Taxes & Policy Archives - Page 4 of 21

a man in a white shirt and tie holding a folder

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 Keller5 days ago5 days 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 Keller5 days ago5 days 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 Keller5 days ago5 days 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…

Young couple calculating their domestic bills at home

The 2026 standard deduction just climbed to $32,200 for married couples and $16,100 for singles — the new floor means roughly 9 in 10 filers skip itemizing

David Keller5 days ago5 days ago010 mins

Most Americans will never fill out a Schedule A for their 2026 taxes. The IRS has set the standard deduction at $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, $16,100 for single filers, and $24,150 for heads of household, increases that push the threshold even further beyond what typical households spend on mortgage interest, state taxes, and…

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 Keller5 days ago5 days 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 IRS penalty for failing to file is 5% per month — 10 times the 0.5% penalty for filing but underpaying — both cap at 25% after 5 months

Warren Cohen5 days ago6 days ago09 mins

A taxpayer who owes $5,000 and never files a return will rack up $250 in penalties every month. A taxpayer who owes the same amount, files on time, but cannot pay will owe just $25 per month. That tenfold difference is baked into the Internal Revenue Code, and as the filing deadline for 2025 returns…

man in white dress shirt sitting on black office rolling chair

The IRS lets self-employed filers deduct 100% of health insurance premiums above the line without itemizing — including dental, vision, and long-term care for spouse and dependents

David Keller5 days ago6 days ago019 mins

A freelance graphic designer in Austin pays $14,400 a year to cover herself, her husband, and their two kids through a marketplace health plan that includes dental and vision. Because she files as self-employed with net profit, the IRS allows her to subtract every dollar of that premium from her gross income before her tax…

Calculator and tax forms on a dark surface.

Quarterly estimated taxes are due in 16 days — self-employed and gig workers who underpay by June 15 get hit with an 8% IRS penalty plus daily interest

David Keller5 days ago6 days ago013 mins

A freelance graphic designer who earned $8,000 in April and May 2026 owes roughly $2,400 in federal estimated taxes by June 15. If she misses that deadline by even one day, the IRS starts charging an underpayment penalty at an annualized rate of 8%, compounded daily, with no grace period, no warning letter, and no…

four people watching on white MacBook on top of glass-top table

Student loan borrowers have 32 days to leave the SAVE plan — miss July 1 and the government auto-enrolls you in Standard Repayment by September

Warren Cohen6 days ago6 days ago015 mins

If you were paying $85 a month under the SAVE plan, your next student loan bill could be $350 or more. And if you do nothing in the next 32 days, that jump happens automatically. On July 1, 2026, federal loan servicers will begin mailing notices to every borrower still enrolled in the now-defunct SAVE…

Focused young homeowner girl using payment banking financial online application on laptop computer checking domestic paper documents paying bills calculating taxes insurance mortgage fees

Form 4868 pushes the tax filing deadline to October 15 — free, five minutes online — but does not extend the deadline to pay or stop interest on the balance due

Warren Cohen6 days ago6 days ago013 mins

About 19 million individual tax returns each year arrive at the IRS under an extension, according to the agency’s filing-season statistics. The mechanism behind all of them is Form 4868, a one-page request that moves the federal filing deadline from April 15 to October 15. It costs nothing, takes roughly five minutes to complete online,…

Category: Taxes & Policy

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

The 2026 standard deduction just climbed to $32,200 for married couples and $16,100 for singles — the new floor means roughly 9 in 10 filers skip itemizing

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 IRS penalty for failing to file is 5% per month — 10 times the 0.5% penalty for filing but underpaying — both cap at 25% after 5 months

The IRS lets self-employed filers deduct 100% of health insurance premiums above the line without itemizing — including dental, vision, and long-term care for spouse and dependents

Quarterly estimated taxes are due in 16 days — self-employed and gig workers who underpay by June 15 get hit with an 8% IRS penalty plus daily interest

Student loan borrowers have 32 days to leave the SAVE plan — miss July 1 and the government auto-enrolls you in Standard Repayment by September

Form 4868 pushes the tax filing deadline to October 15 — free, five minutes online — but does not extend the deadline to pay or stop interest on the balance due

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