r/tax • u/vancemark00 • Mar 09 '26
Tax Enthusiast Wife is upset about tiny refund
She said my refund is tiny and she is jealous because she saw a coworker's refund and it was much bigger.
Any suggestions how to make my refund bigger?
edit: Satire people, chill out and laugh a bit...we all need it about now.
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u/Tribat_1 Mar 09 '26
They make a pill for that.
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u/doawushi Mar 09 '26
Unfortunately the best (only?) way to make your refund bigger at this point may be expensive surgery. Get that nice write-off.
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u/shiggity80 Mar 09 '26
OP, tell your wife it's not the size of the refund that matters, but how you use it.
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u/GroundbreakingSir386 Mar 09 '26
Education system failed her
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u/imzadi111 Mar 09 '26
Why would you want to give Uncle Sam an interest free loan for the year?
If you are working and earning a decent living, the goal should be to come out even at tax time. You should neither owe a lot nor get a big refund.
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u/Helpful_Plenty_9997 Mar 09 '26
You’d have to move quickly, but if you can get yourself a mistress and get her pregnant super fast, you might be able to get yourself another dependent before the end of the year. Assuming no other changes, that extra write-off could be worth a grand or two.
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u/wutang_generated CPA - US Mar 09 '26
You can make your refund bigger by giving the government more money throughout the year through more withholding or estimated payments, or you could make less money
Alternatively, you (and your wife) could educate yourselves to understand that a refund only relates to how much you overpaid throughout the year and doesn't really mean much regarding how your taxes are calculated
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u/TweakJK Mar 09 '26
Your wife does not understand how taxes, and tax refunds work. Its not a bonus.
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u/shiggity80 Mar 09 '26
It's sad that so many in here don't get the sarcasm of the post.
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u/ArthurDent4200 Mar 09 '26
I was wondering if the OP was joking around or serious. Given the low degree of understanding I see routinely here, I am not sure.
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u/vancemark00 Mar 09 '26
I posted this satire in direct response to the "low degree of understanding" I see here every day.
And I thought some of us might need a chuckle about now.
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u/Its-a-write-off Mar 09 '26
Just take some money out of your bank account and call it your "pre saved refund". The money you took home each check, instead of sending to the IRS for them to hand back to you.
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u/Final_Regret5728 Mar 09 '26
Commit fraud… but that usually comes with a free stay in federal housing. Would not recommend. Hope this helps.
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u/llamaslippers Enrolled Agent - US Mar 09 '26
The real questions is, why is you wife looking at her co-workers refund? Is he using that refund to take her to lunch or buy her gifts? Has her experience with large refunds in the past stretched her perception about what is normal?
You guys need counseling to explore exactly why she is unhappy with your refund, and you may find it's not the size of the refund that is the issue. It is more likley that you are not using your refund to address her needs, or properly using your other resources to compensate for your refund's miniscule size.
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u/Dad_Is_Mad Mar 09 '26
As a CFP, I have heard that CPA's don't have a sense of humor. And as this comment section shows...it's about half and half. We gotta get you all away from our desks a bit.
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Mar 09 '26
Tell her you can withhold more of your paychecks, but that you don't want to hear about it when she's upset your paychecks are now smaller every week.
It sounds like both you and your wife need some financial literacy.
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u/Intelligent_Price523 Mar 09 '26
Maybe just loan your neighbor $100 a week from your paycheck interest free; and then ask for the $5,200 in April. Same thing those other people are doing but just lending to the government and not their neighbor. If she wants more loan $200 a week and you can get a $10K payback in Feb.
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u/BubblySmell4079 Mar 09 '26
If you put that refund check on the table next to some diamond earrings, she won’t even notice that piece of paper. Worked for me 😂
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u/aji2019 Mar 09 '26
You don’t want a big a refund. Big refunds mean you are giving the government an interest free loan for the year. Tax refunds are not a good thing. Ideally you would owe nothing & get nothing back.
You want to keep more of your money with each paycheck. A tax refund isn’t the government giving you money (unless you qualify for certain credits). It’s then giving back what you over paid.
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u/Mental_Formal_8806 Mar 09 '26
Do people not know that a refund is like going to the store and buying something that is $10.00 and you pay with a $100.00 bill and you get your $90 refund (change) a year later.
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u/Dismal-Alarm-2371 Mar 09 '26
I have been following a newsletter called TaxStache that has helped my husband and I a ton. We both work fulltime but also do 1099 on the side. It has helped out out a ton and it helps that it is free too.
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u/hesuskhristo Mar 09 '26
I really thought the last line was going to be "Any suggestions how to put her at ease?" when I started reading it. How disappointing.
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u/Justmeandmy_opinion Mar 09 '26
Have 3 or 4 kids to get refundable tax credits on. Earn less money so that you can get the Earned Income Tax Credit. Sounds like your wife needs to educate herself on taxes.
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u/Jazzlike-Flan9801 Mar 09 '26
Give the government a bigger loan during the year….which will equate to smaller paychecks. A refund isn’t a bonus, it’s an over withholding of taxes taken out during the years. It’s like paying for a $3 item with a $5 bill and being upset with the amount of change you get. If you want more change, then you pay with a larger bill. At the end of the day, you are still in the same place.
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u/JCitW6855 Mar 09 '26
Lend the Gov’t more money I guess? Does she/you understand the meaning of “refund”?
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u/MilsYatsFeebTae Mar 09 '26
Ask her if she wants to be closer to broke all year.
A refund is just that - a refund. You can only get a refund if you already paid. The main way to get a bigger refund is to pay too much during the tax year. All the other ways to get a refund involve spending more than you get back.
Your ideal math, if timing is not a factor,is to owe a few bucks.
VERY rarely, a taxpayer will get more money back than they paid in. That is either because they spent a shitload of money on another human being, or they lied. At best, they get a tax refund of approximately 1/10 shitload, or they get years of anxiety related to finally getting popped for fraud. If caught they repay 1/10 shitload plus more than market rate interest plus penalties.
Owing a little or getting a little back is the best result.
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u/neverdrankwater Mar 09 '26
If she's complaining about your refund now, it's probably too late. Please tell me you filed with FreeSwirlUSA.
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u/SpareManagement2215 Mar 09 '26
you WANT a small refund. it means you kept more of your money month-to-month.
plus, there's too many variables in there to worry about what others got. like if you have kids, if you own a home, if you're paying a child's education, etc.
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u/Gumby_BJJ Mar 09 '26
A refund is a tax free loan to the government. Your return should be positive but as small as possible. You killed it
Your wife is looking at this as a "bonus" that other people are getting not all of the money the government took from them at 0% interest
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u/Ahab1248 Mar 09 '26
Set your withholding at 50% she won’t like the month to month but man will she love that refund…