Somewhere around 80% of taxpayers get some sort of tax refund each year, and that was true again for 2017. The average refund amount was $2878.00. And while many people love to celebrate the lump sum when they get the check, the IRS shouldn’t be used as a savings account. Here are a few reasons why:
1. You could actually have the money to use throughout the year. If an employee paid every two weeks adjusted their withholding to be accurate as to what they really will owe, that average “refund” of $2787.00 becomes $110.00 in the paycheck every payday. This equates to roughly $220.00/ month into the household! With 78% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, that is a big addition to the monthly budget.
2. The IRS controls the overpayment until they give it back. The IRS doesn’t pay interest on the extra amount you paid or allow you to access your own money until tax time. Once you have it withheld, or you send it in for the self-employed, it is in the IRS coffers until you file your tax return. And the government isn’t paying you any interest on the money they get to use until they have to refund the excess you gave them. In reality, you are losing control of your own income.
3. The cycle of debt/ pay with return is expensive. Many Americans go into debt throughout the year and pay off balances with a tax refund. This allows lenders to charge interest, even short term, and the debt is much more expensive than if the money was in your budget every month to use. An extra $220.00 a month can prevent the need to take on short term and expensive debt, especially if you use that money for an emergency fund.
It’s too late to affect your 2018 tax return and refund, because the 2018 tax year closed about a week ago on December 31st. But you can make changes now to bring home more money in each check, and to prevent a huge sum being refunded in 2019. Check your withholding, by checking your paystub, or ask HR. If you had a change in dependents such as a new baby, kid graduated and moved out, or got divorced, make sure the number of people you are paying taxes for is accurate.
For example, a family of four should be withholding properly for a family of four. One special note for a two-income family-the higher earner should be withholding the proper number of dependents; the second earner should claim zero. This prevents under withholding and a tax bill at the end of the year.
After your adjustments, enjoy the new sum in your paycheck, and for the first few months, why not squirrel the extra away in an account? You haven’t seen it regularly anyway. Only once a year in that government tax refund.
