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…

With so many people experiencing high levels of frustration around getting information on their tax refund, I thought I would take consolidate feedback and tips across various forums and post some practical ideas on how to contact the IRS and get a live agent on the line. Note that for…

You filed your return in a timely manner and were waiting for your refund to be sent within the standard timeline that the IRS promises. But alas, it has been much longer than that and you are wondering, "Where is my DAMN refund!" In several recent cases it appears that the IRS…

With stimulus check and other tax credits like the advance CTC payments now only being paid via tax return filings, based on past year tax returns and adjusted gross income levels, many eligible recipients have scrambled to amend tax returns to get these payments as a refund payment. The good…

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 are keen to get an update on their refund processing status' on the IRS' Where is My Refund (WMR) website or on the IRS2Go mobile app. These tools provide taxpayers with three key pieces of information: IRS confirmation of receiving their tax return, approval…

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…

State Disability Insurance (SDI) provides a way for disabled workers to receive income if disabled due to disabilities that prevent them from working and earning a living wage. Employee payroll deductions which are deducted from paychecks fund the various state disability programs . To qualify for the state maximum weekly benefit…

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 by the…

This article provides a summary of changes and updates to IRS Federal tax rates and brackets. These adjust annually in line with inflation, under the tax code, to provide for mandatory cost of living adjustments (COLA). You can see the latest updates by year below. 2026 Tax Brackets (for 2027…

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…