Tax Refund Questions.

[XxRaVeNxX]

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@rootpooty wrote:

You should focus more on your school loan rather how much your going to get back.  If you defaulted on a federal loan they are going to intercept your return

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Also, if you check the original thread, instead of hijacking this one...I have nothing to worry about..

[compassion101]

A roth is a great place to have your money. FYI you are generally limited to 5k/year that you can contribute toward it. It doesn't affect your taxes the year you contribute but once you put it in there it can now grow tax-free, and best of all the original contribution can often be withdrawn early without penalty later if you run into an emergency. If you have no taxable income then it's a great time to put money into a roth, I would even consider it instead of paying down debt if you have no "taxable income", but likely you do have taxable income left even after claiming your girlfriend and her kid. If you have credit card debt that you can't easily pay off within the near future then you'd probably be better served financially to pay it off. However, these are just general thoughts and so much depends on your specific circumstances. I would advise you to consult a tax professional.

The contributions will likely make no difference whatsoever to your taxes. In can make a very small difference to your bottom line in some circumstances but usually only if you own a home and itemize deductions.

The federal loans someone mentioned. I will guarantee you that they will eventually grab your refund if you don't get them out of default. It's just a question of when and if you've gotten away with it for four years, it will probably be soon.

[FrugalRican]

Do you itemize your deductions or do you take the standard deduction on your tax returns?

If you just take the standard, then I wouldn't worry about how much you'd "get back" from donating.

[jake619]

If there is Fed debt consider the following:

-Put the money in a bank - they know it's there

-Put the money in a ROTH - they know it's there

-Put the money in property - they know it's there - good luck getting the loan for this without the Fed debt being discovered.

-Pay them back - they're off your back

[Anonymous]

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@XxRaVeNxX wrote:

Figure the most credit savy people, know the most about taxes. And probably 30 days jumping the gun, but it's on the tip of my mind.

And I fall in the category that technially doesn't pay taxes, since I make about 36K, but am able to claim my fiance(who didn't work this year due to school) and her son.

1. What should I do? If I receive, say about 4-5k in a refund? Should I pay down/off my credit card debt or re-invest it in my Roth IRA or a Vanguard VTA? (Investment Property even crossed my mind)

  A. I recently opened a Roth IRA, so I'll see how this affects my taxes

2. Looking at deductions, looking at donating some things to Goodwill, does this deduction even help me, even if I'm gonna get a refund? Or do these donations/deductions only help with people who don't get refunds and owe the IRS?

Any opinions is greatly Appreciated....Young and Learning as I go...

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To claim charitable donations, you have to itemize and forego the standard deduction. So unless you donated more than your standard deduction ($8,950, the standard deduction for head of households for 2013) itemizing your donations will cause you to owe taxes.

[Anonymous]

and another thing your fiance being a full time student doesn't grant you grounds to claim her and her child (that would be the case is these were your children and they were under 24 years old. To claim them, they must have lived with you ALL YEAR, you must have paid moe than 50% of their living cost, and they couldn't have made more than $3650. FYI I know this as I'm a previous tax preparer and still prepare my own taxes.

[XxRaVeNxX]

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@Anonymous wrote:

and another thing your fiance being a full time student doesn't grant you grounds to claim her and her child (that would be the case is these were your children and they were under 24 years old. To claim them, they must have lived with you ALL YEAR, you must have paid moe than 50% of their living cost, and they couldn't have made more than $3650. FYI I know this as I'm a previous tax preparer and still prepare my own taxes.

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All of the above is true....she didn't work