The financial news that actually matters
Explains income reporting rules, tax thresholds, financial disclosures, and regulatory reporting requirements. It helps users understand when and how financial reporting applies to them.
Americans planning to make financial gifts in 2026 can transfer up to $19,000 to any single recipient without triggering a federal gift-tax return. The IRS confirmed that figure as part of its latest inflation adjustments, holding the per-person annual exclusion steady for a second consecutive year even after legislative changes introduced by the One, Big,…
Anyone who opens a checking account to collect a $3,000 bonus will find that the bank treats the payment as interest income and files a Form 1099-INT with the IRS. The bonus is not a gift in the casual sense. It is taxable, it is reported, and it can catch account holders off guard when…
Households earning well above the median but far below the ultra-wealthy bracket are increasingly paying a tax that Congress originally aimed at high earners. The Net Investment Income Tax, set at 3.8 percent, kicks in once modified adjusted gross income tops $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for joint filers. Those dollar thresholds have not…
Every person in the United States can hand $19,000 to any other person in 2026 without triggering a single dollar of gift tax or a filing obligation with the IRS. Married couples who elect to split gifts can double that figure to $38,000 per recipient. The IRS confirmed the numbers in its 2026 inflation-adjustment release…
Millions of people who sell goods through apps like Venmo, PayPal, eBay, and Etsy just got a significant reprieve. Third-party payment platforms are no longer required to send Form 1099-K unless a seller clears $20,000 in gross payments across more than 200 transactions in a calendar year. The change, enacted through Section 70432 of the…
Single filers who earn under $49,450 in taxable income during tax year 2026 can sell long-term investments and pay zero federal tax on the gains. That threshold, set through annual inflation adjustments published by the IRS, sits higher than in prior years and creates a concrete planning window for workers, retirees, and small investors whose…
Anyone who opened a new checking account to grab a $200 or $300 cash bonus this year should expect a tax form in the mail. The IRS treats those payments as taxable interest, and financial institutions are required to report amounts of $10 or more on Form 1099-INT, whether the customer thinks of the money…
The IRS has confirmed that the annual gift-tax exclusion for 2026 holds steady at $19,000 per recipient, the same figure that applied in 2025. That means any individual can transfer up to $19,000 to as many separate people as they choose during the calendar year without reducing the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption or…
Millions of freelancers, gig workers, and casual online sellers who use platforms like Venmo, PayPal, and Etsy will see far fewer tax forms landing in their inboxes starting with the 2026 tax year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025, as Public Law 119-21, retroactively restored the original Form 1099-K reporting…
Servers, bartenders, hairstylists, and other tipped workers across the United States can now shield up to $25,000 of their annual tip income from federal income tax when they file their 2025 returns. The Treasury Department and the IRS finalized regulations under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill that define which occupations qualify and how the new…