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
$5,000 of childcare costs can go through a dependent-care FSA tax-free each year
Working families who pay for daycare, preschool, or after-school programs can shelter up to $5,000 a year from federal income tax through a dependent-care flexible...
The income limits that make Social Security taxable haven’t changed since 1984, pulling in more retirees each year
A growing number of retirees owe federal income tax on their Social Security checks each year, not because Congress raised rates but because the income...
Who pays Medicare’s steepest 2027 surcharge, nearly $13,700 a year? Couples earning over $420,000
Married couples on Medicare whose combined modified adjusted gross income tops $420,000 face the program’s steepest income-related surcharge for 2027, a combined annual hit approaching...
$95,000 can front-load five years of gifts into a grandchild’s 529 plan at once
Grandparents looking to accelerate college savings for a grandchild can deposit up to $95,000 into a 529 plan in a single calendar year without triggering...
Pay 100% of last year’s tax in quarterly installments and the IRS won’t hit you with an underpayment penalty
Freelancers, gig workers, and self-employed filers who owed the IRS money last April face the same question again this summer: how much do quarterly estimated...
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth in a low-income year can cut your lifetime tax bill
Retirees sitting on six-figure traditional IRA balances face a tax timing problem that grows more expensive every year they ignore it. The IRS allows taxpayers...
A free IRS PIN blocks scammers from filing a tax return in your name
Every year, criminals steal billions of dollars by filing fake federal tax returns before the real taxpayer can. The IRS offers a free, six-digit Identity...
Sell a stock at a loss and rebuy it within 30 days, and the IRS throws out your tax write-off
Investors who sell a losing stock and buy it back within 30 days lose the right to deduct that loss on their federal tax return....
$1,676 is the Medicare Part A hospital deductible, and it resets with each benefit period
Medicare beneficiaries who need more than one hospital stay in a year can face the same $1,676 deductible each time, a cost structure that catches...
Keep working past 62 and Social Security can recalculate your benefit higher each year
Millions of Americans who start collecting Social Security at 62 while still earning a paycheck may not realize the agency can automatically raise their monthly...
$2,500 in payment-app business transfers now triggers a 1099-K to the IRS
Millions of gig workers, freelancers, and small online sellers who use Venmo, PayPal, or similar payment apps faced years of confusion over when the IRS...
At what income does Medicare add a surcharge in 2027? It starts at $111,000 for singles, $222,000 for couples
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries will pay more than the standard Part B and Part D premiums in 2027 if their modified adjusted gross income crosses...
Married couples can pass unlimited assets to each other estate-tax-free, and portability saves the unused exemption
Surviving spouses stand to lose millions of dollars in tax protection if their families miss a single IRS filing deadline. Federal law allows married couples...
$2,500 can come out of a 401(k) for long-term-care premiums, penalty-free
Workers saving for retirement now have a narrow but real escape valve for one of the fastest-growing costs in American life: long-term care insurance. Under...
Delay your first required IRA withdrawal to April after turning 73 and you’ll owe two in the same year
Retirees who turned 73 in 2024 or 2025 face a tax trap if they chose to delay their first required minimum distribution from an IRA....
Heirs who inherit a home or stock get a stepped-up basis that can erase decades of capital-gains tax
When a parent dies and leaves behind a house purchased decades ago or a stock portfolio built over a lifetime, the heir who sells that...
401(k) savers could set aside $25,000 in 2027, a projected $500 jump from this year
Workers who max out their 401(k) contributions each year could soon have room for an additional $500 in tax-deferred savings. The IRS set the 2026...
You can pull your original Roth IRA contributions back out anytime, with no taxes or penalty
Anyone with a Roth IRA who has ever worried about locking away money they might need has a built-in safety valve written directly into federal...
Starting in 2027, the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year into the retirement accounts of low- and middle-income savers
Millions of lower-paid American workers will soon get direct federal deposits into their retirement accounts, a shift from the tax-credit model that has been in...
Leftover 529 college savings can roll into the child’s Roth IRA, up to $35,000 over a lifetime
Families with unused 529 college savings now have a direct path to convert those funds into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary, subject to a...