The financial news that actually matters
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 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 IRS is discontinuing Direct File for the 2026 filing season. This shuts down the government-built tax filing option after expanding it just a year earlier and branding it as a permanent free alternative for taxpayers. The reversal leaves eligible filers heading into tax season with fewer government-run options. It also sends them back toward…
With the calendar winding down, financial advisors tend to focus clients on moves. Emphasis are on moves that still have a real chance to affect this year’s tax picture. The best year-end tax moves are not broad resolutions or generic reminders to save more. They are deadline-sensitive decisions tied to payroll, investment sales, charitable giving,…
Americans looking to file taxes without paying software fees still have a path to do it, but the landscape has changed. For the 2026 filing season, the Internal Revenue Service is steering eligible taxpayers to its long-running Free File program. The program offers no-cost federal tax preparation through private-sector partners. The shift matters because the…
The IRS spent years trying to force major 1099-K reporting threshold changes in how payment apps and online marketplaces report transactions to taxpayers. What began as a push to lower the Form 1099-K reporting threshold to $600 ended in a sharp reversal. That is because Congress restored the long-standing federal standard of more than $20,000…