[quote name='dallow']$1800 refund?
Man, I only got $50 last year, and I think I had to pay the IRS the year before that.
Probably $50 again this year, is it even worth it to take it somewhere?
I usually do it myself.[/QUOTE]
You're actually doing things right, dallow.
You're supposed to keep as close to 0 as possible... so paying $25 is, in theory, better than getting $500 back.
When you start to own property and get to itemize deductions (like with mortgage interest, student loan interest, PMI, etc. you can clean up with your refund (like I did... between state and fed, I'm getting back more than 5k. However, it's going toward a new reoof or paying off the renovations I had to make to the house.
). If you're not familiar with the reasoning here, it's because the more you get back, the more money you "lent" to the fed for free... it's money you could've used to pay down credit cards or bills or been earning interest on. Odds are, if you're single, with little debt, no property, you can file the 1040ez. If you've got a ton of student loan interest and make less than like 50k, you should do a 1040a because you want to claim the credit for student loan interest...