Andy | Saving to Invest

2026–2027 Auto Loan Interest Tax Deduction: New Cars, Made in America, Up to $10,000

When you're staring at a new car loan at 6–8% interest, the monthly payment can sting. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) gives you a way to take some of that sting back: a federal income tax deduction on the interest you pay, up to $10,000 per year, for…

Trump Accounts Are Now Live — How to Claim the $1,000 Baby Bonus in 2026 and Open Your Child’s Account

Trump Accounts officially launched on July 4, 2026 — parents can now open an account at trumpaccounts.gov or by filing IRS Form 4547 (Trump Account Election) with their tax year 2025 return. Babies born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028 qualify for a one-time $1,000 contribution from the…

2026–2027 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA): What Every Tax Filer Needs to Know

If you've filed taxes in the last few years, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has already shown up on your 2025 return — and will do so for every return through 2028. In this post I will walk you through exactly what changed, what it means for your…

The $1,000 Charitable Deduction for Non-Itemizers Is Now Law — Here’s How OBBBA Changed Giving in 2026

Non-itemizers can now deduct charitable cash gifts on their federal return for the first time since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) nearly doubled the standard deduction and pushed most filers out of itemizing altogether. This isn't a proposal working its way through Congress anymore — it's enacted…

Should You Skip Filing a Tax Return? Minimum Income to File and What Skipping Costs You in 2026

For tax year 2025 — the return most people filed by April 2026 — you were required to file if your gross income was at least $15,750 as a single filer under 65, or $31,500 married filing jointly with both spouses under 65. Below that, the IRS generally doesn't require…

BOI Reporting for LLCs: Domestic Companies Are Now Exempt (Here’s Who Still Has to File)

If you own an LLC and have been putting off dealing with the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement, here's the update you've been waiting for: you almost certainly don't need to file, and haven't since March 2025. This page has gone through several rounds of "wait and see" as…

2027 Pay Raise for 2026 Federal Employee GS Charts — Salary Tables and Latest Updates

The General Schedule (GS) pay scale sets base pay for roughly 1.5 million civilian federal employees. This page tracks confirmed raises and the latest proposals for each year. For 2027, the debate is over: President Trump's August 26, 2026 letter to Congress confirms a pay freeze for most civilian employees,…

“We Received Your Return and Sent You a Letter Requesting More Information” — What This WMR Message Means in 2026

Plenty of filers checking Where's My Refund (WMR) or IRS2Go this season have hit the same status: the IRS received your return, but a letter requesting more information is on its way to you. Your refund is on pause — but this message is a to-do item, not a disaster.…

IRS Code 806 Explained: What Your Withholding Credit Means for Your 2026-2027 Refund

Code 806 on your IRS transcript is the total federal income tax and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax withheld on your behalf for the year. It isn't your refund — it's the credit the IRS weighs against your actual tax liability to figure out whether you're getting money back…

IRS Business Tax Account in 2026: C Corporations and Nonprofits Can Now Register — Here’s Who’s Still Left Out

The IRS has quietly widened who can use Business Tax Account since it first opened to partnerships and S corporations in late 2023. As of mid-2026, C corporations, tax-exempt organizations, federal/state/local government entities, and Indian Tribal governments can all register for full online access to their tax records. That's a…

Should You Buy a House If the Mortgage Is Double Your Rent? Here’s the Actual Math

"Our mortgage would be almost double what we pay in rent right now — is that insane?" I get a version of this question constantly, and the honest answer is: that comparison is almost never the right one to make. Rent versus a future mortgage payment feels like the natural…

When Can I File My Taxes in 2027? Key IRS Tax Dates, Deadlines, and Refund Payment Timelines

The 2026 tax season is officially in the books — the IRS began accepting 2025 returns on January 26, 2026, and the April 15 filing deadline has passed. If you filed on time (or on extension), you're done until next year. We now look ahead to the 2027 tax season…

Remote Work Tax Issues in 2026: State Taxes, Reciprocity, and the Home Office Deduction

Remote work didn't just change where people do their jobs — it created a genuinely more complicated tax picture for millions of workers who now live in a different state (or country) than their employer. Here's what actually matters when you file. Which State Actually Taxes Your Income? When you…

How Car Rental Companies Sneak Extra Fees Onto Your Bill — and How to Fight Back

This post started with my own Avis rental years ago, where the final bill came in noticeably higher than the quote — charges I only discovered after returning the car. The dollar amount wasn't huge; the way it was disclosed felt deliberately buried. Judging by the comments this post has…