I think there are several factors to consider before you can answer for your self.
First, discount rates. What is your discount rate for future money? If that is high then clearly getting the refund is not optimal for you and you’d be better off setting deductions such that you don’t get much of a refund (or even perhaps owe a small amount). However, if your discount is 0 then you don’t care if you get the money now or sometime in the future.
The implication here seems to be that getting the refund is at best no better than not getting the refund. One might take a further step to say over the course of a year various things can come up where having a bit more cash would help so, risk adjusted, the refund is the second best choice for you.
The flip side might relate to personal financial discipline and spending habits. If you need to save (say for larger ticket item things or for placing in a savings/investment account) but struggle to achieve that the refund may well be better. It becomes something of a forced savings strategy. Money you never see is much easier to save than money you hold in you hand.
I think there are several factors to consider before you can answer for your self.
First, discount rates. What is your discount rate for future money? If that is high then clearly getting the refund is not optimal for you and you’d be better off setting deductions such that you don’t get much of a refund (or even perhaps owe a small amount). However, if your discount is 0 then you don’t care if you get the money now or sometime in the future.
The implication here seems to be that getting the refund is at best no better than not getting the refund. One might take a further step to say over the course of a year various things can come up where having a bit more cash would help so, risk adjusted, the refund is the second best choice for you.
The flip side might relate to personal financial discipline and spending habits. If you need to save (say for larger ticket item things or for placing in a savings/investment account) but struggle to achieve that the refund may well be better. It becomes something of a forced savings strategy. Money you never see is much easier to save than money you hold in you hand.