Huuuge tax refund...bye NS debt!

Nurses General Nursing

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Just found out Im getting 6 thousand dollars back as a tax refund...im a new grad and this will go a long way to paying off some of my nursing school debt :D Any one else got a big refund this year?

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Nope ended up paying thanks to that stimulis last yr

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kudos to paying off your debt, life is a lot easier when you dont have sallie mae living in your spare bedroom.

just remember when you get a big refund you are loaning the government your money all year without gaining any interest.

that $6000 refund means an extra $230 is being taken in your paycheck each week, what could you do with an extra $460 a month...

i'm guilty of it also but i hope this year to be within a few hundred dollars.

remember to start saving for your retirement as early as you can... putting 15% of your income towards retirement will make you a millionaire.

one of the best bosses i had gave me this advise, immediately save whatever your company matches, then every time you get a pay raise bump up your savings then you don't notice it as much.

ok ill step off the soap box now j

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I wish my hospital matched my contributions...they dont match anything at all! I am in Canada and my tax refund is due to tuition tax credits that I had from nursing school. I was peeved when I found out about the no matching thing...I thought most hospitals did that but mine doesnt! It would be nice if they started...

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Do you do 15 percent of your gross or take home income? I should start doing that...even a little bit helps towards retirement

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

For new 403B and/or 402K contributions do the following. Find out what the company matches and at a minimum contribute that PERCENTAGE, if they match 3% you put in at least 3%. Then decide how much more you want to contribute. Always do it as a PERCENTAGE of earnings and NOT a specific dollar amount. This way as your earnings increase your contributions automatically increase also. If you can't afford to put in the maximum allowed by law, do what you can as a percentage basis. Then when you get a raise put a portion of that raise towards your retirement. For example you are getting a 4% raise, increase your contribution by 1%, this still gives you a 3% increase in pay and increases your savings at the same time. All percentages are figured on your gross pay not your net. Since this is all pre-tax money (in the USA) you really foolish if you don't take advantage of this. With a company match and lets say 15% income tax bracket ( the lowest marginal rate) the numbers would look like this:

100+ 100+ 15 = 215 in your account plus whatever the investment return is on the account you invested in.

In other word you are guaranteed 115% return on your investment thanks to the company match and income tax subsidy.

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i'm not sure about the various plans and laws in canada, but in the us we get a tax break for 401ks and iras, so the 15% is from gross income, i put 10% before taxes which reduces my taxable income and 5% after taxes into a roth ira in which the earning grow tax free. the idea is that one will have higher taxes later in life.

but the main thing to take away, save as early as you can because over 20 or 30 years the compounding interest builds up.

my employer ( it industry not health care) matches the first 3%, so i'm getting 18%. my wife's employer does not match at all either, so i wonder if that is the norm in health care...

my refunds are also due to school credits and child care credits so that does make it hard to figure out the correct adjustments. plus our irs withholding tables are geared to have people over withhold, gee i wonder why...

i stop at 15% because i'm using the rest of our extra income to pay off the mortgage early, as long as things go to plan i will have no mortgage and no debt in 3 years. all of this is doable if you live below your income level, it means living in a smaller house, driving older cars, dallying the i want it now mentality for a greater reward later on...

wow now i am really on the soap box... but if you start good saving habits now you don't miss the money as much and you end up in such a better place in life...

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My hubby and I are getting $2100.00 back. Spare me the lectures about over paying please. I have been through the nightmare of trying to come up with money to pay the tax man. I have had to cancel medical care and go a year without a vacation just because the tax tables have a very hard time computing a two income family. I will gladly make a small loan to the goverment and get a refund rather than a tax bill. The people that always wag their finger and say overwitholding is a bad thing can go jump in the lake. It seems like the tax tables are set up to over withhold or under withhold, for me it has always been one or the other. I will take the over witholding any old time.

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Just because someone is getting a refund does not mean they overpaid. MANY people in this country get money back which is a lot more than the money they paid in. If they paid in at all. 47% of Americans pay zero income tax. Only in America.

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.
Just because someone is getting a refund does not mean they overpaid. MANY people in this country get money back which is a lot more than the money they paid in. If they paid in at all. 47% of Americans pay zero income tax. Only in America.

We fall into that category. I work very part-time and DH is on SSDI so our income is pretty low. We also have a handicapped son. The kids are on free lunches and DH is on Medicare and DS is on Medicaid. Therefore we qualify for several govt programs, including an Earned Income Credit. All year long i pay taxes on my paltry little income. But then the govt refunds all of it. Therefore we receive all our money back, >$8000 this year. Yay! New thermopane windows on the front of the house!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Between federal and state taxes ... I had to pay about $66.

I put about 22% of my gross income into retirement.

I'm happy with that.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I'm getting a nice refund thanks to the 1st time homebuyers credit. I thought about paying off my ns debt, but opted to save it. Don't want to loose that house if something would happen to my job. I work an extra shift every week or two and use that to speed up paying off my ns debt.

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