Category: Taxes and Retirement

There are several ways you can maximize your tax refund in the coming year, including the following ways: Contribute to a retirement account: Contributions to certain types of retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and traditional IRAs, can be deducted from your taxable income. This can reduce your tax bill and…

I see many readers on this site and across various social media channels post questions around their tax transcript in hope of getting help or an answer on their adjusted/amended tax return and/or to find out more with what is happening with their refund. In this article I'll summarize some…

Kentucky's unemployment insurance program — managed by the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (KEWES) — increased its maximum weekly benefit significantly to $720 in 2026, up from $552 in 2025. This $168 increase reflects Kentucky's rapidly rising average weekly wage as the state's economy has grown. Kentucky's flat income…

Education choice is an important topic for a lot of American families. And over the last few years there has been a debate about putting more educational choice (and financial support) back in the hands of parents versus balancing the needs for adequate funding of public schools. This has manifested…

While the IRS provides several online tools and options to get information on your personal tax (1040) return, business owners have to instead call the IRS to get help with questions related to corporate refunds. The IRS have themselves stated that for any business related tax returns and refund information,…

Much to my disappointment I ended up owing taxes when I filed my tax return this year. Or said another way I had a tax liability to the IRS. While paying taxes I legally owe is not itself a bad thing, after all I did not give an interest free…

Transaction codes are used on IRS tax transcripts to show filers what has happened with their return processing, reasons for potential delays, when a refund will be paid, or why it's delayed. Given ongoing challenges in getting through to a live IRS agent, many taxpayers are turning to their free…

During the COVID pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) included legislation that provided a “lookback” rule that allowed tax filers to use prior year income levels to calculate qualification for many of the expanded tax credits and stimulus programs. This was done to allow the…

Are we headed for a recession or we are already in one? That's the question many people asking nowadays. Even if your financial situation is relatively stable today, its important to pay attention to the economic headwinds. While we can all hope for the best, we should plan and prepare…

With short-term interest spiking thanks to the Federal reserve's aggressive rate hiking cycle, the yield on short term treasuries have reached levels not seen in several years. In fact, the rates for the 1 year and 2 year treasury bonds are much higher than the average APY on the highest…

[November Update] With additional funding in place now, the IRS has now hired nearly 5,000 people across their operations and taxpayer assistance centers to deal with filing backlogs, delayed processing and customer service issues. Along with a new IRS commissioner (Danny Werfel) in 2023, the IRS is gearing up for…

The date for filing a tax return filing extension for the current tax season is April 15th. Maine and Massachusetts have 2 extra days due to state holidays. Not filing for an extension or not paying your tax liability could mean some stiff penalties. Given the ongoing IRS processing delays,…

With pandemic restrictions easing, many IRS offices are reopening to help tax filers struggling to get updates on their tax returns or who have been waiting weeks/months to get their refund payment, including missing stimulus checks and new tax credits. While the IRS says to check online for the latest…