Tacks

[pne]

Handed in my tax return for 2004 this morning. W00t for not procrastinating! *cough* (The deadline is tomorrow—31 May 2005.)

I was there shortly after eight, just after the IRS office opened, and managed to get number A06, and A03 was currently being served, so I didn't have to wait long.

The lady who looked over my return gave me a hint which will probably result in a bigger refund: since I don't pay church tax¹ and the amount of donations for religious purposes is greater than the maximum allowed (5% of income), I could enter a fictitious church tax of 9% of my income tax (the amount that people in one of the two main churches would pay) and subtract that amount from the "donations for religious purposes" item; that way, I get to claim a bit more money as a deduction. (Besides the 5% you can deduct for "religious purposes", you can also deduct 5% for "charitable purposes", and the receipt you get from the church each year splits up the tithing 50/50 into those two categories, so you can basically claim all of your tithing as a tax deduction each year.)

She also recommended that I apply for Mutterschaftsgeld from my health insurance; that's money that mothers get paid after they had a child. Ordinarily, it only applies to mothers who had been working (and hence, paying into health insurance) before they became pregnant, but the tax lady said that you can also apply for a one-time payment if the mother had not been working. So, why not.

And now, six weeks or so and we'll get money back; probably about €1000 according to the program we used to do our tax return.

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¹ If you belong to one of the two main churches in Germany (Evangelical-Lutheran and Roman Catholic) (and possibly others? not sure), then you pay a "church tax", which your employer deducts from your salary along with the other taxes and pays to the state, who passes the money on to the church.

As in, probably, most churches, those two churches have members who are members in name only and never go to church, but in Germany, that number may be smaller due to the fact that some people have a financial incentive to leave the church officially in order to avoid paying church tax. (Though I think that if you do so, you also lose benefits such as being able to have your child confirmed or having a church wedding—which are probably, I'll guess, the two biggest reasons why non-religious people remain in those churches. Confirmation because it's a big thing for most youth and they get lots of presents, especially money, and church weddings because many people like the pomp and circumstance that surrounds it, especially compared to the low-key civil ceremony in registry offices.)

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

What better way to symbolize how much a partner means to you than to solemnize a union in a forum you don't actually take seriously and are doing more for show than substance.

[nik-w.livejournal.com]

> And now, six weeks or so and we'll get money back

How incredibly organised the German Tax Office obviously are. Over here, everything had to be submitted by April 1st and according to a friend who phoned them the other day to ask when they were getting their money, they said that they were still opening envelopes. No-one in the UK knows when to expect any money back - we just kind of hope it'll be some time before next April, but no-one's holding their breath! I'm expecting a refund of over £1000 but whether I'll get it is another matter. These things move in mysterious ways...

[pne.livejournal.com]

Eh; the tax lady didn't want to commit to a time but said 'at least eight weeks' and something about how they were currently processing returns handed in in February (I think; couldn't understand her well due to the background noise in the room, where there were four desks each handling a client).

But judging from past years' performances, it takes about four to six weeks.

[fweebles.livejournal.com]

How long it takes in Canada is totally dependent on when you send your return in. If you send it in during the rush (i.e. right before the April 30 deadline), it can take 6-8 weeks to get a refund.

I submitted mine in early March and got my refund in 8 days. :D

[pne.livejournal.com]

Good point; in past years, I'd usually submit my return about four weeks before the deadline, so it might well take longer this time.

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

In the US tax refunds (federal, that is) are supposed to take six to eight weeks, though if you submit close to the deadline (April 15) it can be longer. State refunds seem to have "you'll get it sometime and we won't know when you'll get it until you get it, so don't bother asking" policy, at least in my state. (Sorry, I'm bitter. I submitted mine super-early—January 30—but due to the state tax people giving me incorrect directions when I called to clarify something, we had to re-file an amended return. It's been eight weeks and no sign of the refund, which I was hoping to use to attend an important conference this coming weekend.)

I got my federal refund March 18 IIRC, so about six and a half weeks.