Tax Poll

[PShabi]

If you end up owing more than "a little" don't you get penalized? It's basically viewed as taking an interest-free loan from Uncle Sam. No?

[Talking Poker]

There are guidelines. Don't quote me on this because these aren't the exact numbers, but it's something like:

-If you paid 90% (?) of what you owe
OR
-If you paid 100% of what you had to pay last year

...then there is no penalty. If you don't meet either criteria, then yes, there is a penalty.

Purely mathematically speaking, it's best to owe JUST under the amount you would need to owe that would cause you to be penalized. But realistically, overpaying is a very good "savings plan" for a people who can't save on their own and then have to come up with money at tax time.

For the average person, the amount of interest they could have earned by saving that money throughout the year and then paying taxes in April just isn't worth the headache.

[Reel Deal]

Take note Shay-be.