OT - Grumpy Old Man Thread

[betarhoalphadelta]

And our 2026 total tax burden will likely exceed our combined salaries 

[847badgerfan]

Pay your fair share!

[bayareabadger]

And our 2026 total tax burden will likely exceed our combined salaries

How’d you pull that? 

[bayareabadger]

Yeah I like to keep mine on the razor's edge so I'm neither paying a lot in April, nor providing the US government interest-free loans.

This time the balance ended up slightly in the poor direction but overall I'd rather it turn out this way.

Still grumpy about all the taxes though. 

Once I started doing some part time stuff after a job change, I thought about the interest free loan stuff and said “well, that money I have to pay later earns interest/growth now,” and conditioned myself to see an upside. 

(granted, I’m less prone than most to lament taxes overall, but that’s just an outlook thing)

[Brutus Buckeye]

Which poster is...

a) grumpiest? 
b) oldest? 
c) manliest? 

[betarhoalphadelta]

How’d you pull that?

Capital gains.

[Gigem]

Grumpy..my accountant told me I owed $10k. 

Happy…I remembered I bought a truck earlier last year that we never depreciated. Brought the tax bill down to even, or close to it. 

[OrangeAfroMan]

Which poster is...

a) grumpiest?
b) oldest?
c) manliest?

Cincy's gotta be the oldest.  He went to the first college football game in 1869.  Rutgers vs somebody.  

[MikeDeTiger]

Which poster is...

a) grumpiest?
b) oldest?
c) manliest?

Catsby is the grumpiest, but I like to think I'm a close second.  

[MikeDeTiger]

Yep. I don't worry much about whether I get a check or owe at the end of the year. I always look at how much I've paid in total (and then add SS/Medicare).

My wife was conditioned by getting money back every year to look forward to tax time, and she was annoyed that we ended up owing. But then I showed her our total tax burden, and she ceased caring about paying or getting some back... She now was angered by how much we paid in total!

Same for my wife, she looked forward to nice returns every year.  When we got married, we were both happy to turn all finances over to me, because it's not her thing at all, and I'm geared for it and kinda like it anyway.  She's happy not to worry about it or even think about it anymore, but she's slightly grumpy in that there's not a return anymore, or if there was, I applied it to debt or something we know we're saving for.  No more tax-return-splurges for her.  

This year something funky and unexpected happened.  Maybe having to do with my job, or a pretty hefty raise she got last year....I'm not sure.  For whatever reason, our withholdings were way off and we wound up with a massive (for us) return.  She asked me after I was done with the taxes how it came out, I told her how much we were getting back and that I was going to re-finagle our withholdings so this doesn't happen again.  She didn't even bat an eye at the amount, and said "Well, it sounds nice, but I assume you're going to put it on your truck loan, or a down-payment for when I need a new car, or house repairs or something."  YUP.  She's learned well.  

[jgvol]

Same for my wife, she looked forward to nice returns every year.  When we got married, we were both happy to turn all finances over to me, because it's not her thing at all, and I'm geared for it and kinda like it anyway.  She's happy not to worry about it or even think about it anymore, but she's slightly grumpy in that there's not a return anymore, or if there was, I applied it to debt or something we know we're saving for.  No more tax-return-splurges for her. 

This year something funky and unexpected happened.  Maybe having to do with my job, or a pretty hefty raise she got last year....I'm not sure.  For whatever reason, our withholdings were way off and we wound up with a massive (for us) return.  She asked me after I was done with the taxes how it came out, I told her how much we were getting back and that I was going to re-finagle our withholdings so this doesn't happen again.  She didn't even bat an eye at the amount, and said "Well, it sounds nice, but I assume you're going to put it on your truck loan, or a down-payment for when I need a new car, or house repairs or something."  YUP.  She's learned well. 

At least one person here got the "YUGEST tax returns ever seen".  I sure didn't.

And I half expected to, based on how much I sent in quarterly on my wife's behalf.  

[utee94]

At least one person here got the "YUGEST tax returns ever seen".  I sure didn't.

And I half expected to, based on how much I sent in quarterly on my wife's behalf. 

Yeah I'm not sure who got those alleged big tax breaks.  It certainly wasn't me.

[847badgerfan]

Wasn't me. 

[MikeDeTiger]

At least one person here got the "YUGEST tax returns ever seen".  I sure didn't.

And I half expected to, based on how much I sent in quarterly on my wife's behalf. 

Maybe that was it....I dunno.

All I know is we were way off this time.  I thought if tax laws changed, HR departments kind of adjust things based on how you set up your W-4 withholdings (married claiming 1, etc.).  Usually, when we've set up our W-4's to match our real situations, we've come out about even, which is where I like it.  I guess I had it in my head that if tax law/code/whatever changes, the W-4 info is used to adjust withholdings and you still come out about even.  Maybe not?  

It was especially a shock because in the past, when it wasn't our year to claim the kid (his dad claimed him every other year), that was usually a break-even year.  On year's we did claim him, we usually got a little bit back.  This was his first year to claim himself, so since we weren't, I thought we'd break even.  But, that wasn't the case.