Friday, February 4, 2011

Taxes + Annual Bonus

I finished my taxes the day after I got all of my forms (a few 1099s and my W-2) and by January 28th I had received a refund of $664 from Federal and $341 from State. I used $15 of that to pay for the state filing at TaxACT, which I've used the last three years to do my taxes. It only took me about an hour to do everything online and my taxes are very easy! So I have a $990 tax refund to figure out what to do with...

On the 31st, I received my annual bonus for work done in 2010. Hooray! It was $7,000 gross (umm, I expected HALF that so what a nice surprise!) and I netted $3,634 after taxes. This is how it's broken down:

$2K, 2011 Roth IRA
$500, E-Fund
$500, Travel Fund
$200, iPhone (for Verizon...finally!)
$40, Case for my new Kindle (Mom bought it as an early Valentine's Day present for me. LOVE!)
$394, Other/Miscellaneous (Gifts for friends, clothing & I want this tote since I bring my lunch to work every day.)

Are you getting a tax refund or do you owe? What are you going to do with your refund if you do get it?

9 comments:

CeCe February 4, 2011 at 11:10 AM  

I'm scared to find out! Our taxes are not so easy so I still need to find someone to do them. Awesome that you used to get a bonus at work. Where I used to work we got a Christmas bonus (extra paycheck) and an extra bonus in March. But those days are over. Woot woot for your tax refund!!

CeCe February 4, 2011 at 11:11 AM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com February 4, 2011 at 5:12 PM  

Sorry which Kindle did you get?? The Graphite or the smaller one?

Let me know how it is. I'm still on the fence about Kindle in general because of the lack of storage space and SD card expansion for my huge PDFs.

Anonymous February 4, 2011 at 11:37 PM  

Yay! I did get a bonus and we are getting a smallish tax refund ($500 or so).

I have been thinking a ton about ereaders lately. There are two main things holding me back. First, the kindle seems much more popular, but only the nook can check out library books. Also, there is just NO used e-book market in general, and I don't LIKE the idea of paying for books I can only read once, on a single e-reader. BUT.... I still might get one. :)

TWG February 5, 2011 at 10:20 PM  

I just got mine back this week. Most of it went to building up my emergency fund which was empty. The rest went to student loans and my travel fund. I got a lot more back then I expected so that was a very nice surprise!

MoneyMaus February 6, 2011 at 1:21 PM  

@Frugalista - Thanks! And good luck with your taxes. I'm nervous for the day mine get really complicated!

@FB - I got the Kindle 3 in Graphite, which is the small one. I love it! But I only use it to read books and I don't need it for PDFs, so it's a fantastic device for me. The space issue doesn't seem bad, I know you can "archive" items so it frees up space on the Kindle which is neat!

@SP - Hooray for your bonus and tax refund! The library book issue on the Kindle made me hesitate for a bit. A few months ago I tried to download an ebook on my computer from my library's website but unfortunately the program (Overdrive Media) was NOT supported by Windows 7 so I couldn't use the ePub books from the library! There IS a free program called Calibre which you can download on your computer to translate ePub books to other formats, aka library books to Kindle format. But I haven't used it yet due to the library program not working on my laptop. I was disappointed, but I figure if I want a library book I can still check those out :) You're also right about the used e-book market but you can re-read the books on your Kindle (they are yours!) and you can also transfer them between other devices like your laptop or smartphone. Sorry for the long-winded comment! Check out the TOP rated comment on the Amazon Kindle's website for an awesome Nook vs Kindle comparison :)

The Depressed Yogi February 8, 2011 at 11:43 AM  

I am hoping for a FAT return due to the fact that I only worked 6 months in TX and a few in NYC but paid a TON Of taxes! Also I think this is the first year I'll be able to deduct student loan interest!!

Ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com February 9, 2011 at 8:30 AM  

I totally jumped on the early filing for my taxes but I do itemized taxes so I have to wait until Feb. 14th when the IRS can process by return. However, I did already receive my state refund and treated myself to a North Face hoodie and some other goodies. My big federal refund will go to a double payment on a credit card, new running shoes and a North Face fleece. Very excited for my Valentine's Day gift to myself! :)

Jessica Fletcher-Fierro February 9, 2011 at 10:04 PM  

I'm getting about $2,500 back, and I am using it to refill my E-fund and then putting all the extra toward my car loan...I'm boring. :) I also got my stipend this month (like a small bonus) this month. I love February!

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