Now if I were posting on that site, I would flame them by asking why “deadbeats” should be let off. LOL.
Anyway, seriously, if a person has a relatively steady income, such as a 40 hour job, there is NO REASON to ever get a refund. You simply need to up your withholding allowances to the point where you owe the gov. money at tax time, rather than vice versa. In my case, I take several “snapshots” over each year (on a spreadsheet, to make it easier), where I basically fill out my tax form, projecting what my future income will be. You want to get within 10% of tax owed or $1000 (whichever is higher) to avoid any penalties - but even the penalties aren’t that bad. Just stay below what’s owed, and that is done by tweaking withholding allowances.
It doesn’t always work, things can change (job situation, tax laws), and it would be much tougher for a 1099 estimator to get it right - but most people can do it, if they take a little time during the calendar year.
The IRS has a much easier time blocking refunds than they do using other methods, and probably a lot less push back, since the money never reaches the person. They can dip into your checking account, but there’s a much higher PR price to pay if they start doing that in what looks like an arbitrary manner.
I agree. Adjust your withholdings during the year so you have to pay some tax. Just a couple hundred bucks.
You’ll have more money in your pocket during the year.
“They can dip into your checking account, but there’s a much higher PR price to pay if they start doing that in what looks like an arbitrary manner”
I can see the run on banks now. And I can see bankers running even faster to bought politicians.