Government & Policy
Legislation, executive orders, regulatory changes, and government actions that directly impact personal finances, taxes, benefits, or the economy.
Latest in Government & Policy
The Medicaid work rule does not force states to demand documentation until January 2028, and until then they must check their own records first
Two dates in the Medicaid work rule are routinely run together, and the gap between them decides what an enrollee can be asked to prove....
Twelve states hold only area waivers from SNAP’s work time limit
No state in the country holds a statewide waiver from SNAP’s three-month work time limit this quarter, and twelve hold waivers that reach only particular...
Specialty medicines from the European Union, Japan, India and the United Kingdom entered the United States tariff-free from September 29
The United States stopped charging import duties on a defined class of specialty medicines from the European Union, Japan, India and the United Kingdom at...
A House bill would phase its tariff rebate out between $112,500 and $120,000 of income for a head of household, and nothing has moved since September 17
H.R. 10494, the American Tariff Rebate Act introduced on September 17 by Rep. Valerie Foushee, a North Carolina Democrat, would shrink its refundable credit to...
An October 5 executive order gives the Treasury secretary five days to decide whether it can defer the federal diesel excise tax through December 31
The executive order President Donald Trump signed on October 5, 2026 does not, by its own terms, defer a single dollar of federal diesel excise...
Nebraska can drop Medicaid enrollees who miss a 30-day deadline to answer a letter, a preview of the rule every state must run by January 1
Nebraska has been enforcing Medicaid work requirements since May 1, 2026, and its first four months of figures show where coverage is actually being lost:...
Comments on Nebraska’s bid to bar soda from SNAP close November 2, and no approved waiver stands behind the December 1 start USDA’s own table still shows
Written comments on Nebraska’s request to bar soda, soft drinks and energy drinks from SNAP purchases are due November 2, according to a Federal Register...
SNAP retailers other than specialty food stores must stock seven varieties in each of four staple food groups by November 4 or be withdrawn from the program
Beginning November 4, 2026, retailers authorized to accept SNAP benefits, with the exception of specialty food stores, must keep at least seven distinct varieties of...
Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia all begin restricting what SNAP buys on November 1, under waivers the June court ruling left standing
Five states, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, carry the same implementation date of November 1, 2026 on the Department of Agriculture’s table...
OMB has until late December to tell agencies how they will move services to America.gov
Executive Order 14432, signed September 29, starts exactly one dated clock: the Director of the Office of Management and Budget has 90 days to issue...
The IRS cut about $7.6 billion of refundable credit claims using math-error authority
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported on July 27, 2026 that the IRS used math error authority to reduce refundable credit claims by...
Treasury and the IRS set December 1 as the effective date for the scholarship tax-credit regulations
December 1, 2026 is the date stamped on the temporary regulations for the new section 25F scholarship tax credit, and it is not the day...
An elderly or disabled member in Alaska counts as a separate SNAP household when the others’ income stays within 165 percent of poverty, which is $2,744 a month for a one-person household
USDA’s fiscal 2027 SNAP memo sets Alaska’s 165-percent-of-poverty figure for a one-person household at $2,744 a month, and that number does one narrow job. It...
A federal scholarship tax credit starts January 1, and any state not already signed up has until that day to file for it
Treasury and the IRS published temporary regulations on October 2, 2026 for a new federal scholarship tax credit, and the calendar they set runs on...
SNAP households on change reporting must tell the state when income moves by more than $150
USDA has set the SNAP change-reporting threshold at $150 for fiscal 2027, and the figure took effect on October 1, 2026. Households assigned to change...
CMS is taking comment until November 23 on the contract terms drug plans must offer any pharmacy that applies
Comments are due by November 23, 2026 on a question the federal government has not yet answered: what contract terms Medicare drug plans could demand...
Customs says the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling reaches back to February 3, 2025, which fixes how far the refunds go
One date in a Customs and Border Protection notice, February 3, 2025, marks where the unlawful-tariff period begins in the government’s own account of the...
Congress’s budget office now puts net federal customs revenue for fiscal 2026 about $250 billion below its February projection
The Congressional Budget Office now projects that net customs revenues for fiscal year 2026 will be about $250 billion lower than the office projected in...
Adults without dependents lose food stamps after three months in three years unless they log 80 hours a month
Able-bodied adults without dependents, aged 18 through 64, can receive SNAP for only three months in any three years unless they log at least 80...
Kansas asked to bar candy and soft drinks from food-stamp purchases starting February 15, 2027
Kansas has asked the federal government for permission to bar candy and soft drinks from food-stamp purchases starting February 15, 2027, according to a notice...