No refund but owe tax

I got a shock when I discovered from my mom that I will be paying tax this year! I usually get a tax refund for my income tax. Last year I cashed in 1k of refund and that’s only working for 4 months!This year I was anticipating my 1k refund for working last year. I have plans to spend it on a macbook or save it for a trip somewhere, probably Japan.

I just learned from my mom, who did my tax filing since I’m currently here in the Philippines, that I owe the government $57! My plans to splurge it has been dashed. I know it’s not a lot of money to pay but a 1k refund is a lot of money to lose. I wondered why it was that way and my mom gave me the breakdown and it turned out I earned more last year than the previous year. So my income bracket went up that I joined in the ranks of those who gets taxed. So is it better not to earn a lot?

The silver lining in this dark cloud is I will be getting a stimulus package! I will be receiving $400 come July. Last year it was 600 (although I only got 300 which is puzzling) and now they trimmed it down to 400. Well money is money. At least we get some.

But $400 is still a long way from a trip to Japan or buying a macbook.