David Keller, Author at The Financial Wire

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The IRS Identity Protection PIN is free, takes five minutes to set up, and blocks anyone else from filing a return in your name — every filer can now opt in

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago015 mins

Every January, criminals race to file fraudulent tax returns before real taxpayers do. Their weapon is stolen personal data, often purchased in bulk from dark-web marketplaces that sell Social Security numbers alongside names, dates of birth, and W-2 details. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has documented billions of dollars in fraudulent refunds flowing…

Couple with solemn faces at a pawn shop counter

SNAP recipients aged 55 to 64 with no children under 14 must now show 80 hours of work or job training a month or lose benefits after 3 months

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago013 mins

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, expanded SNAP work requirements to cover adults up to age 64 and narrowed the definition of who qualifies as a caregiver. As of June 2026, states are still rolling out enforcement for the newly covered age group, and many recipients between 55…

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Parent PLUS borrowers have 31 days to consolidate — after June 30, they permanently lose every income-driven repayment plan and new loans jump to 9.07%

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago013 mins

A parent who borrowed $40,000 in federal PLUS loans to help cover a child’s college tuition is about to face a permanent reduction in repayment options, unless they act within the next 31 days. After June 30, 2025, any new Direct Consolidation Loan that includes Parent PLUS debt will be locked out of every income-driven…

Elderly couple using a laptop in a living room.

The new $6,000 senior bonus deduction phases out at 6% above $75,000 single and $150,000 joint — zeroing out at $175,000 single or $250,000 joint

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago011 mins

A 72-year-old single retiree living on $60,000 a year in Social Security and pension income stands to subtract an extra $6,000 from her taxable income on her 2025 federal return, a break that could save her more than $1,300 in taxes. A couple in their late 60s pulling in $200,000 from IRAs and investments will…

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The IRS permanently discontinued Direct File for the 2026 filing season — Free File through eight trusted partners stays available for filers with AGI under $89,000

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago010 mins

If you filed your federal tax return through the IRS Direct File tool last year, that option is gone. The IRS has shut down Direct File for the 2026 filing season, pulling the plug on the only government-built, no-cost electronic filing channel that let people prepare and submit returns without touching commercial software. The move…

The IRS audited roughly 1 in 1,000 filers earning under $200,000 last year — but filers reporting over $500,000 faced a 1-in-30 audit rate

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago011 mins

For the vast majority of American taxpayers, an IRS audit is something that happens to other people. If you earned less than $200,000 and filed a straightforward return, your odds of being examined were roughly 1 in 1,000, according to the IRS’s fiscal year 2023 Data Book, Table 17, the most recent complete edition available…

Young couple on the sofa with laptop and count the bill for payment. The concept of utilities, debt, people and credit.

The OBBBA permanently raised the estate-and-gift-tax exemption to $15 million per person starting in 2026 — couples can pass $30 million tax-free across death and lifetime gifts combined

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago012 mins

Until last summer, a married couple worth $30 million was staring at a potential federal estate-tax bill that could have topped $6 million. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act had temporarily doubled the estate-and-gift-tax exemption, but that doubling was set to expire on January 1, 2026, snapping the per-person shield back to roughly $7…

Depressed senior man feel worry about financial problem.

Required minimum distributions now start at age 73 — miss the December 31 deadline and the IRS penalty is 25% of what you should have withdrawn

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago015 mins

A retiree who turned 73 last year and holds $500,000 in a traditional IRA owes the IRS a required minimum distribution of roughly $18,868, calculated using the Uniform Lifetime Table published in IRS Publication 590-B. If that money does not leave the account by December 31, the IRS will impose a 25 percent excise tax…

a row of houses with cars parked in front of them

The SALT deduction cap just quadrupled to $40,400 for joint filers through 2029 — a $7,500 tax cut for the average high-property-tax household

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago012 mins

For seven years, a homeowner in Bergen County, New Jersey, paying $15,000 in annual property taxes could only write off $10,000 of that bill on a federal return. The other $5,000 simply vanished into the tax code. That changed when President Trump signed the One, Big, Beautiful Bill into law. Starting with the 2025 tax…

The OCC’s bank fee rule takes effect in 31 days — federal preemption overrides every state cap on interchange fees, including Illinois’s ban on tips and sales tax

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago015 mins

In 31 days, a pair of interim final actions from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will give every national bank and federal savings association explicit authority to charge interchange fees on the full amount of a card transaction. The orders override Illinois’s Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, the first state law to ban…

David Keller

The IRS Identity Protection PIN is free, takes five minutes to set up, and blocks anyone else from filing a return in your name — every filer can now opt in

SNAP recipients aged 55 to 64 with no children under 14 must now show 80 hours of work or job training a month or lose benefits after 3 months

Parent PLUS borrowers have 31 days to consolidate — after June 30, they permanently lose every income-driven repayment plan and new loans jump to 9.07%

The new $6,000 senior bonus deduction phases out at 6% above $75,000 single and $150,000 joint — zeroing out at $175,000 single or $250,000 joint

The IRS permanently discontinued Direct File for the 2026 filing season — Free File through eight trusted partners stays available for filers with AGI under $89,000

The IRS audited roughly 1 in 1,000 filers earning under $200,000 last year — but filers reporting over $500,000 faced a 1-in-30 audit rate

The OBBBA permanently raised the estate-and-gift-tax exemption to $15 million per person starting in 2026 — couples can pass $30 million tax-free across death and lifetime gifts combined

Required minimum distributions now start at age 73 — miss the December 31 deadline and the IRS penalty is 25% of what you should have withdrawn

The SALT deduction cap just quadrupled to $40,400 for joint filers through 2029 — a $7,500 tax cut for the average high-property-tax household

The OCC’s bank fee rule takes effect in 31 days — federal preemption overrides every state cap on interchange fees, including Illinois’s ban on tips and sales tax

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