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
The child and dependent care credit covers up to $3,000 in care costs for one child, $6,000 for two
Families paying for child care so they can work face a hard ceiling on the federal tax break meant to help them. The Child and...
Selling your home can be completely tax-free on up to $250,000 of profit, or $500,000 for a married couple
Homeowners who sell their primary residence and pocket a profit of $250,000 or less owe zero federal tax on that gain, and married couples filing...
You can deduct up to $2,500 of student-loan interest even if you don’t itemize
Millions of borrowers paying down student loans can trim their federal tax bill by up to $2,500 each year, and they do not need to...
Many states knock hundreds off a homeowner’s property tax through a “circuit breaker” rebate you have to claim
Homeowners in Michigan, Maryland, Maine, and Wisconsin can reclaim hundreds of dollars in property tax relief through state “circuit breaker” credits, but none of the...
The average tax refund climbed to $3,275 this year, up more than 11% from a year ago
Tens of millions of American taxpayers received fatter refund checks during the 2026 filing season, with the average payout climbing to $3,275 through mid-April, an...
You generally get just three years to claim an old tax refund before the money reverts to the Treasury
Every year, taxpayers across the United States leave refunds on the table simply by not filing a return. Federal law sets a hard deadline: file...
Anyone who took a tax extension has until October 15 to file, but the bill itself was due back in April
Millions of taxpayers who filed Form 4868 earlier this year bought themselves six extra months to complete their federal returns, but the clock on what...
Nearly 70% of this year’s filed tax returns have come back as refunds
Roughly 99 million American tax filers have already received refund checks or direct deposits from the IRS this filing season, accounting for about 68.4 percent...
The IRS says people who missed the filing deadline can still file free using IRS Free File
Millions of taxpayers who missed the April 15 filing deadline for their 2025 federal returns still have a free path to get their paperwork done,...
The IRS updated its withholding calculator to reflect the new tips and overtime breaks
Millions of workers who earn tips or clock overtime hours can now adjust their federal tax withholding to account for two new deductions signed into...
$12,500 in overtime pay is now deductible on the tax return you file next spring
Workers who logged extra hours in 2025 stand to keep more of that pay when they file federal tax returns next spring. The One Big...
Tipped workers can deduct up to $12,500 in tips on next spring’s tax return
Millions of workers who earn tips will be able to subtract up to $25,000 in qualified tip income from their 2025 federal taxes when they...
The IRS just released the form for the new $10,000 car-loan-interest deduction
Millions of Americans who financed a new vehicle this year now have an official path to claim up to $10,000 in car-loan interest as a...
The average tax refund climbed to $3,462 this year, up $346 from last spring
Tens of millions of American taxpayers are collecting bigger refund checks this spring, with the average payout climbing to $3,462 through early April 2026, an...
$2,000 in cash donations now cuts your tax bill even if you skip itemizing
Married couples who take the standard deduction can now trim their federal tax bill by up to $2,000 simply by giving cash to charity, a...
Itemizers can now deduct charitable gifts only above 0.5% of their income, a new 2026 catch
Millions of taxpayers who itemize deductions on their federal returns will lose the ability to write off smaller charitable gifts starting with their 2026 filings....
Many states quietly offer a property-tax “circuit breaker” rebate worth hundreds, but you have to file for it
Homeowners and renters across at least seven states can claim refundable property-tax relief worth hundreds of dollars, but only if they file the right paperwork....
Filing an appeal of your home’s assessed value can lower your annual property-tax bill
Homeowners across the country who receive a higher-than-expected property assessment notice face a direct choice: accept the figure and pay the resulting tax bill, or...
One in five workers who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit never claim it, leaving up to about $8,000 unclaimed
About one in five workers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit never file for it, forfeiting a benefit that can reach $8,046 for families...
E-filing with direct deposit gets most tax refunds out within 21 days, versus weeks for a paper check
Taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit can expect their refunds within 21 days in more than nine out of ten cases, according to...