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Old 02-22-22, 03:54 PM  
Kathy G
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Join Date: Nov 2001
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We’ve been using the H&R Block software program. It’s pretty user friendly and the PC or Mac download is $28.44 for the deluxe with one state on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Block-Softwar...s%2C474&sr=8-3
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Old 02-22-22, 10:27 PM  
SpiritYogi
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Spiritual Bliss
Thank you all for providing your experiences with various tax software. I'm going to check them out this weekend. I'll report back to let you know which one I used so anyone who is also shopping around and is in the same situation as me will have more information on which one they may want to go with.
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Old 02-23-22, 05:09 AM  
Helen
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Australia
I have a question about US taxes.
We have PAYG, which is Pay As You Go - each pay cycle, your employer takes out the proper amount of tax AS IF you earned that amount every week - and they send it to the tax office.

People on salaries would have the same PAYG tax taken out each pay cycle, but casual workers: - not much work this week - not taxed much. Heaps of work next week, taxed in a higher tax bracket.

And that tax taken out, doesn't take into account all your deductibles like tools/equipment, to reduce your taxable income.

Soooo... most people are over taxed throughout the year.
When we do our annual tax return (30th of June), we can then claim our allowable deductions for tools etc, so we should have paid less tax than our employer took out.

That means that MOST people get a tax refund cheque - mine is usually a few thousand $.

How does yours work? In very general - like I've done above.
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Old 02-23-22, 12:34 PM  
Leonana
 
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Arizona
It’s similar with employees who are salaried or hourly, same percentage of taxes taken out every week. However, we can choose the percentage by how many deductions we claim, which is based on our number of dependents. Employers send the money to the IRS. Employers also pay half of the employee’s 15% that goes to Medicare and Social Security.

Self employed sends the tax to the IRS quarterly, although you can send it more often. We also pay the full 15% for Medicare and Social Security. We choose how much to send in, although you can be charged a penalty when filing your income tax if you send too little during the year. I base ours on a percentage that takes into account our expenses too. We can’t afford to send in extra.

I guess it’s easier for a government to send the money back as opposed to waiting for it, but it sounds like a real burden for the taxpayers. I don’t think it would work here, there would be an uprising lol.
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Old 02-23-22, 12:36 PM  
bzar
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Helen, the US is exactly the same as yours - if you are an employee, the employer will "withhold" an amount based on info you supply, such as dependents, married/single, etc. it's a general guideline. the employer has a table that they follow based on inputs supplied by the employee.

casual workers, if they are employees, follow the same suit with respect to rank and file employees described above.

again, it's based on your "normalized" income. so even a casual worker has an expected income based on previous years.

in both cases, you can easily over-withhold, resulting in a "refund" at the end of the year for having overpaid.

independent or self-employed workers (who are not employees) need to make sure that they pay their taxes on a consistent basis, since they might not have a payroll department to remind them to do so, unless they have an accountant who does it for them. otherwise, they'll be hit with a huge tax bill and possibly penalties for not doing so.

although i am an employee, i also collect a pension. i have college student kids. because of this wonkyness, and despite a "predictable income," i opt to have more withheld by my employer and have opted to have extra amounts withheld from my pension. otherwise, i could get hit with a penalty for "under withholding." in mid-year and near the end of the year, i look at the balances paid by me and DH to make sure we don't overpay. i try to hit it just right. in the past few years, i've ended up paying for both Federal and state, which is what you want - no interest free loans to the government from us!

ugh.
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Old 02-23-22, 01:07 PM  
donnamp
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Maryland, USA
Yes, Jeannine - that is what you want - to owe just a little bit but not so much that you are penalized or stressed out by the amount - ideally break as close to even as possible - why should the gov't get an interest free loan from you?

Thanks for the info for my DD's return that you provided previously!!

Donna
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Old 02-23-22, 01:09 PM  
adawn
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Illinois
Varies by state and I think bzar mentioned it in passing, but don't forget state taxes. Love my state but not as fond of the flat tax here. Even when I've been fairly low income, the state always takes its cut. Plus, some tax preparers charge extra to prepare/file a state tax return in addition to the federal tax return.

And since this year was a good year for investments, apparently I'm going to owe more than usual due to capital gains from investment money not in IRAs.

BTW, bzar--My mom is just like you: "no interest free loans to the government from [me]!" She's retired and I don't even know if she tries to strike a balance. I think she just withholds the bare minimum (based off the prior year's taxes). She doesn't mind owing a lot when tax time rolls around as long as there are no penalties and she hasn't "loaned" the government any money that year.
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Old 02-27-22, 01:29 AM  
Helen
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Australia
Thanks Jeannine, Sherry & Adawn! I've always wondered.
__________________
2024: 👏 STRIVE rather than settle.👏 💪STRONG rather than soft.💪
• No exercise can compensate for a poor diet. 😖
• Walking is phenomenally good for me. 😊
• Resistance training is critical. 💯

¹ Walk first
² Weights next
³ Cardio for fun
⁴ Add stretch & balance.
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Old 03-06-22, 06:20 PM  
SpiritYogi
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Spiritual Bliss
After much research, I found a tax filing site that allowed me to file my federal and state returns for free (federal is free for every filer who meets the qualifications; some are charged $9.95 just for state), and it was super easy to use.

This is the site I used: www.OLT.com
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