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
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...
SSA warns of surge in fake Social Security benefit-statement emails targeting seniors
The email looks like it came straight from the Social Security Administration: the agency logo sits at the top, the formatting is clean, and the...
New “Six Figure Limit” proposal would cap Social Security benefits at $50,000 per person
A retired couple in which both spouses earned top salaries for 35-plus years and waited until age 70 to file could collect roughly $122,000 a...
New USPS postmark rules could make your mailed tax return “late” even if you sent it on the 15th
New USPS postmark rules could make your mailed tax return “late” even if you sent it on the 15th You walk into the post office...
Medicare Part B deductible climbs to $283: another hit on top of the premium
The 2026 Medicare Part B deductible is now $283, a $26 increase from the $257 that beneficiaries paid in 2025. Paired with a standard monthly...
22 million filers are claiming the “no tax on overtime” deduction — 5–8 million more than the IRS expected
The federal government built a new tax break for overtime pay and expected millions of workers to use it. What officials did not expect was...
Suze Orman: “The 2026 Social Security–Medicare trap is here” — Part B premium hike eats a third of the cost-of-living adjustment
A retiree collecting the average Social Security check will see about $56 more per month starting in January 2026. Before that money covers a single...
IRS warns of “dishonest preparers” charging excessive fees to claim bogus tip and overtime deductions
Imagine a scenario that reflects the pattern the IRS describes: a restaurant server walks into a tax office and is told she qualifies for thousands...
IRS: average tax refund rises 11% to about $3,676 this filing season
The average American tax refund is running about $370 larger than it was at the same point last year, and the gap has held steady...
IRS issues final “no tax on tips” rules and eligible job list
Starting June 12, 2026, a restaurant server in Dallas who earns $28,000 a year in tips will be able to shield up to $25,000 of...
Medicare Part B premium rises 9.7% to $202.90 a month in 2026
The standard Medicare Part B premium will jump to $202.90 per month in 2026, an increase of $17.90 from the $185.00 that enrollees paid in...
Social Security trust fund may run dry by 2032, CBO projection shows
A worker turning 60 this year could be 66 when Social Security’s reserves hit zero, too young even to reach the program’s full retirement age...
April 15 tax deadline nears as IRS prepares for 164 million returns
The IRS expects to receive roughly 164 million individual income tax returns by Wednesday, April 15, a volume that would make this one of the...
What happens to Social Security checks if the trust fund is depleted
Every month, roughly 70 million Americans deposit a Social Security check. For many retirees, that payment covers rent, groceries, and prescriptions with little left over....