As an avid viewer of the Suze Orman show, I've noticed one interesting thing: Suze Orman doesn't like tax-refunds. The reason for this isn't that she dislikes the idea of people getting their own money back. Rather, she dislikes the idea of people giving the government a series of free (0% interest) loans, averaging 6 months.
When a viewer called into Suze's show asking how best to invest their tax-refund money ($1,000), the first thing Orman did was to scold the person about getting a refund in the first place, and said that they should never get a tax refund again. Most people work 40 to 50 years, and at that rate, that's $40,000 to $50,000 that you're loaning the government interest-free for 6 months if you get a refund of $1,000 every year. Furthermore, during the time between when your money is withheld and the time when you obtain your refund, you're not earning interest on your money.
Thus, Orman tells those who listen to her to raise the number of allowances they claim. This FAQ from the Internal Robbery Service explains how to figure out how many allowances you can claim.
