Daniel Harper
Daniel is a finance writer covering personal finance topics including budgeting, credit, and beginner investing. He began his career contributing to his Substack, where he covered consumer finance trends and practical money topics for everyday readers. Since then, he has written for a range of personal finance blogs and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, straightforward content that helps readers make more informed financial decisions.
Latest Articles by Daniel Harper
Seniors can deduct out-of-pocket medical costs above 7.5% of income, including long-term-care premiums
Seniors carrying heavy medical costs can turn part of that burden into a tax deduction, but only for the dollars that climb above 7.5% of...
A lump-sum pension buyout swaps a lifetime monthly check for one cash payout
A lump-sum pension buyout puts a single decision in front of a retiree: trade a monthly check that lasts a lifetime for one large cash...
About $2.1 trillion sits in 31.9 million forgotten 401(k)s, and a free federal Lost and Found can reunite you with yours
An estimated $2.1 trillion is sitting in roughly 31.9 million forgotten 401(k) accounts left behind at former employers, according to 2025 research from the retirement-account...
Filers 65 and older get an extra $2,050 standard deduction in 2026, on top of the new $6,000 senior break
Filers who are 65 or older will subtract more from their income before the IRS calculates what they owe for 2026. The additional standard deduction...
Amazon is cutting about 16,000 corporate jobs in 2026, and a severance check can roll into an IRA to defer taxes
Amazon told employees in early 2026 that it would eliminate about 16,000 corporate jobs, part of a restructuring that has cut close to 30,000 white-collar...
Disaster-area filers in this year’s wildfire counties have until August 20 to file and pay federal taxes
A federal tax deadline that most of the country met back in the spring is still open for one group of taxpayers, and it closes...
A new SNAP rule cuts monthly food benefits for about 600,000 households
A change in how the food-stamp program counts utility costs is quietly shrinking monthly benefits for an estimated 600,000 households, an average loss of about...
Medicaid’s five-year look-back can delay nursing-home coverage over recent gifts of money or property
Medicaid’s five-year look-back is the rule that quietly decides whether a nursing-home stay is covered from the first day or billed to a family for...
Former SAVE borrowers must pick a new repayment plan by about September 29 or be moved into a costlier standard plan
Millions of federal student loan borrowers who were parked in the Saving on a Valuable Education plan are now on a clock, and the earliest...
A new federal account, TrumpIRA.gov, will match up to $1,000 a year for workers without a retirement plan starting in 2027
A new federal website, TrumpIRA.gov, is scheduled to open in 2027 as an online marketplace connecting workers without a workplace retirement plan to savings accounts,...
Miss the new 80-hour-a-month food-stamp work rule for three months by September 30 and benefits can be cut off
A federal work rule tied to food stamps is forcing a hard choice on hundreds of thousands of lower-income adults, including many in their late...
Selling a home after a spouse dies still allows the full $500,000 profit exclusion if you sell within two years
Losing a spouse often forces a decision about the family home, and the timing of that sale carries a tax consequence few grieving households anticipate....
A new federal law gives filers 65 and older an extra $6,000 deduction, but it phases out above $75,000 in income
A tax break written into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act hands most Americans 65 and older an extra $6,000 deduction, a meaningful cut for...
A health savings account gives a triple tax break and, after 65, works like an IRA for any expense
Most retirement accounts offer one or two tax advantages, forcing a choice between a deduction now and tax-free income later. A health savings account refuses...
Several states freeze seniors’ property taxes, and New Jersey pays up to $6,500
New Jersey reimburses eligible senior homeowners for the amount their property taxes have risen above a set base year, a benefit worth up to about...
Homeowners 65 and older can defer property taxes until the home is sold
Homeowners in their mid-60s and older can, in many states, stop paying their annual property-tax bill and let the state cover it instead, repaying the...
