The financial news that actually matters
Millions of Americans paid late-filing or late-payment penalties to the IRS on returns from tax years 2019 through 2022, often because the agency itself stopped sending collection notices during the pandemic. Now the federal government may owe that money back. But the window to claim it is closing fast: after July 10, 2026, the statute…
Roughly 27 million Americans file federal tax returns reporting self-employment income each year, and a significant share of them owe the IRS a payment on June 15, 2026. That is the deadline for second-quarter estimated taxes, and for freelancers, rideshare drivers, and independent contractors who come up short, the penalty is steep: an annualized rate…
A single adult in Texas earning $22,000 a year just crossed onto the wrong side of a line that determines whether the federal government helps pay for health insurance, groceries, and internet service. That line moved in early 2026, when the Department of Health and Human Services published updated federal poverty guidelines setting the threshold…
Millions of Americans paid late-payment penalties on their federal taxes between 2020 and 2023. A federal court ruling and a new law now say many of those charges were wrong, and the IRS may owe that money back. But there is a hard deadline to claim it: July 10, 2026. After that date, the refund…
The IRS will not send you a reminder, and there is no grace period. On June 15, 2026, the second quarterly estimated tax payment for the year comes due. Every self-employed worker, freelancer, and gig-platform earner who falls short will owe a penalty on the unpaid balance, plus interest that compounds daily until the money…
When a suburban Cook County, Illinois, homeowner opened his 2025 reassessment notice and saw an 18-percent jump with no changes to the property, he did what a growing number of taxpayers are doing: he logged into the county’s SmartFile portal, uploaded photos and sales data from three nearby houses, and submitted the whole thing in…
Consider a 65-year-old single filer who retired in January 2026, has not yet claimed Social Security, and is living off savings. Her modified adjusted gross income for the year will land around $40,000. She wants to convert $30,000 from her traditional IRA to a Roth. Combined MAGI: $70,000. That keeps her under the $75,000 phaseout…
A 28-year-old gig worker in Texas who never filed a 2022 return. A retired teacher in Ohio whose W-2 sat in an unopened envelope. A college student in California who did not know a part-time job entitled her to a refund. All of them had money waiting at the IRS, and none of them collected…
A taxpayer who owes $10,000 on a 2025 federal return and blows past the April 15, 2026, deadline without filing will owe a $500 penalty after just one month. After five months, that penalty hits $2,500, the maximum 25% allowed under IRC §6651. A second taxpayer who owes the same amount but files on time…
If you claim the standard deduction, every dollar you gave to charity over the past four years earned you exactly nothing at tax time. You could write a check to your church, fund a food bank, or send money after a hurricane, and the IRS treated it the same as if you had spent it…