What are you planning to do with your tax refund?

[Kristen]

So, where's it going?(you can answer for your regular refund, or the extra one that is supposed to be coming or both!).

Both of ours(although I'm not counting on the second one until I actually see it) will be going into our HELOC. If an article I read the other day about the extra refund is right, the amount we get back from our regular taxes plus the amount we get from the extra refund will be just over the amount we need to pay off our HELOC. It would be SO SO great if that works out. We haven't had a savings since we moved into this house, aside from retirement and the kids' college fund, and it would be wonderful to have an emergency fund aside from the HELOC. Anyhow, hopefully it'll all work out and we'll be debt-free(except for our mortgage, of course!), and able to start an emergency fund again.

We had the HELOC down to just a couple thousand last spring, but then we still had work to do on the house, it was a lean summer for my piano teaching, and I lost a couple of piano students and wasn't able to replace them for a few months, so the HELOC is up at $6500 right now. :o

I think if we can pay it off now, though, we can keep it paid off because we are done with the major projects in this house now. :woot

[Danielle]

We're going to invest it into RRSPs (a retirement investment).

[boosmama]

not much

we dont get much of returns here...im hoping for a couple hundred bucks which i will use towards a rocker for this baby

[Jbird]

Bills bills bills. I am hoping its enough to pay off 2 out of 3 credit cards.

[Mary]

I am not sure if we're getting one or not. If we do it will just go toward 'extras' -- we have numerous trips coming up this year that we could start paying on.

[MathSpeak]

I haven't even thought about it, yet... I can't buy any stocks anymore, so that kinda sucks :rolleyes I didn't hear the full story on the gov't one, but they have income reqs, right? If so, I may not qualify for it...
Now that I'm thinking, this could be the time to buy my stairstep bonds... that's a thought. I've been putting that off, but with the lowered rates, I could get some decent 5 yr bonds. We shall see. But for now, I'll just log my vote as "unsure" :D

[Christi]

We'll be using it toward the cruise!

[Jo]

I have no idea if we are getting one. Most years we don't but this year was so different I might be happily surprised. If we do, it will go straight back into savings to help rebuild what we spent while Dave was unemployed. I know we will qualify for the govt payout as well for once and that will go into savings as well.

[Faith]

Our whole whopping $300 is going towards bills. :lmao We usually get up to $3000 back but this year our income increase quite a bit I guess....or at least that what the tax lady and Rob were trying to explain to me when they said we were only getting so little back. :giggle

As for the other one(gov. one), I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch. :giggle We have done that tooo many times, so we will just have to wait and see.

[Christine]

Most of what we get back from both returns will be going towards paying down our debt. Dave is rallying to get some of it towards fixing up his boat. I also want to set aside $200 for the missions trip we plan on going on in July so there are no excuses not to go.

[Lori]

Some is going to bills, and most of it is going to go into savings, since we're not sure if I'll be working this summer. Sean wants to use a couple of hundred dollars to buy stuff to make a server to host all of our files.

[gr8mommy]

Hopefully we won't be getting much back from the IRS. We prefer to keep our money during the year rather than give Uncle Sam an interest free loan. ;)

Any refunds/rebates we get will go toward paying down the home equity line we tapped for our basement renovation last summer.

[Kristi]

Well with the regular one we know how much we are getting back already. So we are using $7000 to pay Tim's dad back the money he loaned us to put a down payment on the house and he will FINALLY be paid off.

Then with what is left we are going to fix both our cars. (The van needs a new transmission and Tim needs the door fixed on his car)

What is left goes into our Summer vacation fund.

I am not sure what we would use the other for so I won't plan anything for it til I see it. Who knows what we may need it for when we get it. But ideally it would go towards a new car

[Kristen]

Hopefully we won't be getting much back from the IRS. We prefer to keep our money during the year rather than give Uncle Sam an interest free loan. ;)


I agree, in theory. We do pad our withholdings some, though, instead of having me pay estimated taxes for my business income(estimated taxes end up being high, at least for me). And since my income fluctuates some, we try to work it so that we pay a little bit extra so that we don't end up hit with underpayment penalties.

We're getting $3500 back this year from our federal taxes, which is more than I'd prefer to loan the government, but I think my income will be higher this year so I'm going to wait one more year before adjusting our withholdings.

[hillsturner]

We always pay our property taxes with the tax refund. I doubt we'll get much back this year anyway.

[freebiemom]

We also try to work it to get as much of our money each payday as possible but also try to not pay in April so we usually end up getting a little back. It'll go into savings/retirement for the most part and some will go to help pay for our big family vacation this spring - haven't taken one since the kids (oldest being 7) were born!

The rebate that is suppose to come, that'll go into savings/retirement as well.

[Val]

We need to pay off our credit card, and anything left over will be saved- either regular savings or downpayment for a house.

[ColleenC]

Put it towards our spending money when we go to Chile. Possibly put some of it in our savings account too.

[Amy J]

I will be paying off some bills too and then saving the rest of it for when I truly need it.

[Cyndi]

We are redoing the living room, and paying down debt.

[jennepenn]

I am going to pay off one credit card and spend the rest on my girls and the wedding! The tax rebate (when we see it) will be used for Mark and I to get away somewhere when we both have vacation time that we can use at the same time.

[TxMomof2Girls]

I'm going to pay bills off and then save for plane tickets for the girls and I for a summer trip.