Thursday, December 8, 2011

2012 Taxes!


So, I don't want to jump the gun or anything.... but I may not owe on my taxes next year! I received an email today that Turbo Tax opened up their 2012 tax forms online. I had already calculated out what my W-2 "should" look like by the end of the year, so I had the basic numbers all set to input. Imagine my surprise when the top right corner, where a possible refund could be, actually had green numbers up there!

I have been dreading, planning, and anticipating seeing the evil RED numbers showing how much I would owe. We have it budgeted to set aside around $4K for taxes next spring. Holy crap, we may not need to do that! I would honestly be happy to break even and just not owe, that would mean we are doing it right. I was so nervous because of the fiasco we had earlier this year where we ended up owing for the first time ever - $7K in taxes! Because I had to play with my deductions so I could come up with the money to pay those taxes, I was sure I screwed myself into having to owe again. It looks like that may not be the case.

I won't count my chickens before they are hatched though, my quick calculations didn't include the hubby's income from this year. I'll have to play around with what he made at each job (3 of them) and enter that in too. That could be a game changer if it bumps us up to a higher tax bracket. We'll see though. For today, I have a smile on my face, thinking of other things we could do with that $4k instead!

12 comments:

  1. I hope you don't owe! I have always owed but this year I will be getting back around $4 or $5K

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  2. I almost always get a refund but this year I am just hoping to break even. I didn't deduct as much from my paycheck as normal so that I would have a few months of extra income while my husband was out of work.

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  3. This is sweet news! I'll keep my fingers crossed that the $4k stays with you and doesn't have to go to the IRS (triple boooo).

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  4. Great news! Like you, I think we will actually get money back this year (the first time in more than a dcade) because I havent worked at all since January other than a few small side jobs. Yeah us!

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  5. Oh wouldn't that be wonderful!! Keeping my fingers crossed for you! I haven't even begun to think about tax time yet! You are really being proactive!

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  6. Merry Christmas to you and your hubby!

    ps: I gave you an award, check out my blog for it :)

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  7. Hi...I gave you an award too!!!

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  8. That's great news!!
    Fingers crossed the number stays in green!

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  9. I just stumbled onto your blog while searching for "is it ok to take a vacation while in debt." Did you guys ever take that vacation?? We have about $40,000 in credit card debt, $20,000 in car loan, and $20,000 in school loans. Not even adding our home into that mix! We fell on many hard times when I was out of work for a few years, and the debt kept adding up. I now have a great job, a year and a half and going strong! We always struggle with a vacation! we were thinking of using our income tax return and taking $1500 for a cruise, but then I feel guilty! Your blog is amazing how quickly you are minimizing your bills!!!

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  10. @ Michelle P - $4-5K is a pretty great refund, congrats!

    @ Newlyweds - Way to think ahead and plan on the situation you were facing. Here's hoping you break even :)

    @ Happy Homeowner - Thanks for the support! Hope your fingers don't get tired ;)

    @ April - Congrats on the refund!

    @ Jane - Thanks and Happy New Year! I figured if I owed, I'd want to find out as early as possible, so I could budget for it.

    @ Krystin - Merry (belated) Christmas to you as well. Thanks so much for the award! I'll head over to your page to check it out :)

    @ Mysti - Thanks to you too for an award! That's so cool. I feel honored :)

    @Jode - Thanks, me too!!

    @jpkittie - I agree! I'm still hoping it doesn't change.

    @Tiffany - Glad you stumbled over here, welcome! We did NOT end up taking the vacation and honestly I'm happy we didn't. We got some strong opinions on both sides but at the end of the day we decided we wanted to be out of debt faster and our decision has helped us. As you can see by our steady progress on here, it's been from cutting corners and giving things up that we normally would indulge in. In the end, it's up to you and you have to do what feels right but for us, getting out of debt "felt right" and we'll be able to indulge when we are finally done. Good luck with your decision and let me know what you decide :)

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  11. Thank you for the reply! We are waiting to see what our income tax refund is, but we are leaning towards taking a vacation, and then coming back and dedicating the next 2 years to becoming debt free! hopefully we can do it!!

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