Refunds are for dummies

If you got a refund this year from the IRS, you got conned by uncle sam.  Unfortunately, I got one too.  Mine is about $200, meaning that I let the IRS borrow $200 from me, interest free over the course of 2007.  At a rate of return of 5%, it cost me about $10.  Not too bad, but some people get refunds in the thousands of dollars, giving up hundreds to the IRS.  

What I will do next year: under-withold.  The goal is to owe the IRS a small amount, maybe $25.

Of course, its always hard to determine your exact tax liability, so I must issue a disclaimer that you may want to consult some idiot accountant, even though the math involved is so simple a 3rd grader could do it.  All it takes is a bit of research.  My accountant is a free program online.  That's another truth to taxes, the only thing worse than giving he IRS an interest free loan is actually paying someone to do your taxes.