One possible way to do this, is by having extra taxes taken out of your earnings throughout the year. In this way, you’re planning a sort of “forced savings” for yourself so that you don’t come up short at the end of the year and might even get a refund. In some cases, you are even legally required to do so (i.e., business owners).

Some people may not want to go this route, however, preferring to have their earnings up front to do with as they please. For various reasons, they might feel that they can earn more by saving/investing this extra money on their own, or need the extra income for expenses earlier in the year, and choose not to have it taken out of their paycheck in advance. Choosing this method, though, means that they must be disciplined and think ahead to tax time so that they have the right amount of money in their savings to make up for anything they may owe at the end of the year.

Certainly, as with most finance-related questions, there is no “one size fits all solution. But what pros or cons do you see with each of these options? Do you prefer to have extra money taken out for taxes so you get a larger refund at the end of the year? Or, do you have the minimum amount taken out so you can invest/spend it on your own and then potentially owe money at the end of the year?