Taxes
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The Best and Worst States for Middle-Class Taxpayers
Few people like paying taxes, but some have more reason to gripe about their tax burden than others. A study from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that a vast majority of state and local tax…
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Where Your Federal Income Tax Money Really Goes
The federal budget for the 2020 fiscal year (that us, Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020) is about $4.6 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office — which requires quite a bit of borrowing, considering tax revenue for the…
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14 Tax Deductions That Parents and Grandparents Shouldn’t Overlook
It’s that time of year that a lot of people dread: tax season. Taxes can be very confusing when it comes to knowing what you can and can’t claim, deduct or write off. And the rules are ever changing, so…
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16 Steps to Get Organized Before Tax Season
With tax season just a few months away, it’s time to start getting organized in order to make the filing process as painless as possible. From gathering all of your relevant financial documents to making last-minute moves to nailing down…
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12 Smart Financial Moves to Make With Your Tax Refund
The average tax refund this year, as of mid-March, is $2,957, according to the Internal Revenue Service — a sizable sum to get all at once. Deciding what to do with such a windfall can be daunting. In a 2016…
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20 Fun and Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund
Tax time can cause headaches, but the strain often pays off. While fewer people are receiving refunds this year — due to changes in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — those refunds do represent a serious chunk of…
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Too Busy to File a Tax Return? 12 Tips for Procrastinators
Uh-oh. The tax-filing deadline is around the corner, and some people are rushing to prepare their tax returns at the last minute. A mistake can be costly, both in terms…
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Can I Still Claim This? 13 Popular Tax Deductions
Determining what expenses to deduct on a tax return can be difficult. For starters, it may make more sense to use the standard deduction than to itemize. For the 2018…
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Is Your Tax Bill Too High? 22 Ways to Save
Certain things in life are unavoidable, and taxes are one of them. While there have been many changes lately, the good news is that there are still numerous ways to…
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11 Cheap or Free Ways to File Your Taxes
Preparing and filing taxes can be expensive, but free or cheap options are available to most Americans. Low- to middle-income earners may even qualify for free in-person help from volunteers…
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8 Ways to Give to Charity and Get a Tax Break
For many people, buying gifts for friends and family is just the start of holiday giving. The next step is giving to charities or people in need before the end…
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19 Biggest Wastes of Tax Dollars
It’s difficult enough managing your own money without making unwise impulse buys, so when governments and bureaucracies receive billions of taxpayers’ dollars, those splurges can multiply exponentially. These are some…
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16 Tips for Making Tax-Deductible Charitable Donations
As the clock winds down on 2018, many people are scurrying to make their final charitable donations of the year and tally up ones already made. In 2017, Americans gave…
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What the Supreme Court Ruling Means for Online Shopping in Your State
Amazon has been paying sales tax in the 45 states that charge it, but that hasn’t been the case for many other online retailers, or even some of the sellers…
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When to Shop Tax-Free in 12 States
Summer vacation may still be in full swing, but for residents of states offering tax-free shopping days, it pays to get into a back-to-school state of mind. Shopping during designated…
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17 Ways to Benefit from Trump’s Tax Plan (Hint: Be Wealthy)
President Donald Trump’s tax plan was touted by his camp and the Republican Party as a series of cuts to individual and corporate tax rates that would boost investment and…
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10 Things Self-Employed Taxpayers Can Write Off for Savings
Tax time is here, and if you work for yourself, you can lower your tax bill by writing off a bunch of business-related expenses. When it comes to saving money…
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What the New Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Means for Retirees
Many of the initial provisions in the GOP tax bill that were aimed specifically at retirement income were removed from the plan before it went to a final vote. But…
