Tax Changes & Deadlines
New tax laws, bracket changes, deduction updates, filing deadlines, refund timelines, and what taxpayers need to know each season.
Latest in Tax Changes & Deadlines
$250,000 of home-sale profit is tax-free, and $500,000 for married couples who lived there two of the last five years
Homeowners who sell their primary residence can shield up to $250,000 of profit from federal income tax, or $500,000 for married couples filing jointly, provided...
April, not December 31, is the real deadline to fund an IRA for the 2026 tax year
Taxpayers who stop thinking about IRA contributions after December 31 are leaving months of extra time on the table. Federal law ties the contribution deadline...
Workers can now deduct up to $25,000 in tips and $12,500 in overtime on their federal taxes
Millions of tipped and hourly workers filing their 2025 federal returns can now subtract up to $25,000 in qualified tips and $12,500 in overtime pay...
Oregon is returning more than $1.4 billion to taxpayers through a record kicker credit this year
Oregon taxpayers who filed a 2024 state return are set to receive a combined $1.41 billion back from the state through the largest personal income...
Starting in 2026 you can deduct up to $1,000 in charity, or $2,000 per couple, without itemizing
Roughly nine out of ten U.S. tax filers take the standard deduction, which for years meant their charitable gifts produced zero tax benefit. That changes...
Retirees can have tax withheld from IRA withdrawals to avoid an April surprise
Retirees who take money from a traditional IRA without arranging federal tax withholding can face a jarring bill when they file the following April, along...
Long-term-care insurance premiums are tax-deductible, and larger write-offs come with age
Older Americans paying out of pocket for long-term-care insurance stand to claim larger tax deductions than younger policyholders, but most never take advantage of the...
The IRS kept $1.2 billion in refunds after 1.3 million people missed the deadline to file 2022 returns
More than 1.3 million Americans left money on the table when they failed to file 2022 federal tax returns, and the IRS has now absorbed...
Pennsylvania extended its property-tax rebate deadline to December 31, giving seniors months more to claim up to $1,000
Hundreds of thousands of older Pennsylvanians, widows, widowers, and people with disabilities now have until December 31, 2026, to file for property tax or rent...
The IRS Direct File program lets many taxpayers file federal returns online for free
Taxpayers in 25 states can now file their federal returns online at no cost through the IRS Direct File program, which the Treasury Department and...
The federal estate-tax exemption rose to $15 million per person and is now permanent
Families with estates above roughly $13 million no longer face a looming deadline that threatened to cut their federal tax shelter in half. Public Law...
The new SALT deduction cap jumped to $40,000, easing income taxes for homeowners in high-tax states
Millions of homeowners in states with steep property and income taxes gained a significant federal tax break when the SALT deduction cap quadrupled from $10,000...
Seniors can get taxes prepared free through AARP Tax-Aide and IRS VITA sites
Older Americans living on fixed incomes face real costs when they pay commercial tax preparers to handle returns that include Social Security benefits, pension distributions,...
Many states let homeowners over 65 defer property taxes until the home is sold, easing fixed-income cash flow
Seniors on fixed incomes across at least seven states can legally stop writing annual property tax checks and instead let the bill accumulate as a...
Retirees who skip tax withholding face a September 15 estimated-payment deadline, and missing it triggers IRS penalties
Retirees who opted out of federal income tax withholding on their pension or annuity checks have a hard deadline approaching: September 15 is the due...
Appealing your home’s tax assessment can cut a property-tax bill many seniors quietly overpay
Seniors on fixed incomes lose real money each year by accepting inflated property-tax assessments without challenge. Formal appeal paths exist in every state, yet tight...
People 65 and older get an extra standard deduction — $2,050 for singles — on top of the new senior bonus
Millions of Americans age 65 and older will stack two separate tax breaks on their 2026 returns for the first time: the longstanding extra standard...
Retirees who filed a tax extension face an October 15 deadline, and missing it stacks penalties on any balance
Retirees who used Form 4868 to push back their federal tax filing deadline now face an October 15 cutoff, and any balance still owed after...
The IRS is phasing out paper refund checks, so filers should set up direct deposit to avoid delays
Millions of individual taxpayers who still receive paper refund checks from the IRS face a hard deadline. Beginning September 30, 2025, the agency will stop...
Filing a homestead exemption can shave hundreds off your yearly property-tax bill
Homeowners across the country can cut their annual property-tax bills by hundreds of dollars simply by filing for a homestead exemption on their primary residence....