally Posted by KingJames23

That's not true you can only deduct losses to the extent of winnings. You don't do losses-winnings=deductions

If winnings>losses=deduct losses
Losses>winnings=deduct winnings

That's right, i forgot about that! Always more to it.
  

 

[villansfinest]

Originally Posted by KingJames23

That's not true you can only deduct losses to the extent of winnings. You don't do losses-winnings=deductions

If winnings>losses=deduct losses
Losses>winnings=deduct winnings

That's right, i forgot about that! Always more to it.
  

 

[villansfinest]

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04


thanks for the info.

but ive heard of itemizations that can be done to a certain amount/threshold that would not require any documentation if/when audited.

as far as vegas losses, i got a loss statement from one casino saying i lost a couple hundred bucks, when im positive i didnt. 
what i like about turbotax tho is that the numbers that you plug in will change your return right away on the page, so you can see how much a certain item makes a difference.

now when people have a business and "write something off," how much exactly does that turn into a return in $$. i believe it's a credit, but is there a % that it equates to of what you spent? for example, if i spend 1000 on something and im writing it off for my business, how much of that would i see as a "return?"



  

The threshholds that i am familiar with are more closely related with potential revenue for the taxing agency. Which is to say, if it costs them $100.00 to audit you and they will only get around $101.00, then they won't do it. Audits have to be financially worth the effort to the taxing agency. Believe me, the government does not want to/can not afford to correct even obvious mistakes if they are below a certain amount. I do not know the specifics about 'that amount' for each level of government, but if you keep your head down and don't try anything outrageous, your odds of being audited (where you would have to pay a substantial amount of money if found to be in the wrong) go down immensely.

And in regards to your second question about writeoffs, that question is best answered by explaining tax rates. Itemized deductions have the intended effect of decreasing your taxable income: i.e. if you are choosing to use your hard earned money to contribute to a Traditional IRA, you can deduct the amount of your contribution. Because the government thinks that you contributing to a Traditional IRA is a good thing, they don't want you to have to pay taxes on the amount of money that you earned and used towards that purpose. (Erego, home ownership through the deduction of mortgage interest, Small business through the business expense deductions, and health through the medical expenses deduction).

What does this mean to you?

Say you have $100,000.00 of income, and your tax rate is approximately 9%. If you had 'deductions' (business expenses, etc) that totalled to $15,000.00 you would subtract from your total income, and pay tax on the lower amount of income.

100,000
- 15,000
_______
85,000       x 9% tax rate = 7650

compared to
100,000
-       0
_______
100,000   x 9% tax rate = 9000

So being able to deduct $15,000 would save an individual (9000-7650) $1350. or,  $0.09 per every dollar spent on deductions. This is why more people at higher incomes go through with itemized deductions: when your tax rate is higher, your itemized deductions become more valuable to you for the money that they can save you (as long as you were going to be doing something with the money anyways.)

 

[villansfinest]

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04


thanks for the info.

but ive heard of itemizations that can be done to a certain amount/threshold that would not require any documentation if/when audited.

as far as vegas losses, i got a loss statement from one casino saying i lost a couple hundred bucks, when im positive i didnt. 
what i like about turbotax tho is that the numbers that you plug in will change your return right away on the page, so you can see how much a certain item makes a difference.

now when people have a business and "write something off," how much exactly does that turn into a return in $$. i believe it's a credit, but is there a % that it equates to of what you spent? for example, if i spend 1000 on something and im writing it off for my business, how much of that would i see as a "return?"



  

The threshholds that i am familiar with are more closely related with potential revenue for the taxing agency. Which is to say, if it costs them $100.00 to audit you and they will only get around $101.00, then they won't do it. Audits have to be financially worth the effort to the taxing agency. Believe me, the government does not want to/can not afford to correct even obvious mistakes if they are below a certain amount. I do not know the specifics about 'that amount' for each level of government, but if you keep your head down and don't try anything outrageous, your odds of being audited (where you would have to pay a substantial amount of money if found to be in the wrong) go down immensely.

And in regards to your second question about writeoffs, that question is best answered by explaining tax rates. Itemized deductions have the intended effect of decreasing your taxable income: i.e. if you are choosing to use your hard earned money to contribute to a Traditional IRA, you can deduct the amount of your contribution. Because the government thinks that you contributing to a Traditional IRA is a good thing, they don't want you to have to pay taxes on the amount of money that you earned and used towards that purpose. (Erego, home ownership through the deduction of mortgage interest, Small business through the business expense deductions, and health through the medical expenses deduction).

What does this mean to you?

Say you have $100,000.00 of income, and your tax rate is approximately 9%. If you had 'deductions' (business expenses, etc) that totalled to $15,000.00 you would subtract from your total income, and pay tax on the lower amount of income.

100,000
- 15,000
_______
85,000       x 9% tax rate = 7650

compared to
100,000
-       0
_______
100,000   x 9% tax rate = 9000

So being able to deduct $15,000 would save an individual (9000-7650) $1350. or,  $0.09 per every dollar spent on deductions. This is why more people at higher incomes go through with itemized deductions: when your tax rate is higher, your itemized deductions become more valuable to you for the money that they can save you (as long as you were going to be doing something with the money anyways.)

 

[devildog1776]

flat screen... 
the rest im investing in gold and silver

 

[devildog1776]

flat screen... 
the rest im investing in gold and silver

 

[mo greene]

unappreciated. too much work involved filling the 1040 out and i usually end up with a small return because i do the minimum withholding.

 

[mo greene]

unappreciated. too much work involved filling the 1040 out and i usually end up with a small return because i do the minimum withholding.

 

[kingjames23]

Originally Posted by villansfinest

Mr Jordan04 wrote:

---

thanks for the info.

but ive heard of itemizations that can be done to a certain amount/threshold that would not require any documentation if/when audited.

as far as vegas losses, i got a loss statement from one casino saying i lost a couple hundred bucks, when im positive i didnt. 
what i like about turbotax tho is that the numbers that you plug in will change your return right away on the page, so you can see how much a certain item makes a difference.

now when people have a business and "write something off," how much exactly does that turn into a return in $$. i believe it's a credit, but is there a % that it equates to of what you spent? for example, if i spend 1000 on something and im writing it off for my business, how much of that would i see as a "return?"



  

The threshholds that i am familiar with are more closely related with potential revenue for the taxing agency. Which is to say, if it costs them $100.00 to audit you and they will only get around $101.00, then they won't do it. Audits have to be financially worth the effort to the taxing agency. Believe me, the government does not want to/can not afford to correct even obvious mistakes if they are below a certain amount. I do not know the specifics about 'that amount' for each level of government, but if you keep your head down and don't try anything outrageous, your odds of being audited (where you would have to pay a substantial amount of money if found to be in the wrong) go down immensely.





Less than 1% of individual tax returns are audited (pretty sure that is correct). Tax returns are run through statistical programs that determine whether or not your return will be audited. It takes into account a lot of things, filing status, dependents, profession, zip code, etc. It spits numbers that the an IRS agent is gonna look at. They will further examine it and make a recommendation to their boss about an audit and the boss has the ultimate decision. Certain lines throw up instant red flags (home office deduction is one that comes to mind), anything that your SS is tied to that doesn't match what you put is gonna get you a letter.

For the most part it really isn't worth their time. They are more woried about C-Corps (at a particular level that I'm blanking on) the audit rate is 100%. They have IRS agent who have offices of those corps.

 

[kingjames23]

Originally Posted by villansfinest

Mr Jordan04 wrote:

---

thanks for the info.

but ive heard of itemizations that can be done to a certain amount/threshold that would not require any documentation if/when audited.

as far as vegas losses, i got a loss statement from one casino saying i lost a couple hundred bucks, when im positive i didnt. 
what i like about turbotax tho is that the numbers that you plug in will change your return right away on the page, so you can see how much a certain item makes a difference.

now when people have a business and "write something off," how much exactly does that turn into a return in $$. i believe it's a credit, but is there a % that it equates to of what you spent? for example, if i spend 1000 on something and im writing it off for my business, how much of that would i see as a "return?"



  

The threshholds that i am familiar with are more closely related with potential revenue for the taxing agency. Which is to say, if it costs them $100.00 to audit you and they will only get around $101.00, then they won't do it. Audits have to be financially worth the effort to the taxing agency. Believe me, the government does not want to/can not afford to correct even obvious mistakes if they are below a certain amount. I do not know the specifics about 'that amount' for each level of government, but if you keep your head down and don't try anything outrageous, your odds of being audited (where you would have to pay a substantial amount of money if found to be in the wrong) go down immensely.





Less than 1% of individual tax returns are audited (pretty sure that is correct). Tax returns are run through statistical programs that determine whether or not your return will be audited. It takes into account a lot of things, filing status, dependents, profession, zip code, etc. It spits numbers that the an IRS agent is gonna look at. They will further examine it and make a recommendation to their boss about an audit and the boss has the ultimate decision. Certain lines throw up instant red flags (home office deduction is one that comes to mind), anything that your SS is tied to that doesn't match what you put is gonna get you a letter.

For the most part it really isn't worth their time. They are more woried about C-Corps (at a particular level that I'm blanking on) the audit rate is 100%. They have IRS agent who have offices of those corps.

 

[solemate96]

I can't believe it's another year of taxes.

On that note, I just want a nice big bag of some 

 to smoke on.