LaSalle Parish ranks at number 5 in the state, and 134th in the United States, on the amount of federal tax refunds provided each year, according to a news release from SmartAssets.
In LaSalle, 4,220 taxpayers receive refunds, averaging $3,509,while 690 taxpayers owe an average of $3,339, giving the parish a 47.40 rating in tax refunds.
Whether you save it for retirement, use it to pay down credit card debt or spend it immediately, a tax refund can be a great financial boost. Many Americans depend on their tax refund as an important part of their annual budget.
Every year when you file your income taxes, three things can happen. You can learn that you owe the IRS money; that the IRS owes you money; or that you’re about even, having paid the right amount in taxes throughout the year.
If the IRS owes you money it will come in the form of a tax refund, while if you owe the IRS money, you’ll have a bill to pay.
Why would the IRS owe you a tax refund? There are several possible scenarios. You might have overpaid your estimated taxes or had too much withheld from your paycheck at work. You might also qualify for so many tax deductions and tax credits that you eliminate your tax liability and are eligible for a refund.
Remember that a tax deduction reduces your taxable income, cutting your tax bill indirectly by reducing the income that’s subject to a marginal tax rate. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar discount on your tax bill. So, if you owe $1,000 but qualify for a $500 tax credit your tax bill goes down to $500.
What if you’re eligible for tax credits that are greater than what you owe – say, $1,000 in tax credits with a $500 liability? Whether you get that $500 difference refunded to you will depend on whether the tax credits you qualify are refundable or not. Refundable tax credits go into your tax refund if they exceed what you owe. By contrast, some tax credits are nonrefundable, which means they have the power to reduce your tax liability down to zero but can’t be refunded to you if they exceed your liability.
Many taxpayers prefer to get their tax refund via direct deposit. When you fill out your income tax return you’ll be prompted to give your bank account details. That way, the IRS can put your refund money right in your account, and you won’t have to wait for a check to arrive in the mail.
If you file your taxes early, you don’t have to wait until after the tax deadline to get your tax refund. Depending on the complexity of your tax return, you could get your tax refund in just a couple of weeks. To get a timeline for when your refund will arrive, you can go to www.irs. gov/refunds. You can check the status of your refund within 24 hours after the IRS notifies you that it has received your e-filed tax return (or four weeks after mailing your paper return, if you’re old school).
In a given tax year, you may want to know how big your refund will be so you can plan what to do with it. You may want to use it to boost your emergency fund, save for retirement or make an extra student loan or mortgage payment.
To determine the counties that received the highest average refunds, SmartAssets divided the total amount of money refunded by the IRS in each county by the number of refunds issued in each county. They did the same to calculate the average amount owed, by dividing the total taxes owed in each county by the number of filers that still owe taxes.
SmartAssets then ranked and indexed each of the counties where residents receive the highest average refunds and where residents pay the most after filing their taxes.
