The financial news that actually matters
Retired workers collecting Social Security started 2026 with a larger monthly benefit, as the program’s 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment pushed the estimated average retirement check to $2,071 in January. For many households, that translates into roughly $56 more per month, a meaningful increase on paper even if it does not go as far as it…
The Internal Revenue Service set the maximum Earned Income Tax Credit for tax year 2026 at $8,231 for families with three or more qualifying children, a bump from $8,046 in 2025. That increase, driven by annual inflation indexing and shaped by provisions in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, means larger families filing returns in early…
For the millions of Americans born in 1960 or later, the Social Security full retirement age stands firm at 67, completing a decades long shift that began with legislation signed more than 40 years ago. This threshold determines when workers can collect their full, unreduced monthly benefit, and it will not budge under current law….
Homebuyers searching for properties across the Sun Belt are increasingly likely to find brand-new houses rather than resale listings. In several fast-growing metro areas stretching from Texas to Florida, some private real estate listing-data trackers estimate that new construction represents roughly one in three homes available for sale. If that share holds, it would be…
State governments across the country collected a record $1.2 trillion in tax revenue during fiscal year 2025. That is a milestone that reflects strong personal income tax receipts and steady consumer spending. Yet the headline figure conceals sharp disparities between states, and the full national picture will not be official until the U.S. Census Bureau…
The Internal Revenue Service raised the annual contribution limit for individual retirement accounts to $7,500 for the 2026 tax year, a $500 increase over the $7,000 cap that applied in 2025. Workers aged 50 and older will also be able to set aside an extra $1,100 in catch-up contributions, up from $1,000. The changes, announced…
The 2026 tax filing season is officially underway. This means millions of Americans can now begin sending in their federal returns for the 2025 tax year. For early filers, the opening of tax season is the moment when returns stop sitting in a queue and start moving through the IRS system for processing. For most…
As the 2026 filing season approaches, federal tax officials are again warning that IRS tax scams tends to rise now. Especially as Americans begin gathering documents, checking refund status, and looking for ways to cut what they owe. The familiar tactics are still around, but they are getting sharper, faster, and more convincing. For taxpayers,…
Several tax breaks available to households in 2025 are scheduled to disappear once the calendar turns to 2026. This creates a narrower set of ways to reduce federal taxes. These expiring tax breaks are important for families weighing whether to move up home upgrades or lock in marketplace health coverage assumptions. It also important for…
The Internal Revenue Service has raised the annual 401(k) contribution limit to $24,500 for 2026, up from $23,500 in 2025. For workers who already save aggressively through an employer plan, that is a meaningful increase. It creates another $1,000 of tax-advantaged room, whether contributions are made on a traditional pre-tax basis or as Roth salary…