@princessoflight Put it toward your mortgage principal. Check out an amortization calculator with estimated tax returns applied annually and see where it gets you.
People will say invest instead but depending on your mortgage rate and how interested you are in paying it off early, it could be worth it
@princessoflight Not worth. Seems many people are obsessed with paying off their homes as of late. It's a weird fad. 8/10 times It's more cost effective to put the money elsewhere. If someone wants to cut some time and interest off a loan, amortize it with a smallish additional monthly payment.
@princessoflight Whatever you do, make sure you fix your withholding so this doesn’t happen again. I know it problem seems like you won or “gamed the system”, but you didn’t and getting $15k back is a losing situation.
@princessoflight Personally I’d dump it all into my HYSA for now while rates are high. When the fed cuts rates you can refinance your mortgage with some of that cash and put a big chunk down onto the new mortgage, possibly even refinance to a 15 year assuming you currently have a 30
@princessoflight You need to plan your taxes this year better if you are getting that big of a refund. Save, Invest, pay off debt..whatever you want to do with it.
@princessoflight How hell do folks get money back. $15k are you kidding me. I can’t remember that last time my wife and I didn’t owe. We did start owing less when we had kids and also put them in daycare.
@smolders If the government is giving someone money as a refund, then that person gave them too much all year. Since you owe them money, you used their money all year. Getting a refund just means the person planned poorly, and the bigger the refund, the worse the planning.