The financial news that actually matters
As the 2026 filing season approaches, federal tax officials are again warning that scam activity tends to rise when 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, that means a…
Several tax breaks available to households in 2025 are scheduled to disappear once the calendar turns to 2026, creating a narrower set of ways to reduce federal taxes. That matters for families weighing whether to move up home upgrades, lock in marketplace health coverage assumptions, or finish projects they had planned to tackle later. For…
The IRS is discontinuing Direct File for the 2026 filing season, shutting 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 and sends them back toward a mix…
With the calendar winding down, financial advisors tend to focus clients on moves that still have a real chance to affect this year’s tax picture. The best year-end strategies are not broad resolutions or generic reminders to save more. They are deadline-sensitive decisions tied to payroll, investment sales, charitable giving, and benefit accounts that can…
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, which offers no-cost federal tax preparation through private-sector partners. The shift matters because the agency’s…
The IRS spent years trying to force a major change 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, with Congress restoring the long-standing federal standard of more than $20,000 in payments and more…