Category: Taxes and Retirement

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…

Estimated taxes normally have to paid if you do not withhold taxes via your employer or if the amount of income tax being withheld from your salary, pension, vendor payments or other income is insufficient. Estimated taxes are generally paid by small business', self-employed or gig workers with variable sources…

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,…

The higher average refund amount in 2023 is driven by those expecting a refund filing as soon as they could. While those who owed taxes or were not expecting a refund will wait right up to the tax deadline this year to file their return and pay any taxes owed.…

Under the now approved $1.9 Trillion Biden Stimulus Package, or American Rescue Plan (ARP), there are provisions included for another round of stimulus checks. The amount being paid for this third round of stimulus “checks” is $1400 for each adult and qualifying dependent, Non-filers, or those who have not filed a recent tax…

There has been a lot of debate over the last few months on if another stimulus check payment will be made in 2022 or even in 2023 as the economy worsens and inflation takes a heavy toll on household budgets. You can see this article for a more detailed discussion, funding for…

Update July 2021 - The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims changed trend and increased for first time in several months, but layoffs are easing amid a reopening economy and a shortage of people willing to work. With unemployment benefits ending early in many states it is expected that…

There is no 4th stimulus check. The three federal Economic Impact Payments issued during 2020 and 2021 are complete — the IRS has finished distributing all payments under those programs, including a final auto-payment push in late 2024 for people who missed the 2021 credit. If you're reading this because…

The maximum SNAP (Food Stamps) benefit for a family of four in fiscal year 2026 is $994 per month — up from $975 last year. If you’re a single adult, the max is $298/month. But 2026 is a more complicated year for SNAP than most. The One Big Beautiful Bill…

Under the recently enacted CARES act that is providing $2 trillion in federal bailout funding financial institutions like mortgage companies, banks and online lenders now have to allow people who have lost their job or seen a significant reduction in income to make reduced payments or to skip payments (for…

[2023 Update] The SECURE 2.0 Act is a new law that aims to strengthen the nation's retirement system. Some of the key changes brought about by the Act include increasing the age at which required minimum distributions (RMDs) must be taken from retirement accounts to 73 starting in 2023 and…

The title of this post reflects some of the main questions I see across various traditional and social media channels with the Coronavirus Pandemic in full flight. Here are some answers to these including support programs in place Is unemployment expanding? The short answer is Yes. Federal and state governments…