Senate side of the U.S. Capitol (Scrumshus - Own work, Public Domain) Are you ready for more tax fighting on Capitol Hill? Apparently the Republican-led Senate Finance Committee is. The panel this afternoon released its changes to the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). As expected, tax writers in the upper chamber made lots of changes. Here’s a look at some key differences. Child Tax Credit: If Congress doesn’t act, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provision that bumped the popular Child Tax Credit (CTC) from $1,000 to $2,000 per qualifying child will expire on Dec. 31, cutting the... Read more →
Delivery jobs are a popular summer gig for many looking to make extra money during this traditional time to take some time off from work. (Photo by Kampus Production) Summer is in full swing, meaning that most of us will be taking some time off work to enjoy the warmer weather. Some people, however, see this traditional vacation period as a way to add to their income. That’s true. But the added earnings also could have tax implications. Student jobs: Some young people spend their summers working. Whether the earnings go to pay for college classes or a purchase they... Read more →
If the White House goes through with its plan to phase out the current federal disaster relief program, states will have to cover more costs of storm damages, like those in Keaton Beach, Florida, when Hurricane Helene made landfall there on Sept. 25, 2024. (Photo: Florida National Guard) Forecasters from both the federally-funded National Hurricane Center and private weather services predicted the 2025 hurricane season would be active. That might well happen since the tropical season that started June 1 runs through Nov. 30. But so far, we’re off to a quiet start. Fewer than forecast storms always are welcome.... Read more →
Facebook Real estate can be a good way to increase your personal wealth. However, some property investments aren’t as good as advertised. That was the very costly lesson learned by individuals persuaded by a popular social media financial influencer to let him use their money in what they were told was a property flipping venture that would net them returns of 30 percent or more. Instead, federal investigators and prosecutors alleged it was all a real estate Ponzi scheme concocted by Tyler Bossetti. As the scheme unraveled, investors ended up defrauded out of more than $11 million. Today, it formally... Read more →
Electronically paying bills, both due private accounts and public ones like tax agencies, has become a no-brainer for millions of us. But as the saying goes, technology is great until it isn’t. That not so great situation recently reared its frustrating head. Personally, an automatic electronic payment I’ve had in place for years went haywire this week. But my payment problem was minor compared to other e-pay devotees across the country. They recently found themselves dealing with another, more distressing and potentially more costly governmental glitch. The Internal Revenue Service has been having problems with some taxpayers’ e-payments, prompting these... Read more →
Father's Day is Sunday, June 15. Millions of us will celebrate the importance of fatherhood, and honor the special men in our lives. This includes father figures, such as grandfathers, uncles, siblings, and friends. The U.S. Census Bureau says there are an estimated 72 million fathers across the United States, with 29 million of those fathers also being grandfathers. Gifts for the many different dads: Dads are a diverse lot, so the range of gifts that will be presented go well beyond the stereotypical necktie. My dad was an oilfield worker, and the only time I ever saw him in... Read more →
Photo by Leeloo The First I know I nagged reminded folks who face estimated tax payments of the June 16 deadline just last week in my monthly tax moves post. Well, I’m back nagging reminding all y’all again. Sorry, not sorry. As the hubby knows, my penchant for nagging repeating myself is because I care. It’s also because we also make estimated tax payments four times a year, so the process is on my mind. June 16 payment date: The June estimated tax due date is officially the 15th, but since that’s on a Sunday — Father’s Day, just in... Read more →
Tax Day was back in mid-April, but some people missed it. In many instances, individuals avoided filing their tax return because they owed. That was not a good idea back then. It’s become a worse idea as time has passed. When the calendar page flipped to April 16, the Internal Revenue Service began assessing non-filing and non-payment penalties, plus interest. And those added costs just keep piling up. You best move is to at least file a Form 1040. Submitting your return electronically is the fasted way option. Once Uncle Sam gets your filing, the non-payment portion of the charges... Read more →
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA, the independent Internal Revenue Service watchdog, issues a report to Congress twice a year. Its latest information download to lawmakers was released on June 2, on the heels of the tax agency’s own assessment. The IRS Data Book is, understandably, designed to highlight the agency’s successes. TIGTA’s Semiannual Report to Congress takes a broader view of IRS activities. Reading both can provide a more balanced evaluation of where the IRS is doing well, improving, or needs to step up its efforts. As you would expected, the TIGTA’s report also is full... Read more →
Elon Musk and Donald Trump in happier days. (Photo by Office of Speaker Mike Johnson - X.com, Public Domain) It’s been, let’s say interesting, watching the world’s highest-profile bromance flame out so spectacularly. But while Donald J. Trump and Elon Musk are kaput personally — for now; with Trump, you can’t ever say never — Musk’s controversial unofficial government agency created to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies will continue. The persistence of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is the subject of this weekend’s Saturday Shout Outs. So as not to upset DOGE types by wasting... Read more →
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk in what might be their last amiable meeting on May 30, 2025, in the Oval Office. Trump lauded the departing Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) adviser’s efforts. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley via Wikimedia) Donald J. Trump and his former billionaire buddy Elon Musk are not sniping at each other online today. But while the political and fiscal feud that rapidly devolved into personal attacks isn’t so public (for now), word is that they’re still on the outs. In fact, like many of us after a breakup, Trump apparently wants to get... Read more →
She’s not happy with the salad, but at least she’s got a nutritious food choice. That could change if the current tax bill and its revisions to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is enacted. (Image by Tung Lam from Pixabay) Most tax eyes have been on Washington, D.C., as the House-approved One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) now awaits action in the Senate. Whatever form the final bill takes, it likely will affect states, negatively in many cases as they lose federal aid. One area where states are bracing for tougher times is food assistance programs. The left-leaning Center... Read more →
An artist’s rendering of a planned San Antonio shopping center has a treat for fans of the “Better Call Saul” television series. It’s also a reminder to be careful when choosing a paid tax preparer. (Image courtesy Dominion Advisory Group) If this past filing season didn't go as you had hoped, you might want to consider hiring a tax professional. A reputable tax pro also could come in handy if some of the tax law changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) are enacted. Unless the Senate makes substantial changes to the massive $3.7 trillion tax and immigration measure... Read more →
Image by Stefan Coders from Pixabay Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that opened states’ doors to legalized sports betting, gambling has become an accepted part of major league sports. All the United States’ professional athletic leagues have embraced partnerships with sports betting companies and casinos. This year, Major League Baseball (MLB) cleared the way for deceased players who had been permanently banned, including some who gambled on their sport’s games, to potentially get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Even the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body of student athletes and sporting events, reportedly is considering... Read more →
Image by Tabea from Pixabay June is here. Summer officially arrives in a few weeks. Are you ready? Summer’s supposed to be the peak leisure season, but it takes some work. There are vacation plans to make. If you’ve got children, you’re probably ironing out day camp details. And, of course, you have made your June tax moves list, right? Oh, you don’t have taxes on your June to-do list? Sure, taking care of tax matters definitely isn’t the day at the beach you want. But some summer tax moves can help make next year’s filing easier, and potentially less... Read more →
If you’re into tax history, you might want to download the Internal Revenue Service’s fiscal year 2024 Data Book. First, this year’s edition marks the publication’s 30-year anniversary. Prior to the first Data Book, the IRS issued annual reports. But the new format expanded on that, now provides a fiscal year statistical overview of the agency’s operations. Second, this year’s document, officially IRS Publication 55-B, has details on some notable tax agency accomplishments. You already know about one of them, the collection of more than $5 trillion in tax revenue, from this post’s headline, but there are more. Third, future... Read more →
Photo by Tara Winstead Even before Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff started messing around in government agencies, one targeted for overhaul already was making changes to improve its operations. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service was proactively using artificial intelligence (AI) before the first Trump administration’s executive order in December 2020 “Promoting the Use of Trustworthy AI in the Federal Government.” “Artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative technology that holds substantial promise for improving the IRS’s examination efforts,” notes the report on its introductory page. And with added funding from the Biden Administration's Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, TIGTA... Read more →
It’s not clear what these two pigs are looking at, but cyber criminals are looking for crypto scam victims for their so-called pig butchering schemes. One company U.S. officials say facilitated such schemes has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. (Image by Herbert from Pixabay) And the U.S. Treasury sanctioned this no-so-little pig butcher all the way home. My liberty with the old nursery rhyme was prompted by the Treasury Department’s announcement on May 29 that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned a Philippines-based company that provides computer infrastructure for hundreds of... Read more →
Photo by RDNE Stock project Is the money account for growth and advancement, or MAGA, account for children, now renamed Trump Savings, necessary? I was going to use that as this post's headline, but it's a tad long. Plus, an editor once told me that every question headline can be answered “no.” I disagree, but this time, he’s probably right. James, a reader of the ol’ blog, also apparently agrees. In a comment on my post last week that looked at some of the tax changes in the GOP’s House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), he noted: Basically shifting the... Read more →