Getting to be tax season, whatcha doing?

[southsider2k5]

Ah ok...well, that is my prices WITHOUT being on a budget plan. So expect your bill to really go down quite a bit. During the spring/fall, my gas bill is usually around ~55$ a month, during the summer, it's as low as 40$. Right now, at it's peak, it hits around 140 at the most...

 

I had a lot of overhead flood lighting in my house, which were burning at 50W each, so we're talking ~400-500 watts upstairs at any given time, and another 400+ downstairs. I replaced all of those 50W floods with 11 watt CFL's...so what was taking up 400 watts will now only burn like 88.

 

I redid all of my indoor bulbs a few years back. Getting a new HD-TV a few years back made a big difference too.

[Y2HH]

I redid all of my indoor bulbs a few years back. Getting a new HD-TV a few years back made a big difference too.

 

I just discovered this year that they actually made CFL flood bulbs for overhead lighting...so I was happy to find those...they also last around 7-9 years as compared to the 1-2 years my old bulbs lasted...not to mention 11 watts vs 50. They were also only like 4.50 cents each.

 

The only thing is they need about 30 seconds to 'warm up' to get to full lighting strength, but for how much electricity they save...I don't mind the wait.

Edited January 14, 2013 by Y2HH

[southsider2k5]

I just discovered this year that they actually made CFL flood bulbs for overhead lighting...so I was happy to find those...they also last around 7-9 years as compared to the 1-2 years my old bulbs lasted...not to mention 11 watts vs 50. They were also only like 4.50 cents each.

 

The only thing is they need about 30 seconds to 'warm up' to get to full lighting strength, but for how much electricity they save...I don't mind the wait.

 

I had to wait for the three way bulbs to come down in price a bit, but other than that, the lights don't bother me at all.

[Reddy]

i can't wait to get all this free money!

[kjshoe04]

I expect around 2k. Probably will use some of it on a little trip. Vegas or New Orleans most likely.

[illinilaw08]

I expect around 2k. Probably will use some of it on a little trip. Vegas or New Orleans most likely.

 

Got married this year and expect I'm going to be hit with the Marriage Penalty in the first year filing jointly.

[NorthSideSox72]

Used to do it myself, until a couple years ago. Married, two kids, run my own company, investments (paper and other), a smorgasboard of deductions and credits... just go to be too much friggin work. Got a pretty big refund last year, but I brought down the deductions to compensate, so I expect to get only a small one this year.

 

[ChiSox_Sonix]

According to Tax Caster I should be getting around $800 back, per the norm. Probably just all going towards some stupid little stone I need to save for

[Iwritecode]

We should be getting a couple thousand back. Although we did add another dependent this year so it might be more. We'll be putting it towards getting gutters on the house and remodeling our bathroom.

[bigruss]

Not sure what I'll be getting back, this is my first time as a fulltime employment so it's by far the most income I've ever had. I usually got a sizeable check back but not sure how much my taxes are going to differ since I'm sure I got bumped up into a higher bracket since it's 7mths of work versus about 4mths of work.

[Texsox]

I will be running through a couple different scenarios. It seems from early information that my better half and I can at any time start claiming married and filing a joint return even though we have not had a legal ceremony. (waiting until any couple has the same opportunity). It would also pave the way for full health insurance benefits through my work. We're taking a look. So romantic this way. In the great state of Texas if you tell people you are married, live as a "married" couple, you are considered married. Add a joint return and the rest of the world seems to also.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Has anyone ever filed an amended tax return?

 

I just found out that the student loan interest on my private loan, that I've never claimed as a deduction, actually could have been claimed all these years. I've always received a 1098 or whatever it's called for the student loan interest on my federal loan, but since I never received anything from my private bank (Citi), I just had assumed it wasn't deductible come tax time.

 

Anyways, I got them to send me my interest dollars paid from the past three years because I was thinking of doing some amended returns. If anyone's done it, is it a hassle? I downloaded the 1040-X forms already but I am going to have to do a full 1040 over again for those years in addition to this?

[iamshack]

Getting $3k back on Thursday, according to their system.

[Iwritecode]

We should be getting a couple thousand back. Although we did add another dependent this year so it might be more. We'll be putting it towards getting gutters on the house and remodeling our bathroom.

 

Apparently this isn't true. We have a 16-year-old who's mother signed over temporary custody to us last June. So we have legal guardianship, she's under 17 and we've had her for over 6 months. But because she wasn't placed with us through an adoption agency, we aren't allowed to claim her as a dependent.

[NorthSideSox72]

Has anyone ever filed an amended tax return?

 

I just found out that the student loan interest on my private loan, that I've never claimed as a deduction, actually could have been claimed all these years. I've always received a 1098 or whatever it's called for the student loan interest on my federal loan, but since I never received anything from my private bank (Citi), I just had assumed it wasn't deductible come tax time.

 

Anyways, I got them to send me my interest dollars paid from the past three years because I was thinking of doing some amended returns. If anyone's done it, is it a hassle? I downloaded the 1040-X forms already but I am going to have to do a full 1040 over again for those years in addition to this?

Before expending the effort, you should first check your income level versus ability to deduct. Once you make over a certain threshold, you can either only deduct a limited amount, or none at all, from student loans.

 

[Jenksismyhero]

w00t, expected to get back about $5,500 bucks this year. Probably all going to a kitchen remodel fund.

[StrangeSox]

kitchen=$$$

[Jenksismyhero]

kitchen=$$$

 

Indeed.

[southsider2k5]

My refund should be here in the next few days

[southsideirish71]

I should see my return back in about 5 more days. I filed as quickly as I got all of my needed documents. It is already spent on a new bedroom set.

 

 

[StrangeSox]

we used this place in darien (75th & lemont) and were very happy with the results:

 

http://www.showcasekb.com/

 

i could pm you a before/after picture if you want

[Jenksismyhero]

we used this place in darien (75th & lemont) and were very happy with the results:

 

http://www.showcasekb.com/

 

i could pm you a before/after picture if you want

 

How much of the total charge was for the labor? I'm debating whether to try and do the work myself. I'm not changing the footprint of the kitchen. I just need to replace a lot of the finishing details - countertop, backsplash, appliances, etc. I MIGHT get new cabinets, but I'm going to see how it looks if I just change out the doors instead to give it a new look.

[iamshack]

How much of the total charge was for the labor? I'm debating whether to try and do the work myself. I'm not changing the footprint of the kitchen. I just need to replace a lot of the finishing details - countertop, backsplash, appliances, etc. I MIGHT get new cabinets, but I'm going to see how it looks if I just change out the doors instead to give it a new look.

Yeah, the cabinets are a killer...try and keep those at almost all costs...

[StrangeSox]

How much of the total charge was for the labor? I'm debating whether to try and do the work myself. I'm not changing the footprint of the kitchen. I just need to replace a lot of the finishing details - countertop, backsplash, appliances, etc. I MIGHT get new cabinets, but I'm going to see how it looks if I just change out the doors instead to give it a new look.

$3 or $4k I think. It was worth it imo just to get the project done as quickly as possible. Ours was a full tear-out with updating the electrical and plumbing, removing a soffit and adding an island. As it was, we had to wait about 6 weeks without a kitchen while the counter tops were being made (they take final measurements after cabinets are installed to ensure an accurate fit, and then manufacturing is 4-5 weeks iirc). Compare that to the full bathroom gut-and-remodel I'm doing myself that I started in late October and still isn't finished...

 

If you aren't getting new cabinets, that's a different story. You could leave your fully functional kitchen in place while they cut/fabricate your countertops and replace those in a weekend. Backsplash is really easy and we did that ourselves, 3-4 hours to tile, 1-2 hours to grout and clean the next day (Lowes and Hobo have good selection for that sort of stuff, HD and Menards suck and even the tile stores were limited for nice, not-$50-a-sq-ft glass tiles). Same with refinishing cabinets (did that for the bathroom).

Edited February 5, 2013 by StrangeSox

[lasttriptotulsa]

This is the first full year I've owned my house so I got to see what actually being able to itemize deductions was like. I'm getting about $2000 back, but it's all going straight to my parents for a little loan they give me when I bought the house.