Michael, I swear the W-4 is designed to loan the government money. Most payroll accounting departments won’t let you specify the amount to be withheld to stop lending the Feds money.
]]>As noted before, I do my damnedest to owe the revenuers a small amount at the end of the year. But 2004 was an unexpectedly bad year, and 2005 was unexpectedly worse, so each of those years I made them a small unintended loan. If I ever have a good year again (sometimes I wonder), making those minimum no-penalty payments will work to my advantage, even if there’s a big chunk to be paid in January or April. But until then, all I can do is curse this wretched economy (from the working person’s perspective) and the corporations that outsource the kind of work I do, and try to make it better this year. No luck so far, but I continue to be optimistic.
]]>In good years I have to make a big payment in January, but I don’t loan them money.
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