NEW YORK, April 11, 2008
Talking Tax Refunds, Rebates
Most Of Us Will Get Both This Year -- But How Should We Handle Them?
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Play CBS Video Video Is Your Tax Refund Too Big? Some families are looking at thousands of dollars in tax refunds and rebates this season. Janice Revell, senior writer at Money magazine, has a few tips for managing your money.
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(AP / CBS)
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Instead, she advises, file your taxes electronically and ask for your refund to be deposited directly into your bank account. You'll usually see the money in less than two weeks. If you do that and file by the 15th, you can expect to receive your tax rebate some time between May 2 and May 16.
If, for instance, you get the average rebate and the total possible rebate, that's a nice chunk of change!
So, what would be the most useful thing to do with that money?
"You don't have to deprive yourself completely of any fun," Revell responded. "Take 10 percent of your rebate and refund money and spend it on whatever you want. This is 'found money.' You work hard, and you deserve to treat yourself. So have some fun with that 10 percent, but then make sure you're putting the other 90 percent to work!"
Of course the government is hoping you're going to spend your money to help stimulate the economy. But, Revell reminds viewers, it's precisely because the economy is on shaky ground that you don't want to spend it all; you need to focus on shoring up your own finances first.
Here are three courses of action Revell suggests:
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- Upon receiving my economic stimulus check, I think I''''ll help support the American distillery industry and get stimilated as well!
:)
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Posted by far_point200
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liquid panty remover? - Reply to this comment
- Donating mine to the U.S. Army Special Forces museum at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Wonderful place to visit and see !!! You will get an idea what the price of freedom you enjoy today int he USA cost those veteran''s
Stay the course !! - Reply to this comment
- Revell is wrong. We pay our dues and if we get refunds, we can save it, spend it, or do whatever with it.
It seems more logical to budget upfront and get a windfall later on, than to risk underpaying and then owing a boatload of money, which doesn''t help and especially these days.
Even I learned that, having gotten into credit card trouble and getting out of it. - Reply to this comment
- PASS YOUR OWN CRISIS PACKAGE %u2026
1) CANCEL YOUR CABLE / SATTELITE TV: let the corporate media moguls (and their advertisers) know that you will no longer pay for their propaganda.
2) DIVEST FROM WALL ("WAR") STREET : the banking ELITE are systematically selling out the middle class to the lowest global bidder yet they still demand the average taxpayer to bail them out when times are tough.. start your own HEDGE FUND and invest in land, GOLD and SILVER.
3) START YOUR OWN BANK - buy a fire safe and fill it w/ cash/coin etc.. don%u2019t empower the banking ELITE to do funny things with YOUR MONEY.
4) SUPPORT & DEVELOP LOCAL ECONOMIES !
- if possible, BURN WOOD for heat;
- support local ORGANIC growers or grow some of your own food;
- implement alternative energy sources (solar, hybrid autos etc ..)
- develop local means of commerce not based on fraudulent Federal Reserve Notes.
5) AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE BEGINS WITH YOU - healthy eating habits and exercise will create less demand on the system meaning lower costs. You%u2019ll have plenty of time to work out once you UNPLUG THE TV DRUG.
6) STOP UNNECESSARY CONSUMPTION & STOP USING YOUR CREDIT CARD !
7) DECENTRALIZE ! - the global economy is nothing more than a ploy to centralize power, control and wealth into the hands of an elite few - blinded by misinformation, the American people are buying right into it - the rich get richer and the middle class is quickly becoming the working poor.
THIS IS EXACTLY - Reply to this comment
- I agree, you cannot say you are good republican if you voted for ANY of these war profiteering, cowards GOP representatives. No more than you can say you are a conservative, not a republican since they are one and same (maybe republican is just a little more extreme).
- Reply to this comment
- what about married filing separate??? anyone know??
- Reply to this comment
- We should save the money, otherwise the war profiteering corporations or foreign countries will get the money. It is time to start saving and stop consuming so much. This will also help stop the endless wars.
- Reply to this comment
- on 2007, I worked about 14000 while going to school.However since the different companies for which I worked for did not widthdraw much taxes from my paychecks, I ended up owing more. Especially when my parent claimed me as a dependent; because I was living with them at that time.Is there anyway that I receive a rebates? if not, who will receive it and how much could it be estimated to?
- Reply to this comment
- $600 is plenty to get a brand new AK-47 style rifle with 1,000 rounds of ammo.
It is a wise investment. - Reply to this comment
- Upon receiving my economic stimulus check, I think I''ll help support the American distillery industry and get stimilated as well!
:) - Reply to this comment
- I always love how the harder I work, the more I make, the more they take, so the less I make.
It doesn''t pay to work in the United States of America anymore. It doesn''t pay to save either.
and that is a shame... - Reply to this comment
- I thank your children and your grandchildren for this and the interest payments required for the next couple of decades.
Son of Satan, you''re doing a heck of a job. - Reply to this comment
Ahhh, the old shell game.
Whoa, look over there....- Reply to this comment
- where there get them figgers I was told $300.00 if yer not married..$600.00 if yer married..I am talking about that one time rebate.. If I am meant to have it fine if not fine too,Got the forms from the irs site. Had to..My legal name is different..
- Reply to this comment
- "What should we do with the money?" dUH! If you get money back, in this order use it to
1) Pay bills/debts
2) sorely Needed living goods such as needed clothing or food etc.
3) Save if you dont have much or anything saved.
4) invest if you have a savings.
5) if youre richer than sh|t, then go ahead and spend it on whatever you feel like, but i recommend charities or your neighbor that just lost their job.
you pry already have everything you want anyway, so help someone in need.
"She says that, if your tax refund is more than $500, you''re having too much tax withheld from your paycheck. That''s when you know you need to call your HR department and ask for a new W-4 form to have more taken out." MORE taken out? i think this is a mis-statement.
all4evrhis - good info there. Except the obvious distaste about poor people that get angry when they dont get what they think they deserve.
A) they pry need it like crazy which makes people irate when they are desperate. (ever seen famine in africa when a food truck arrives?)
B) Rich people get just as IrAte when they dont get what they THINK they deserve- which goes beyond greed and money. it includes slave-like service & attention with pompous arrogance. - Reply to this comment
- I prepare taxes and the reason refunds are so high is that half are for low income that receive EIC and Child Tax Credit. The EIC is something people feel they deserve and if they do not get what they believe is due them, they get angry.
As for the tax rebate, the real story is: they are only for people with an AGI of $3,000 or more; they range from $300-600 per adult depending on their tax liability. If you did not pay $600 in taxes, you will receive only $300. For couples, if you did not pay $1200 or more in taxes, you will only receive as much as you paid (ex: you paid $900 in taxes that is what you will receive); not everyone will get it in May. According to the IRS payment schedule, only direct deposits go out in May. If you had your refund mailed, the stimulus payments will not go out until June; one more important point - the stimulus payment will have to be claimed as income on your 2008 tax return. For many it won''t make a difference - but for some who are close to the next tax bracket - it could make a big difference in their tax bill. - Reply to this comment
- im not getting anything,
bummer!!!! - Reply to this comment
- I prepare taxes and the reason refunds are so high is that half are for low income that receive EIC and Child Tax Credit. The EIC is something people feel they deserve and if they do not get what they believe is due them, they get angry.
As for the tax rebate, the real story is: they are only for people with an AGI of $3,000 or more; they range from $300-600 per adult depending on their tax liability. If you did not pay $600 in taxes, you will receive only $300. For couples, if you did not pay $1200 or more in taxes, you will only receive as much as you paid (ex: you paid $900 in taxes that is what you will receive); not everyone will get it in May. According to the IRS payment schedule, only direct deposits go out in May. If you had your refund mailed, the stimulus payments will not go out until June; one more important point - the stimulus payment will have to be claimed as income on your 2008 tax return. For many it won''t make a difference - but for some who are close to the next tax bracket - it could make a big difference in their tax bill. - Reply to this comment
- three words for ya "out of touch" most people that use the ral are behind on bills, need a reliable vehicle, or needed the money yesterday to find decent housing. This group of people are barely hanging on much less have a bank account. Why should they care about a relatively small fee that comes out of not tax money they paid in but rather e.i.c. which gives them thousands of dollars none of which they have paid in. The real rip off is not the ral but eic which perpetuates a welfare state.
- Reply to this comment
- three words for ya "out of touch" most people that use the ral are behind on bills, need a reliable vehicle, or needed the money yesterday to find decent housing. This group of people are barely hanging on much less have a bank account. Why should they care about a relatively small fee that comes out of not tax money they paid in but rather e.i.c. which gives them thousands of dollars none of which they have paid in. The real rip off is not the ral but eic which perpetuates a welfare state.
- Reply to this comment
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