poorfag here. explain to me why i have to pay so much in taxes

A large tax refund means you gave the government an interest free loan because you were too lazy to adjust your withholdings

The mantra of the poor is celebrating their tax retund

>>1075952
>adjust your withholdings

speak english please

>>1075952
Do they even let you adjust witholdings at poorfag jobs? I assume some corporate office just sets default rates

>>1075981
It means you tell your employer to withhold less money from your paycheck to automatically pay in taxes. Let's say you get paid once a month, $5000 dollars a month, for $60000 a year. Your employer automatically takes a percentage of your monthly pay out and gives it to the government as part of your taxes, let's say $500 a month for a total of $6000. Then the year ends, and you go and file your taxes, and you get a refund for $3000, meaning you only paid the government $3000, and this happens for a few years. You can then go to your employer, and tell them to only withhold $250 a month from your paycheck, and so you pay the government $3000 a year, but you don't get a refund, but you have all your money up front.

However, this means that if your tax status changes, you could end up owing the government money, and have to pay MORE taxes now, which is never a great thing, so be careful.

>>1075952

Wait, uncle sam gives no interest? Here in scandinaviabrahland they pay more than a savings account right now.

People are even taking advantage of it, a risk-free 0.5% interest in a deflationary environment.

>>1075990
isn't it for every $600 you get back you should up your dependents by 1?

>>1075952
This is the truth. I had 2 low wage jobs last year, plus 900 dollars in 1099-misc income (no business expenses, so 900 net income off that). I set both jobs to 2 exemptions despite being single with no kids. I received a 160 dollar refund despite theoretically underwitholding by 3 (according to irs.gov allowance advice) AND having self employment tax to worry about. Good job on tricking people into giving such large interest free loans, US government.

Disclamer: I would've owed if it weren't for the retirement saver's credit. So only under-allocate as part of an overall tax avoidance strategy.

>>1076005
I'm speaking in general terms. It all depends on your yearly income, are you a felon/are you a student/how many dependents you have/got married/had kids/bought a house/ any other crazy shit that differs year to year depending on what you did and what the lawmakers think you deserve a tax break for. It's all relative to the individual. Personally, I just go for regular withholding, and apply for my refund through turbotax (free filing for federal and state, walks you through it as well as any other bonus breaks you might be eligible for). For example, I work and I'm a student in a public university, and my income was under $10,000 last year. Through the amount of tuition and fees that I pay along with being in a very low income tax bracket, I get ALL of my federal taxes back, most of my state back, and I also get a free $1000 from Uncle Sam for being in school, essentially doubling my refund.

>>1075990
Germanfag who's going to move to the US soon.
How high are the taxes in general? You make it sound like it's only 10%, I'm used to it being much higher here.

>>1075988
>Do they even let you adjust witholdings at poorfag jobs?
Of course they do. You probably can't use a set amount for your withholding, but you can decrease it pretty easily if you're over-withholding. You just talk to HR and tell them to increase your exemptions. Most employers default you to 0 or 1 exemption. Tell them to put you at 2 or 3.

>>1076030
Like I said in the first line >>1076022 right there, it depends on how much you make, your immigration status, and a shitload of other factors. Usually though, employers take a percentage out of your paycheck automatically that goes to the government, and at the end of the year, you get all your relevant tax information from your Health Insurance provider, your employer, etc. and you can figure out how much you actually owed vs. how much you paid, and then you can get paid/have to pay the government the difference.

You'll need to read up on this stuff, try the IRS website for details, especially being a German moving to the US.

>>107603
My total income was 16000 last year (pretty low). My tax was 583 and 127 was self employment tax (a tax most people don't even pay). That means 700 in tax, or 4%. Then, I got my retirement saver's credit for 250 because I saved 500 for retirement last year. This brings my total tax to 450, or an effective tax rate of 2.8% Keep in mind I am basically at poverty level and most people don't do like I did and try to maximize their credits here.

>>1075990
I've never heard of being able to do this. Thanks.

>>1076047
Thanks.

>>1076053
was intended for >>1076030