Retirement & Taxes
Long-term financial planning, retirement accounts, government benefits, tax law, and IRS rules. Covers the intersection of policy and personal finance that affects how people save, invest, and plan ahead.
Latest in Retirement & Taxes
53 million Americans used Trump’s new tax breaks this season — here’s how much the average refund jumped
Maria Gonzalez, a hotel housekeeper in Las Vegas, had never itemized anything beyond the standard deduction. This April, her tax preparer told her she qualified...
The IRS just launched a new whistleblower alert — and you could earn up to 30% of what tax fraudsters owe
The IRS wants you to snitch on tax cheats, and it is putting real money on the table. The agency’s Whistleblower Office has launched a...
The post-Tax Day W-4 checklist: 5 things to update before your next paycheck
You just filed your 2025 tax return. If the result was a four-figure bill you didn’t see coming, or a refund so large it felt...
Senate Finance probes $370M tax break Trump IRS gave Cheniere Energy for classifying LNG tankers as “motorboats”
A liquefied natural gas tanker stretches roughly 1,000 feet from bow to stern. Under federal shipping regulations, a motorboat tops out at 65 feet. The...
2027 Social Security COLA projections are split — will the “Trump Bump” from war inflation boost your check?
If you collect Social Security, the difference between a quiet year for inflation and a turbulent one could mean an extra $30 or an extra...
IRS launches anonymous Tax Debt Help tool — no Social Security number required
The IRS wants you to explore your tax debt options before you hand over a single piece of personal information. A web-based feature called Tax...
Average tax refund hits $3,462, up 11% — the biggest jump in years
Tens of millions of Americans are finding noticeably fatter deposits in their bank accounts this spring. Through the week ending March 20, 2026, the average...
IRS now runs 129 AI use cases — up from 10 in 2022 — as workforce shrinks 27%
If your tax refund hits a snag this spring, good luck reaching a person at the IRS. The agency that opened the 2025 filing season...
2027 COLA projected at 2.8% again — senior group warns it’s not enough
A retiree collecting the average Social Security benefit of roughly $1,976 a month gained about $55 from the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment. If the latest projection...
Did you miss the overtime or senior deduction? How to file an amended return and claim what you’re owed
Millions of taxpayers filed their 2025 returns early, and many of them left money on the table. Congress created two new above-the-line deductions for the...
53 million Americans claimed new OBBB deductions this tax season — here’s how much extra they’re getting back
A warehouse worker in Ohio who logged 10 hours of overtime every week. A bartender in Miami who reported $18,000 in tips. A retired couple...
22 million overtime-deduction claims flood the IRS — 5-8 million above expectations
A warehouse worker earning $20 an hour picks up 10 extra hours a week. Come tax time, she claims a deduction on all $300 of...
Average tax refund hits $3,462 in 2026, up 11% from last year
The average federal tax refund this spring is $3,462, roughly $346 more than the same point last year, and the gap has held steady for...
IRS just launched a free Tax Debt Help tool — anonymous, no SSN required
Tax season is winding down, but for roughly 19 million Americans who carry an unpaid federal tax balance, according to the IRS Data Book, the...
The red flags most likely to get you audited in 2026 — updated with OBBB deduction triggers
A freelance graphic designer reports $62,000 in 1099 income but claims $58,000 in Schedule C expenses, parking her net profit right at the sweet spot...
What happens to your Social Security check if the trust fund is depleted — the actual math
A retiree collecting $2,000 a month from Social Security right now would lose $460 of it overnight if Congress lets the program’s trust fund run...
Filed an extension? Here’s exactly what you still owe and when — the penalties most filers don’t know about
A tax extension feels like breathing room, and it is, but only for the paperwork. If you filed Form 4868 this April and still owe...
Medicare Part B premium crosses $200 for the first time, hitting $202.90 in 2026
Linda Garza, a 72-year-old retired teacher in San Antonio, checked her bank deposit in January 2026 and did a double take. Her Social Security payment...
More than a quarter of your Social Security COLA raise will be eaten by the new Medicare hike
Margaret Diaz, a 74-year-old retired school aide in Tucson, opened her January 2026 bank statement expecting a modest bump from Social Security. The cost-of-living raise...
IRS is now using AI chatbots to flag risky returns — the 2026 red flags most likely to trigger a look
A freelance graphic designer in Austin filed her 2025 return in February, confident the numbers were right. Six weeks later, she got a CP2000 notice...