eli5: can someone explain tax returns?

801 views

i always see so many people talk about tax returns or tax season around this time and its so confusing. to me it seems like free money

In: 9

20 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Your employer withholds some money out of each paycheck and sends it to the government. If you are self-employed, you do this youself quarterly.

At the end of the year, you calculate how much tax you ACTUALLY owed, subtract what you’ve already paid them, and then either have to send more in or get some back. If you have to send too much in you are penalized.

Colloquially, sending in your tax forms with your calculation of what you owe is sending in your ‘returns’.

You are viewing 1 out of 20 answers, click here to view all answers.