Rescue and recovery efforts continue in the Kerrville, Texas, area, which was the hardest hit when the Guadalupe River flooded as the July 4 holiday period was beginning. (Photo by World Central Kitchen, whose volunteers were among the earliest responders, CC BY 4.0) Thousands of Texans are now dealing with the deadly, tragic flooding across the state. My regional backyard, the Hill Country, was the hardest hit. As of today, the catastrophic count from the July 4 flooding is at least 129 killed, and around 170 people missing. Obviously, no one even remotely affected by the disaster is thinking about... Read more →
Sharing interests usually allows couples to spend more time together. But a septuagenarian pair that shared a criminal insurance and tax scheme will be spending their golden years apart, in separate federal prisons. If you’re like me, when you hear about fraud and older people, you wonder how much money the senior citizens lost to crooks. A septuagenarian Maryland couple turned that cliché on its head. James William Wilson, Jr., 78, and his wife, Maureen Ann Wilson, 77, this week were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in connection with an insurance fraud scheme. And yes, charges of filing... Read more →
Get ready Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Tennessee shoppers. Your back-to-school tax holidays are this month, with the Magnolia State kicking things off on Friday, July 11. Thirteen more no-tax shopping events are on July’s heels, with many of the August sales set for that month’s first weekend. Backpacks, like these at my local H-E-B grocery (and more) store, are a necessity for today's students. They also are tax-free here in Texas if you buy them during the state's back-to-school tax holiday in August. (Photo by Kay Bell) Ah, summer. No school. Lots of vacation time. Just kicking back doing... Read more →
The latest comprehensive tax law also makes the seven ordinary income tax rates created by the 2017 tax reform law permanent. Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich The individual tax breaks created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) were a prime focus of the massive tax and spending measure signed during a July 4 White House ceremony. Those provisions, notably the seven ordinary tax rates and the essentially doubled standard deduction amounts, were set to expire at the end of this year. Now, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, now officially Public Law 119-21, they are... Read more →
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya It’s been a tax crazy July and we’re just a week into the month. There’s the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act that was signed into law on July 4. We’re all still sorting through its many provisions to see just how it might help us on our 2025 taxes and beyond. Most states also saw various new or revised tax laws kick in on July 1. One state levy that affects most Americans is the sales tax. It’s collected by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Even in Alaska, one of the five states... Read more →
Any time Congress messes around with the tax code, there’s a price to be paid. It could be literal dollars if the Internal Revenue Code changes don’t favor your tax situation. But even when the tax revisions benefit you, you need to know exactly how they apply, and then properly file to claim them. Confusion and frustration in trying to figure out what the tax changes mean to you exact their own fee. We’re all dealing to some degree with that psychic tax toll now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is law. Getting tax change translation help: You’ve... Read more →
Photo by olia danilevich The senior bonus is one of the new tax breaks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that became law on July 4. It’s not tax-free Social Security benefits that Donald J. Trump promised. But the $6,000 maximum tax break, or $12,000 for married jointly filing couples where each spouse is age 65 or older, will provide some tax relief to the country’s senior citizens. The new tax break is available to taxpayers regardless of whether they itemize or claim the standard deduction. The tax bonus also is age-related, not tied to the federal retirement benefits.... Read more →
Donald J. Trump signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with its many tax provisions, into law during a July 4th ceremony at the White House. (Credit: White House Facebook photo) America’s birthday party is over, but we taxpayers are still unwrapping the tax law gift that the Republican-controlled Congress and Trump administration gave us on July 3. While beauty is in the eye of the tax-advantaged beholder, there’s no disputing the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, officially known as H.R. 1, is big. It’s almost 1,000 pages. Among them are beau coup tax provisions — old, tweaked, and... Read more →
Photo by Anna-Louise Happy 249th Birthday, America! As we celebrate tonight — or before sunset today, or for the last week as some of my neighbors have — we can thank a Founding Father for the pyrotechnic tradition. On July 3, 1776, a day after the Continental Congress in Philadelphia voted for independence (the declaration document itself was transposed on July 4, although it took weeks for all the delegates to sign it), John Adams reflected on the historic step he and his rebellious colleagues had done. The man who would become America's first vice president and its second president... Read more →
If you’re reading this post, it probably means that you haven’t started your long July 4th holiday yet. Sorry. I share your delayed break frustration. Millions of Americans, however, are on the road or have already arrived at their Independence Day destination. Increased July 4 travel: AAA expects 72.2 million people will travel at least 50 miles or more from home over the Fourth of July holiday period, which it defines as from Saturday, June 28, to Sunday, July 6. That forecast is an increase of 1.7 million travelers compared to last year. The calendar is a major factor. “With... Read more →
Update, Friday, July 4, 2025: Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law at a White House ceremony on his preferred July 4 holiday date. Update, Thursday, July 3, 2025: House Republican leaders overcame nominal defiance by some of the party's members and pushed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act through this afternoon, meeting the July 4 deadline set by the White House. Will U.S. Representatives be able to celebrate July 4th at home? UPDATE, July 3, 2025: Yes. It depends on how quickly they can resolve the differences between the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) tax... Read more →
The one big tax and domestic policy bill continues its legislative ping pong, with the latest volley being from the Senate. That chamber's version has gone back to the House for approval. Or not. (Image by djimenezhdez from Pixabay) The Senate approved the Trump administration's massive tax and domestic agenda bill today. Now the House must vote on it again, this time to sign off on the Senate changes to the original One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act. There's a chance the House could reject the bill. After all, the agreed-to bill wasn't that popular in the Senate. It just... Read more →
Admit it. You never get anything done this month until after July’s fireworks. That’s especially true this year, with July 4 falling on Friday. Many of us are taking extra-long holiday breaks. Enjoy your Independence Day celebrations. And be safe, both in traveling to share the holiday with family friends and in the actual igniting of displays. But once the last mini bombs have burst in the air, leaving only the bottle rocket's red glare, it’s time to get to work. That includes taking a midyear tax checkup. A review now, with half a tax year left, can help you... Read more →
Credit: Unsplash+ in collaboration with Diana Light The Senate is in the midst of its marathon to pass its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) full of tax and other Trump administration domestic policies. The so-called vote-a-rama is expected to go into Monday (June 30) night on the 940-page bill, with Senators trying to revise or remove various provisions that could negatively affect their individual and business constituents, also known as voters. One area that bears close watching by both those voting blocs of particular are the clean energy tax breaks in the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.... Read more →
Fall colors and reflection on a beaver pond in Lamoille Canyon, Ruby Mountains District, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada. (Forest Service photo by Susan Elliott) The cost of the One Big Beautiful Bill working its way through Congress has been problematic from the start. That’s why Republican lawmakers who've written, and rewritten, the measure are continually looking for, shall we say, creative ways to come up with money for its many, many provisions. Or to finagle the calculations. One proposal inserted in the bill would have required the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to sell... Read more →
U.S. Senators are working this weekend (really!) on their version of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) of tax laws and assorted Trump administration domestic policy preferences. The weekend session is because Donald J. Trump wants the final bill — which must go back to the House after it clears the Senate — by July 4. The sweeping federal legislation will affect all Americans, for ill or good. But there’s another, earlier July date of tax significance. July 1 is the start of the fiscal year for most states, and that means plenty of state tax changes take effect at... Read more →
More than 22 million U.S. workers lost their jobs during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Crooks took advantage of their misfortune to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. COVID-19 has to be one of the most persistent illnesses ever, from both medical and financial perspectives. While federal health agencies debate COVID vaccine recommendations and warnings, Uncle Sam’s law enforcement officers, including those with the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit, continue their efforts to prosecute those who abused coronavirus relief programs. On June 24, officials notched another win when David Godin was sentenced by a federal judge in Baltimore... Read more →
The National Taxpayer Advocate’s midyear report to Congress that was released on June 25 included, among other things, recommendations that the Internal Revenue Service continue its efforts to expand digital tax transactions and make them easier for taxpayers to use. Such technological tax advances are also are of keen interest to the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). The federal advisory committee was established by Congress as part of 1998's IRS Restructuring and Reform Act. And on the same day this week that the Taxpayer Advocate’s report was issued, ETAAC released its annual report to Congress. ETAAC’s primary goal when... Read more →
The National Taxpayer Advocate’s latest report to Congress urges the Internal Revenue Service to continue its technology upgrades to meet coming challenges, with the top priority being enhanced taxpayer online account options. (Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash) Despite what you may have heard from the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Internal Revenue Service has been doing a pretty good job. “Since the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, the IRS has rebounded to provide much improved taxpayer service,” notes National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins in her introduction to her midyear report to Congress, Fiscal Year 2026 Objectives... Read more →