[grapenephi]

Somuchmore wrote:

The path act is more than just a delay for certain filers though. It is really great legislation. It helps prevent people from claiming fraudulent <span>tax</span> withholding, includes new provisions for ITIN filers, contains the wrongful incarceration exclusion which allows the wrongfully accused to claim restitution and it expanded the work opportunity credit for employers. Prior to it being enacted there were huge problems in all those areas including identity theft. We are better for this.

You don’t want to be getting a refund anyway. They are bad. Getting your <span>tax</span> liability to close to zero by changing your W-4 withholdings is much better. You are basically giving the government a loan. That you aren’t sure will be repaid. They are allowed to hold it as they see fit with accordance to the laws and policies outlined in the massive and complicated tax code. Your refund can be held for years. I suggest meeting with a <span id=”IL_AD6″ class=”IL_AD”>CPA</span> ,some charge as little as $25, and having them help in adjusting your income withholdings. If you do this your get the same amount but throughout the year instead of waiting for a frustrating <span>tax</span> season. You may even still get a small more reasonable refund of $100 or owe some. In fact, owing under a $100 means you did something right all year and got your money in your paychecks. Use the extra to pay bills or put into your IRA or retirement for an even bigger right off next year. Or a savings account.<input type=”hidden” name=”IL_IN_ARTICLE” value=”1″ class=”IL_IN_AUTO”>

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I am not understanding why everyone is putting themselves through this and being angry at the outcome. Adjust your withholding.

Let me be as clear and frank as I can–there is no benefit to me or most of us low-wage earners with several children. I claim exempt each year, and I am still due several thousands of dollars that my family and I depend upon to make ends meet every year. Delaying these refunds is just begging for predatory lenders to step in and provide “tax services” by promising expedited refunds in the form of 200% interest quick loans. People in my situation often find themselves in desperate need to get a hold of the money, and unfortunately, many fall prey to these schemes.

People who do not think of this obviously have never been in this situation. Furthermore, people who defend PATH as some kind of fix-all for the aforementioned problems likely do not consider the points that I have made in my OP. I have 8 kids; they’re the same 8 kids every year, and they all have the same social security numbers every year. I have a bank account that my DD has been going into for the last 15 years. I’m not pulling any fast ones. There should be some sort of accommodation for people who have proven that they’re not committing fraud.

And, let’s be real, how does holding on to people’s refund for another month, in the sea of millions of tax refunds, actually serve any real purpose? Is there a dedicated department at the IRS who takes the PATH victims’, I mean beneficiaries, returns into a special room to investigate and make sure they are protected from fraud? Not likely. My guess is that it was meant to be punitive for people who receive back more than they paid and discourage people from having a lot of kids. I have a lot of kids because my wife and I wanted a large family, and we didn’t anticipate having a master’s degree yet not being able to earn barely above minimum wage after health problems that don’t qualify for disability.

This is broken. Let’s fix it.

[grapenephi]

MizuSeirei wrote:

Oh, and if you are audited, you will stand the chance of not seeing your refund for a MINIMUM of 6 weeks AFTER they are finished with your return (because they will treat it as if you filled a <span id=”IL_AD6″ class=”IL_AD”>paper</span> return), up to MAYBE 6 months….but I have heard of people seeing their returns nearly a year AFTER the audit was finished. That’s too long for the wait, so if I were you, I would walk the PATH and wait the wait. It’s better than taking the chance.

Let them look at my records with a fine-toothed comb. Like most people in my situation, I don’t have interests, dividends, write-offs, business expenses, or anything other than 1040-worthy income. That’s it.

I can understand them taking extra time the first filing, and maybe even the second, but year after year of them “making sure I’m not claiming kids that aren’t mine” is absolutely ridiculous. A department that can go back and look at the last decade (at least) of my tax returns and see that everything adds up the same every year should be smart enough to rubber stamp my return once they verify that they match my W2 info. Any other action is ridiculous and uncalled for.

[Author]

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