Last I reported here, we were going to owe the Federal government $161. Things have changed...for the better.
First, I realized I had entered in our locality tax incorrectly. Instead of 1%, I was entering the full tax rate of 7%. That sure made it look like we had much more sales tax to deduct than the tables indicated. I was confused about that one for some time! That error was not in our favor, and it looked like we owed $271. I was okay with this since this more accurately matched my estimate I computed this summer.
Today we received in the mail a 1098 from our mortgage lender. It seemed odd to me, since we already had it emailed to us. At the bottom, and on the form itself, it was noted this was a correct 1098. Apparently, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended mortgage deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. This figure was added to our form.
We took out our first VA loan this time around, which requires a 'funding fee' paid to the Department of Veteran's affairs. This was actually mortgage insurance and it turns out is fully deductible this year! That means that once I add in the figure, we are now deducting quite a bit more from our income tax (read: more than the standard deduction) and have a refund. A refund of $434.
Weird how these things work out sometimes. That is a net change of $705. Once we have the refund in hand, I'm going to add the amount we would have owed the IRS to it and knock down the truck loan a bit more.
We are still waiting for the 1099INT from Sharebuilder, where I earned $75 in interest last year. It should be here this time next week. I have already included it in my calculations, but want the form in hand before I file.
Have you had any good news on the tax front?
Tax Return Update
February 8th, 2013 at 08:33 pm
February 8th, 2013 at 09:51 pm 1360360260
Great job!
February 9th, 2013 at 02:25 am 1360376719
Good for you though - both on the refund and of course paying the truck down.
February 9th, 2013 at 03:15 am 1360379706