My wife was telling me a 19 year old, unmarried mother of two who works in a daycare told her she recently had her taxes filed. She was happy about her $8K refund. I thought the purpose of a refund was to reimburse for over payment of taxes. There is NO WAY she over paid. Unbelievable the ways welfare system continues to expand itself.
$14K wage earner gets $8k tax refund?????
- Thread starter rmattox
- Start date
Eff that girl making $270 per week.
This one isn't hard to figure out. It's the earned income credit plus she has 2 dependents which helps also. Personally, I'm just glad that's she's out working vs. sitting at home waiting for her check.
if you make below a certain amount of money, you get back all of your taxes other than what you paid into Social Security and Medicare. However, I don't know how in the world she paid 8K in taxes to begin with. The Earned Income Tax Credit isn't THAT big. I got the EITC my first tax filing out of college because I didn't get a full-time job until mid August and was working as a part-time minimum wage bag boy at Kroger for four months, and it was like a couple hundred bucks back then.
Maybe that's all she wants to make.
The 8K refund covers all fed, state, local, sales and misc taxes paid.
She is living 100% tax free.
Kids get 100% free health care.
She qualifies for section 8 housing.
Probably qualifies for utility assistance.
Seeing that she works in a daycare, she can take the kids to work with her and have the owner bill her and get refunded the cost of daycare even if she was not actually "charged".
She will probably have another kid or two and play the system until she is in her early 40's.
At that point she will probably find a good disability lawyer.
She got back all the taxes she paid in, and some of the taxes I paid in.
I'm just guessing, but I suspect she put 0 as her dependents on her W4, so she had quite a bit withheld for that income range. Now when it comes time to file, she counts herself and the 2 kids plus earned income tax credit. Most 19 year olds don't know how to fill out a W4 which is why I'm speculating that.
You should be much more pissed at the companies and millionaires who got more of your taxes.
Earned income credit can be up to approximately $5500 with two qualifying children.
My 22yr old college student make 15,600 working part time and had 1,400 withheld while claiming 0.
Why can't it be both?
What's the big deal? I mean you all are assuming a lot. What if she isn't abusing the system and lives at home in her parents basemen just doing the best she can because she fell for some bum.
Situations like this aren't the problem, at least she is working and trying. Maybe she chose daycare because as an employee it's free care for her children so in this situation it actually is a benefit.
Situations like this aren't the problem, at least she is working and trying. Maybe she chose daycare because as an employee it's free care for her children so in this situation it actually is a benefit.
+1. Exactly what I'm thinking. My ex also received EITC after we divorced. Ha ha, the name sounded familiar because I'd help her with filing taxes during the first few years after we split.
For context, here is a Washington Post piece describing the benefit: "How paying no federal income taxes helps the poor get off welfare and into work"
I just hate when the working poor catch a break.
She is 19 with 2 kids and you claim what's the big deal and situations like this aren't the problem. LMAO
With 2 kids it sounds like she is forced into thinking responsibly. What were you doing at 19 that was so special?
Does the military count as special? Also not having kids everyone else has to support for 18 years.
Yep military counts, I'm sure it didn't stop you from making bad decisions was really the point.
Everyone else? Like who? She works at a daycare and probably gets free daycare( I believe most do that for employee's) so she is trying.
I'd rather help this person than a lot of losers I see daily without her challenges and doing nothing.
Everyone else? Like who? She works at a daycare and probably gets free daycare( I believe most do that for employee's) so she is trying.
I'd rather help this person than a lot of losers I see daily without her challenges and doing nothing.
Don't forget the additional child tax credit. That's also a nice little hand out to the poors.
I had a client's kid the other day who is a construction worker, his wife's in college and they have a child.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit wiped out the tax liability. Then between the refundable portion of the AOTC, the additional child tax credit and the earned income tax credit, they ended up getting about $3,000 more back than they had paid in. On roughly ~$37k AGI. They aren't gaming the system or shaping their lives for tax credits, just playing by the rules your elected officials put in place.
But no one who thinks these credits are a good thing should ever utter a word about any of the credits businesses get. At least most of the time those are tied to something most people would agree should be incentivized (as opposed to incentivizing being poor and having children).
And along that same line, "tax breaks for corporate jets" is one of the most ignorant damn things a person can say. Just know, if someone says that, they are just parroting what they've heard on the news and have no idea what the hell they're talking about.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit wiped out the tax liability. Then between the refundable portion of the AOTC, the additional child tax credit and the earned income tax credit, they ended up getting about $3,000 more back than they had paid in. On roughly ~$37k AGI. They aren't gaming the system or shaping their lives for tax credits, just playing by the rules your elected officials put in place.
But no one who thinks these credits are a good thing should ever utter a word about any of the credits businesses get. At least most of the time those are tied to something most people would agree should be incentivized (as opposed to incentivizing being poor and having children).
And along that same line, "tax breaks for corporate jets" is one of the most ignorant damn things a person can say. Just know, if someone says that, they are just parroting what they've heard on the news and have no idea what the hell they're talking about.
I'd have no problem with her paying 0 tax. I don't agree she should get a refund that exceeds what she paid. That's not a tax refund. It's welfare. Oh, what did she do with the $8K? She bought an SUV with 160k + miles with part of it. Threw a birthday party for her 3 year old with part of it and spend the rest on clothes.
Man, she should have consulted with you and your busybody wife first.
Guess what - we can actually be pissed about both. We dont have to choose only one bad policy.
If your pissed it should be at the laws which allow it not the people in a situation that allows them to take advantage.
Taxes withheld at $14K aren't even going to be close to 2,000 dollars even with 0 dependents. I make mid 20s with 0 dependents and I come a few hundred dollars short of 2K in taxes, state and federal combined.
The problem is that if she would just adjust her withholding she wouldn't struggle paycheck to paycheck so much. Too many people get too excited about getting a huge tax return like its something special. They don't realize they just gave the government an interest free loan for a year and now they're just getting paid back. Most people want to blow through those returns as soon as they get them, instead of investing some of the money. I guess transportation and clothes would classify as a responsible way to spend the money as long as she still did that frugally, so I'm not going to rant about the case in point, but in general, she should adjust her withholding in order to take home more money on a monthly basis.
Show me where I put an amount on it. I'm just speculating that she claimed 0 on her W4. Comes time to file, she claims 3 (herself and 2 kids), get earned income tax credit, and child tax credit. Earned income credit can pay you back more than you paid in, which is crazy but that's the regulation right now.
Reality is though, I'm guessing she didn't get $8K back. I'd say it's less but she likely fluffed the number and then in the game of telephone it got elevated to this.
Actually it would be pretty close to 2k based on the 2016 tax tables. Didn't go
back to the 2015 tables but imagine they are pretty similar.
Actually it is no one's business what she does with her tax refund. Hell, I am taking mine to New Orleans and staying drunk for a month or so.
I read an article once that looked at low incomes and govt benefits. The conclusion was that if you make below $18k, you would end up with just as much buying power as making $42k.
Oh my god. A car with 160k miles on it? Wow, she is really gaming the system. I just can't stand these welfare queens driving around in their eleven year old cars and buying clothes to wear. But you know the worst part is, OP. Now she can buy some food or even rent with her paycheck. Makes my blood boil.
Seriously, at least she didn't get a tattoo or a tv. Seems like a vehicle to get her to and from work, clothes, and something special for her child are a pretty good way to spend a return.