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
Starting in 2027 the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year into low- and middle-income retirement accounts
Beginning in 2027, the federal government will start depositing money directly into the retirement accounts of lower- and middle-income savers, matching what they set aside...
Each Roth conversion starts its own five-year clock before you can withdraw it penalty-free
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth can trim a future tax bill and hand a saver decades of tax-free growth, but it quietly starts...
The FDIC insures $250,000 per depositor, and naming beneficiaries can lift that ceiling
A federal guarantee stands behind the money Americans keep in banks, and knowing its exact shape matters more when banks are failing. The Federal Deposit...
Retirees can have federal tax withheld from Social Security with Form W-4V to avoid an April surprise
Many retirees discover only at tax time that Social Security can be taxable, and by then the bill has already grown into a lump sum...
Required retirement withdrawals now start at 73, and missing one triggers a steep penalty
The age at which the government forces savers to start emptying their tax-deferred retirement accounts has climbed to 73, giving many workers an extra window...
Heirs must empty an inherited IRA within 10 years, and many now owe a withdrawal each year
Inheriting a parent’s individual retirement account once came with a comfortable pace: an heir could stretch withdrawals across a lifetime and let the balance grow...
Roth 401(k) accounts no longer force required withdrawals during your lifetime
Two retirement accounts that were supposed to serve the same purpose spent years being treated differently, until a change that took effect in 2024 finally...
The new $6,000 senior deduction means many retirees will owe no federal tax on their Social Security
Buried in the 2025 tax overhaul is an extra deduction of $6,000 for Americans age 65 and older, or $12,000 for a married couple who...
No tax on tips and overtime is now law, with deductions worth up to $25,000
A sweeping 2025 budget law created two federal tax breaks that let millions of tipped and hourly workers subtract part of their earnings from taxable...
Trump signed an order clearing the way for 401(k) plans to hold private equity and crypto
A presidential order signed in August 2025 set in motion the biggest potential change to workplace retirement plans in a generation, directing federal regulators to...
Seniors 60 and older can deduct medical costs to raise their SNAP benefit
A quirk in the food-stamp rules lets many older Americans turn their doctor bills into a bigger grocery benefit, yet it is one of the...
Unredeemed U.S. savings bonds worth about $28 billion sit waiting for their owners
Millions of paper savings bonds — bought as birthday gifts, wedding presents, and payroll deductions decades ago — have quietly stopped earning interest and now...
Life insurers hold about $2.4 billion in unclaimed death benefits that heirs must claim
A life insurance policy only pays out when someone knows to ask for it, and that single gap is why an estimated $2.4 billion in...
The number of older adults losing food stamps could top 1 million as SNAP work rules now reach ages 55 to 64
A change buried in last year’s sprawling federal budget law has quietly extended food-stamp work requirements to Americans in their late 50s and early 60s...
Former SAVE-plan borrowers can move to a new Repayment Assistance Plan, but Income-Based Repayment stays the surest path to forgiveness
The Education Department has begun moving roughly 7.5 million borrowers off the SAVE repayment plan after a federal court struck it down, and the servicers...
Heirs inherit your home at its value the day you die, erasing the gains tax
One of the largest tax breaks in the code is one heirs rarely have to ask for. When someone inherits a home, its cost basis...
