Andy Hough

Maximum Tax Refund Strategies

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You work hard for your money, so why would you give it all to Uncle Sam? If you dread tax season every year because you end up owing taxes, there might be something wrong with how you figure your deductions and credits. If you love tax season because you get money back annually, you might be able to increase that refund amount. Here are some strategies to ensure you get the most out of this annual and often disputed responsibility.

Itemize Where You Can

The biggest mistake people make each year is they get lazy. Rather than itemize their tax deductions, they simply take the standard deduction because they think it’s enough. Here’s the thing, though. A deduction is just that, a deduction from the money you owe the government, and the more you can subtract, the lower your tax bill. As U.S. News and World Report says, the standard deduction is set by the IRS, and it isn’t going to give you as much leeway as you might think. Take the time to figure out all of your deductions to see if that is greater than the blanket one. You can claim casualty losses, charitable donations, job search expenses, local and state sales taxes, and more.

Claim All Dependents

You know you can claim your under-aged children as dependents on your income tax return, but did you know that you might be able to claim other relatives and even friends, as well? If you have anyone living under your roof that relies on you for his or her living, you might be able to add him or her as a dependent on your tax return. There are conditions to qualify for the dependent exemption. For example, if your college buddy has been living with you for over a year and cannot support himself, provided he doesn’t earn taxable income exceeding the IRS’ specified limit he’s a dependent. Relatives do not have to live with you to qualify as long as you are their sole provider.

Look Above the Line

You can also take above-the-line deductions, which reduce your taxable income. This is somewhat akin to itemizing. Save your receipts and claim any applicable deduction. If you’ve watched the news lately, you’ve seen teachers striking throughout the nation because they don’t have enough money to provide their students with necessary school supplies among other reasons. If you’ve bought school supplies for your child, you can claim them as a tax deduction. You can also claim your continuing education expenses for job advancement. Alimony, self-employment tax, student loan, and even your Dallas car insurance policy for any medical or business driving that you do might be deductible.

One of the two things Benjamin Franklin said was certain was taxes. Forget about the other thing. When it comes to your taxes, Uncle Sam isn’t going to offer you a helping hand. It is your responsibility to get the most out of your returns to maximize your refunds. Pay your taxes strategically throughout the year, and make certain that you claim each and every deduction and credit to which you are entitled. If you find taxes confusing, hire a CPA to prepare them. His or her fees are deductible, too.

April Income – $7792.84

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Here is a breakdown of my income for April.

Interest $4.05
Amazon FBA $119.58
Cash Back $11.95
Online $238.70
Credit Card Bonus $70
Credit Card Other $100
Job $7248.56
Total $7792.84

April was another amazing month for income. Although it wasn’t as great as March it was still pretty great. I didn’t have the benefit of three paychecks in April like I did in March so it isn’t surprising the total was lower. I did receive an end of season bonus so even with one last paycheck I came close to March’s record income. The tax season overtime made for some very nice checks. Although I will hate to see the overtime end, I was starting to get a little burnt out so things probably worked out just about right.

This month’s income will be way down. I will get one last paycheck. It will just be for a partial week. It won’t be anywhere near as big as the paychecks during tax season. I’m looking forward to getting the big paychecks again next tax season. Until then I will watch my expenditures carefully and see if I can figure out some other ways to make money.

April Expenses – $1237.35

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for April.

Household $30.95
Rent $435
Entertainment $35.81
Transportation $245.02
Food $164.29
Travel $0
Phone $23.98
Health $302.30
Total $1237.35

My April expenses were pretty low. I came close to making my monthly goal of $1000.  I had a $245 car repair and almost $200 in medical bills. Without those I would have easily made the $1000 goal. Both my car and my body did need some maintenance and putting that off could have resulted in a much larger bill in the future so I”m okay with those bills.

My monthly food expense was slightly lower than the previous month. This was mostly due to some free meals at work.  I didn’t do much myself to bring the food total down. At this point, I should expect my monthly food bill to be $150 to $175. Rather than worrying about the total I will concentrate on eating healthier.  This month I will be hiking most of the month which will mean I’ll be eating a lot of snack foods and at whatever restaurant is most convenient to the trail. The food probably won’t be too healthy, but at least I’ll be getting a lot of exercise. I expect my food expense while hiking to be about the same as when I’m at home.

My transportation expense consisted solely of a car repair. I didn’t have any gas or other car expenses in April. The car maintenance I had planned was quite a bit more expensive than I was expecting so I only got some of the maintenance done. If I get the rest done this month it will be an expensive transportation month. If I put it off until I’m back from the hike, then this will be a cheap transportation month.

Since I’ll be hiking most of this month it is difficult to predict what level of expenses I’ll have this month. Since a lot of my travel expenses have already been paid I think my monthly expenses should be close to normal. It will just depend on whether I spend more on travel than planned or some unexpected expenses pop up. Now that I’m no longer working I will need to keep a close eye on my spending for the next several months.

Q1 2018 Retirement Savings

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In order to see how well I am or am not doing on saving for retirement I will document my savings once a quarter. I think my current retirement savings is about double what I had last year, but it is too much of a pain to look up what the values were at this time last year so this is just a guess. In the future, I’ll be able to look up my past balances on my blog which will be much easier.

  • Traditional IRA $36,307
  • Job 401k          $7356
  • Solo 401k        $3694
  • Roth IRA          $1744
  • Total                $49,101

Despite the stock market declining this year my totals have gone up a fair bit this year.  My IRA was at just under $39,000 before the market started going down. My job 401k has less than I contributed, but it is only 1% down. I’ve saved more than 1% in taxes and I’ll get a 4% employer match so that will still be a profit at the end of the year. If the stock market doesn’t go down too much I’ll easily get the total over $50,000 next quarter. My goal for the end of the year is $60,000. Since I’ll be off work from the beginning of May to the end of November that should be a challenging.

I should have a lot more saved at my age. Considering it has just been the past few years that I’ve really started saving I don’t think I’m doing too bad though.  I’m doing my best to make up for lost time.

March Expenses – $2206.26

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for March.

Household $60.70
Rent $435
Entertainment $16.45
Transportation $317.13
Food $179.61
Travel $553.26
Phone $25.27
Health $112.89
Student Loan $505.95
Total $2206.26

My March expenses were a little high. I did not come close to making my monthly goal of $1000.The high expense total this month was due to making a $500 payment on my student loan and having over $500 of travel expenses. The travel expense includes the annual fee on credit card that will provide me with over $500 of points towards travel, an Amtrak ticket from KC to Massachusetts, airfare from KC to L.A., airfare from Boston to KC, $50 of Uber credit, and a business class airfare from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok. Some of the domestic airfare was paid with a gift card I got as a gift. In addition to the travel I paid for in March, I also booked a free round-trip ticket from Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur, a free night at a LAX hotel, and two free nights at a Kuala Lumpur hotel. I think I got a lot of value for the money I spent on travel.

My monthly food expense was too high once again.  March’s food expense was a couple of dollars higher than February.  I say this every month, but I still think I can do better.   I have quite a bit of food to eat at home and I’ll get several free meals at work this month so it really shouldn’t be too hard to reduce my food expenses.

My transportation expenses were a little high due to a couple of Uber rides, paying for 6 months of insurance, and buying a gas card. I shouldn’t have any gas expense in April or May.

I’m planning on having a car repair performed this month. Other than that I don’t plan on having any unusual expenses so my expenses should get back down to around the $1000 level. Although my expenses were higher than normal in March, I’m okay with that since I got a lot for what I spent and the money spent this month will reduce what I spend in future months.