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
Deduct up to $3,000 in investment losses against regular income each year, and carry the rest forward
Investors who sold stocks, funds, or other assets at a loss during the 2025 tax year can subtract up to $3,000 of those net capital...
Medical bills above 7.5% of your income can be deducted if you itemize
Taxpayers who spent heavily on medical care during 2025 face a narrow but real opening to cut their federal tax bill, provided their unreimbursed costs...
Keep working in your 60s and Social Security may recalculate your check to a higher amount
Workers in their 60s who keep earning a paycheck after they start collecting Social Security stand to receive a larger monthly benefit, thanks to an...
Who gets their Medicare drug deductible and premiums erased? Seniors under $23,940 in income who claim Extra Help
Seniors living on less than $23,940 a year can eliminate their Medicare Part D drug deductible and monthly premium entirely through a federal program called...
About 32 million forgotten 401(k) accounts hold $2.1 trillion, and a free federal registry helps workers find their own
Workers who changed jobs and left retirement savings behind now account for approximately 31.9 million forgotten 401(k) accounts holding a combined $2.1 trillion in assets,...
Medicare Part A is free once you or a spouse paid Medicare taxes for ten years
Americans turning 65 face a sharp financial divide at the Medicare enrollment window: those who accumulated 40 quarters of coverage through FICA payroll taxes, whether...
Move out of your Medicare Advantage plan’s area and get a window to switch
Medicare Advantage enrollees who relocate outside their plan’s service area face a tight deadline to find replacement coverage or risk gaps in benefits. Federal rules...
Combined, Social Security’s funds run dry in 2034, when checks would fall to 83% without a fix
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks each month now have one fewer year before the program can no longer pay full...
Qualified dividends and long-term gains are taxed below your paycheck rate, sometimes at zero
Millions of Americans who hold dividend-paying stocks or sell investments at a profit face a federal tax rate on that income that can drop as...
You need 40 work credits, about ten years, to qualify for Social Security retirement
Millions of Americans working part-time, freelance, or gig jobs risk reaching their sixties without enough Social Security credits to collect retirement benefits. The threshold is...
Skip a required retirement withdrawal and the penalty is 25%, or 10% if fixed fast
Retirees who fail to pull money out of a traditional IRA or 401(k) on schedule face an excise tax equal to 25% of the shortfall....
The federal estate tax now exempts about $15 million per person, so most families owe nothing
Americans who inherit property from a family member who dies in 2026 will face a federal estate tax only if the estate exceeds $15,000,000, a...
Medicare is reworking how it scores Advantage plans for 2027, sending insurers billions more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is rewriting the formula it uses to grade Medicare Advantage plans, and the result will funnel billions of...
Inherit a Roth IRA and you must empty it in ten years, but the withdrawals are tax-free
Anyone who inherited a Roth IRA from someone who died after December 31, 2019, now faces a firm withdrawal clock: the entire account balance must...
A spouse with little or no income can still fund an IRA on the other’s earnings
Married couples with one working spouse can each contribute up to $7,500 to an IRA for the 2026 tax year, even when one partner earns...
For six months after you enroll in Part B at 65, insurers must sell you any Medigap plan
New Medicare beneficiaries who turn 65 and sign up for Part B get exactly one shot at buying supplemental coverage on their own terms. For...
Some lawfully present immigrants lose Medicaid coverage on October 1 under the new federal law
Refugees, asylees, and other lawfully present immigrants who have not yet obtained lawful permanent resident status will lose federal Medicaid funding on October 1, 2026,...
Withdraw 4% from a $700,000 401(k) and up to 85% of your Social Security becomes taxable
Retirees who follow the widely cited 4 percent withdrawal rule on a $700,000 traditional 401(k) pull out $28,000 a year. That single distribution can push...
Borrow up to $50,000 or half your 401(k) and repay the interest to yourself
Workers facing a cash crunch have a borrowing option sitting inside their own retirement accounts, and the terms are unlike any bank loan on the...
Working parents can claim a tax credit on up to $6,000 of childcare costs
Millions of working parents who pay for daycare, after-school programs, or summer camps can offset part of those costs through the federal Child and Dependent...