Category: Taxes and Retirement

The Department of Education (DoE) has now provided guidelines and the beta application/website for the one-time Federal Student Loan Debt Relief program. You can see the application, eligibility criteria and how to check debt relief status in the sections below It is recommended that applications be done via the Federal…

Under the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), several new clean energy tax credits and subsidies were funded and/or expanded into the next decade. The goal of these extended and expanded payments is to "green-ify" homes (zero net carbon emission) and make them more energy efficient, which means fewer greenhouse…

Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the EV Tax Credit was extended for several more years. It will also be expanded to cover both new and used cars. The original EV tax credit, known as the plug-in electric vehicle credit, has been rebranded to the Clean Vehicle Credit (CVC) under…

[Updated January 2023 following Republican control of Congress] With Republicans now controlling the House of Representatives, they have proposed a measure to defund the $80 billion of IRS funding (over 10 years) that was included in the Inflation Reduction Act as discussed in earlier updates below. The house measure to…

If the IRS finds a calculation error on your return, it doesn't audit you — it fixes the math itself and mails you a notice in the CP11–CP14 series telling you what changed. Depending on which one you get, your refund went up, went down, disappeared, or turned into a…

Yes — and with IRS phone lines answering only about 21% of calls last filing season, this old-school escalation path is getting a workout. Every congressional office runs casework: staff whose entire job is prying constituent problems loose from federal agencies, including the IRS, Social Security Administration, VA, and state…

The stock market has weathered moments of fear, falls and panic over the past decade. But each time, the market came roaring back and set new records, leaving investors to ask why they sold in the first place! I keep reminding myself of this logic, which is reinforced by many market…

So after seeing a lot of buzz around the amazing yields being paid on Treasury Series I Savings Bonds (I-Bonds), I decided to take the plunge and buy some for my wife and I as a place to park some cash while the stock market gyrates and inflation remains stubbornly…

If you sell on eBay or Etsy, drive for a rideshare app, or get paid through PayPal or Venmo, the 1099-K rules that caused years of confusion are finally settled — and in your favor. Under Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), payment platforms only send you (and the…

While the IRS aims to process regular season tax returns and refunds within 21 days for the vast majority of filers, amended returns take quite a bit longer. The IRS's own current guidance is to allow 8 to 16 weeks for a Form 1040-X to process. In practice, it's often…

I get a few comments every tax season from readers asking whether it's too late to file a return after the regular deadline (April 15, 2026 for most people) — and what happens if they forgot to file for an extension. I also get asked what happens if they owe…

The transcript excerpt below shows how the IRS handles refunds that are issued but cancelled, or unable to be paid, due to incorrect bank account details. I'll walk through the key codes and dates involved. Seeing transaction code 841 (refund cancelled) on your tax transcript can be alarming, especially if…

If the IRS sent you a letter saying it needs "an additional 60 days" to review your tax return, you're not alone — and unfortunately, that letter often isn't the last one. Many filers get two or three of these notices back to back, each one extending the wait for…