The financial news that actually matters
Lower-income workers who put money into a retirement account can claim a federal tax credit worth up to $1,000 per person, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. The Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, commonly called the Saver’s Credit, applies a percentage of 50%, 20%, or 10% to qualified contributions capped at $2,000 per eligible individual….
American households are carrying more credit card debt than at any point on record, with the average balance reaching $6,580. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau documented this milestone in its 2025 Consumer Credit Card Market report, formally published in the Federal Register on January 7, 2026. The figure lands at a time when fewer consumers…
Workers who receive a bonus this year will see the IRS take a flat 22 percent cut before the money reaches their bank accounts. That withholding rate, applied automatically by most employers, often exceeds what an employee actually owes in federal income tax, shrinking the check and leaving the difference locked up until tax-filing season…
Nearly 35.9 million people whose personal data was exposed in a late-2023 Comcast breach now face a tight deadline to file claims for a flat $50 payment or up to $10,000 if they can document actual losses. The filing window closes August 14, giving affected customers only a narrow period to act. The breach itself…
Homebuyers shopping for a 30-year fixed mortgage this week face a rate of 6.49 percent, a slight uptick from 6.47 percent the prior week but still well below the 6.77 percent average recorded a year ago. The two-basis-point move keeps rates inside a tight band that has held for roughly six weeks, offering neither relief…
Anyone who hit a jackpot, cashed a winning sports bet, or walked away from a poker table with more than they started now faces a tax obligation that federal law treats exactly like wage income. The IRS requires every dollar of gambling winnings to be reported on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, regardless of whether…
A cardholder sitting on a $5,000 credit card balance who sends in only the minimum each month can spend more than a decade paying it off, according to the federal formulas that issuers are required to use when printing repayment estimates on monthly statements. That estimate assumes no new purchases are added to the card….
Anyone who collected $5,000 or more through PayPal, Venmo, or similar payment apps during 2024 should expect a Form 1099-K in their mailbox or inbox, and the IRS will have a copy of the same document. That $5,000 figure was set as a phase-in threshold after the agency delayed the $600 reporting floor enacted by…
Vincent Camarda, a Long Island investment adviser who ran A.G. Morgan Financial Advisors, pleaded guilty in federal court to securities fraud and investment adviser fraud tied to a scheme that bilked at least 431 investors out of roughly $160 million. The guilty plea, entered in Central Islip, New York, carries restitution of at least $160,022,836.81…
Anyone who has deposited a paycheck and needed the money the next morning knows the frustration of a hold. Federal law has long required banks and credit unions to release at least $225 from most check deposits by the start of the next business day. That floor is now changing: the Federal Reserve announced inflation-adjusted…