It’s tax season which is normally my favorite time of year, since it was always an annual occasion where I receive a cheque that’s usually larger than my monthly income. I’ve taken for granted that I’ve always received a full refund. At 27, I’ve never paid income tax, which isn’t such a bad deal.
Alas, those days are over.
this sums up exactly how I feel right now
While I have no interest whatsoever in returning to my graduate student stipend or days serving tables part time, I am a little bummed that it’s time to pay the piper. Honestly, I just thought I had more time. I have ample tuition credits, I can claim the interest on my student loans, I’ve made contributions to my retirement, I even have self-employment deductions. For 2012, I paid over $10,000 to tax man so I was trying to be humble and modest and say things like, “yeah I think I’ll get about $6,000 back” because I’m not greedy, you know?
Things that are fun about taxes:
1. Universal healthcare
2. Public Education
3. Roads
4. Parks
5. Libraries and Museums
+
Things that are not fun about taxes:
1. Paying them
Since putting my numbers into H&R Block At Home Online (which is what I used last year too), I learned I’ll probably be getting about half that amount back, if that. In my head I had already spent a $6,000 income tax refund. Granted, all of it was going to go towards my student loan, but it would be such a big hit to the balance I was looking forward to being completely debt free ASAP. Now I’m actually going to have pay off thousands of dollars of student loan debt out of my working income and, as you already know, I’ve been sick of paying off my debt for… well, ever since I’ve had it.
I’ve been playing around with H&R Block At Home Tax Software and seeing how much extra I should put into my RRSP to net a greater return, and while I can boost my refund by a few hundred dollars, there’s no way I’m getting out of paying taxes completely. I knew the day would come, I was just hoping it was next year.
It’s hard being a grown-up. You’re poorer than you think.
I usually get a little back from the feds and almost always owe my state money. This is mostly due to investment income. I guess it is a good problem to have. This year should be a little different since I have a baby and he will give me some pretty decent tax savings.
I normally would get back a little at tax time but in 2012 I became self-employed and I made more income than I have expenses to deduct so it’ll be my first time handing over a serious amount of money to the CRA & Revenu Quebec…not loving it…
Yeah I’m doing this pretty grudgingly =( Especially since all my self-employment income is on top of my regular salary and getting taxed in a higher bracket. It’s like volunteering 1/3 of the time!
One year I had to pay taxes, as a student! I was very happy when scholarships became non-taxable!
That’s terrible!!
27 and you’ve never paid taxes? Wow. I’ve been paying income taxes since I was 18 and had employment taxes before that. Our tax bill just keeps getting bigger and bigger and we’re only 3 years older!
Yeah, but you’re American ;) the US loves to abuse its lower & middle class and give all the cuts to the upper class. I brought in about $35,000 in 2011 which is nothing phenomenal but I paid $0 in taxes. This year I more than doubled that and will pay about $7,000-$8,000 in taxes. Canada’s all about giving tax breaks to lower income earners than making it up with aggressive progressive income tax. But yeah, as a student or part-time employee I never paid anything.
Oddly, I’m American and I have yet to pay taxes. Staying broke and not having a job for periods of time probably helped with that.
Once my situation stabilizes my ideal is to owe nothing and get nothing. I can’t comprehend why someone with a good regular salary would get all excited about a tax refund. Someone very poor, that I get, I’ve been there.
I don’t mind paying taxes BUT I think Americans have a raw deal. Not only for the reasons you listed but because we also do not have Universal healthcare. Not only do we pay in a ton in taxes, but we have insane healthcare charges on top of it.
I received a 1099 for the sale of a treasury bond that I had forgotten. With out it, my refund would be double the result. I shouldn’t complain because I received income, but I don’t feel like I did because I redeemed the bond so long ago!
This is the first year my girlfriend is actually having to pay a decent sized amount of taxes. She paid a little last year but it wasn’t much as she only worked for 4-5 months.
Ugh….I’m scared to do ours. I too think we might owe with the change in my tax brackets moving from employed to claiming EI…we’ll see since I’m still waiting in my T4
I paid like… $150 in 2009 and was irrationally distraught. Then I went back to being a poor student so it was all good :)
My friend in the military used to give me a bad time that I was never contributing to her salary, haha.
I think I’ll have paid around $18K this year… I don’t have many deductions, I don’t think.
LOL.. I love the gif at the top!
I definitely understand your pain. I’ve been an independent contractor for about a year now… that basically means I’m screwed come tax time.
It’s funny to me that I graduated high school having already taken Calculus, and I STILL don’t really understand accounting and tax mumbo-jumbo.
Your blog is helping me a lot in that area though. So thanks a bunch :)