Category: Taxes and Retirement

The maximum weekly unemployment benefit in California is $450, and it has been stuck at that level since 2005. If you lost a job paying $60,000 a year, that's about $1,154 per week — you'd be capped at less than 40% of what you made. It's a number worth knowing…

Getting through to a live IRS agent has always been a battle, and 2026 hasn't made it easier. Ongoing staffing cuts — accelerated by DOGE-related reductions earlier in the year — have continued to shrink the IRS workforce. At the same time, the IRS is actively pushing taxpayers toward digital…

You filed on time, got the "return accepted" confirmation, and settled in for the standard three-week wait. It's now been well past 21 days, Where's My Refund (WMR) hasn't budged, and you're wondering where your money is. In 2026, the single most common reason for this exact pattern is an…

Found a missed credit, a wrong filing status, or a 1099 that arrived after you filed? Form 1040-X lets you fix it — and if the fix is in your favor, claim the extra refund. But amending isn't always the right move, and the processing wait is measured in months,…

People are again getting very frustrated with delays they are seeing around getting their federal tax refunds. Despite the IRS saying that 9 out of 10 refunds will be processed in under 21 days, there have been a lot of people who seem to waiting a lot longer than the standard…

With tax season underway, lots of taxpayers want an update on their refund processing status on the IRS' Where's My Refund (WMR) website or the IRS2Go mobile app. These tools give you three key pieces of information: confirmation the IRS received your return, approval of your refund, and the date…

On one of my more popular articles answering the question, "Where is my refund? " I got the following representative comments which was the genesis of the title of this post. So I thought I would take some time here to address the obligations of these online tax providers when it…

The IRS has released some useful reminders when it comes to tax rulings and obligations around the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it is more commonly known. For the vast majority of taxpayers providing proof of health insurance coverage (and avoiding a penalty) will simply mean checking a box to…

Only five states run a true State Disability Insurance (SDI) program: California (CA), Hawaii (HI), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), and Rhode Island (RI). If you get sick or injured and can't work — for reasons unrelated to your job — these are the only states with a mandatory,…

You can see the latest EIC tables in this updated Earned Income Tax credit (EITC) page [Updated] Below are the final IRS published 2016 and 2017 Earned Income Tax credit (EITC) figures. You can reference IRS publication 596 or use online tax providers like TurboTax or H&R Block to get a free estimate of the specific…

The IRS has released its latest individual employee contribution annual limits for those participating in employer sponsored retirement programs covering 401(k), 403(b), 457 and Government Thrift Savings (TSP) plans. Changes are shown in the table below. The contribution limits are indexed to inflation and as a result are adjusted annually…

The 2026 federal income tax brackets are confirmed, and with inflation running around 3.5–4% in early 2026, I'm already watching what 2027 is likely to bring. The IRS typically announces next year's figures in October or November, so this page will get another update then. Short version for 2026: same…

There has been a lot of publicity of late around electronic security breaches with a focus on tax software related breaches. The majority of people file their taxes electronically and with tax returns containing your most sensitive personal information it is no surprise that hacking or compromised data that leads to…