Category: Taxes and Retirement

[UPDATED chart for 2026 & 2027] Every tax season there is a guessing game played by millions of American taxpayers on when they will get their refund payment deposited into their bank account. There is the so-called IRS refund schedule, which has estimated dates for when the agency will make…

If you claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) and filed early, your refund is being held by law — not because anything is wrong with your return. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act requires the IRS to hold your entire refund,…

A CP10 notice means the IRS found a math or calculation error on your filed tax return, and that correction changed the amount you'd elected to apply toward next year's estimated tax payments — usually reducing it. It's one of a family of IRS math-error notices, and it's commonly confused…

Many tax filers are now seeing messages on their IRS2Go and WMR app that confirm their tax returns are going to take longer than normal to process. Tax Topic 152, which just alludes to ongoing and potential processing delays, has not provided much help. So some are turning to their…

If you filed with a major tax software provider or storefront preparer in early 2026, you likely saw a prompt offering to get part of your refund in minutes instead of waiting on the IRS. That's a tax refund advance, and the terms vary a lot more between providers than…

Over the last few years, thanks to plenty of pandemic related support via stimulus payments and funding for expanded tax credits, the average refund payment ballooned to over $3,100. This is despite 20 million fewer Americans getting refunds. However with no further federal funding approved, several popular stimulus, family and dependent tax…

New Jersey's 2025 tax year returns are due April 15, 2026, the same day as the federal filing deadline. If you're waiting on a refund or want to understand what's changed for this filing season, here's the current picture. Checking Your NJ Refund Status Use the New Jersey Division of…

If you're a California resident or tax filer, here's what's worth knowing about the state's refund process and a few key state-specific tax considerations for 2026. Subscribe here to get notified of updates on California and federal tax changes. The Middle Class Tax Refund (MCTR) Program Has Ended The one-time…

The IRS has released the latest 401(k), IRA and Roth individual contribution limits including income qualification and phase-out thresholds. See the tables below for limits and changes over the last few years. 401(k) Limits IRA Limits Tax deductible IRA contributions are based on qualifying income ranges and spousal participation in…

Per the federal tax code, the IRS is required to adjust dozens of tax-related items for inflation on an annual basis. Given the persistently high levels of inflation reflected in recent

Millions of people file their taxes and then wait — sometimes far longer than the IRS’s advertised 21-day guideline. The 2026 filing season made that worse. DOGE-driven staffing cuts removed roughly 7,000 IRS employees in February 2026, right in the middle of peak processing weeks. The National Taxpayer Advocate’s mid-year…

You've probably heard the old line that getting a tax refund just means you gave the IRS an interest-free loan for the year. There's a wrinkle to that, though: if your refund is delayed, the IRS actually owes you interest. By law, the IRS must pay interest on a refund…

No new federal stimulus check has been authorized for 2026. The last round of federal Economic Impact Payments went out in 2021, and a fourth check would require Congress to pass new legislation — which has not happened. That said, there are real payments going out to Americans in 2026,…