Personal finance

Getty Images Roughly six weeks into the tax filing season, IRS improvements are underway with more staffing and technology upgrades as the agency begins deploying its nearly $80 billion in funding.  While processing may be faster this year, experts say there are some key things to know before filing your return. “Every tax season has

momcilog | E+ | Getty Images For the most part, Medicare beneficiaries in Advantage Plans are happy with their coverage, a new study suggests. Of the more than 2,250 enrollees surveyed for the report from eHealth, 51% are “very satisfied” and 38% are “satisfied.” However, if you’re among those who are not thrilled about your

A sign calling for student loan debt relief is seen in front of the Supreme Court as the justices are scheduled to hear oral arguments in two cases involving President Joe Biden’s bid to reinstate his plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2023.  Nathan Howard | Reuters

Pascal Broze | Onoky | Getty Images Lawmakers are hashing out plans to shore up Social Security’s ailing trust funds, and the possible changes will affect the benefits Americans receive. Broadly, that comes down to two key changes: raising the retirement age and increasing the amount of annual wages subject to the Social Security payroll

Joos Mind | Photodisc | Getty Images Workers who use health-care flexible spending accounts likely have at least one important deadline approaching. FSAs, as they’re called, let you stash away pre-tax money to cover your health-care expenses (or, separately, dependent-care expenses). Last year, individuals could have contributed as much as $2,850 to their health-care FSA.

Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images The pandemic-era trend of working from home remains a key feature of the U.S. job market — and is likely to stay entrenched as a permanent perk for a broad swath of the American workforce, according to labor economists. The pre-pandemic baseline of going into an office five

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., speaks during a Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing on Feb. 23, 2021. Greg Nash | Pool | Reuters The Senate Finance Committee this week voted to advance Daniel Werfel’s nomination to become IRS commissioner amid fierce debate over the agency’s $80 billion in funding.  Following a confirmation hearing on Feb. 15,

In this article SNAP Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT People shop at a 99 Cents store in Santa Monica, California, on Sept. 13, 2022. Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images Food stamp recipients may be in for a shock as temporary pandemic enhancements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expire, leading the average person

Justices on the bench hearing arguments about the student loan forgiveness program. Source: Bill Hennessy There were many tense moments Tuesday as the nine Supreme Court justices grilled the plaintiffs challenging the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan and the government attorney defending the policy. The Supreme Court agreed to hear two challenges against President

Goc | Istock | Getty Images Scammers are making more money per episode of fraud, new government data suggests. While the number of fraud reports recorded through the Federal Trade Commission’s database fell to 2.4 million in 2022 from 2.9 million, the aggregate loss from those instances reached nearly $8.8 billion. That’s up 44% from

Ben Kirkhoff, a high school senior at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota, knows that a four-year college degree isn’t for him. Even though his parents have a college savings account for him, he said money is still a factor. “I don’t want to put myself and my family in a lot of debt.” Instead, Kirkhoff,

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar Artist: Bill Hennessey The government’s top Supreme Court lawyer may have saved President Joe Biden‘s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan from what experts considered all-but-certain defeat. Experts lobbed praise on Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the lawyer who represented the Biden administration in front of the nine justices on Tuesday.

Despite higher prices, consumers are still spending, although not as much as they were a year ago, which is giving their budgets some breathing room. As of January, 60% of all U.S. adults, including 45% of high-income earners, were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report. That’s down from 64% a year earlier,

Sneksy | E+ | Getty Images For some individuals, the solution for eliminating crushing debt is to file for bankruptcy. While the catalyst for going that route differs from person to person, it’s worth knowing which obligations can and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. For instance, just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in

A new Bankrate ranking found the Austin, Texas, metro area is the best for first-time home purchasers. Roschetzkyistockphoto | Istock | Getty Images Prospective buyers looking to secure the purchase of their first home this spring will still face a difficult market. Yet there are signs some areas of the country may provide more opportunity

College can be difficult and expensive for all students, but for many young people of color, those challenges can seem insurmountable. The Marcy Lab School in Brooklyn, New York, however, has created an alternative path — a one-year program to help students get lucrative tech jobs that typically go to college graduates with a four-year

Getting into college is hard enough, but figuring out how to pay for it is another hurdle altogether. Higher education already costs more than most families can afford, and college costs are still rising. Tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college averaged $53,430 in the 2022-2023 school year; at four-year, in-state public colleges,

Damir Khabirov If you’re eager to capture higher yields amid rising interest rates, you may consider a Treasury bill ladder, depending on your goals, according to financial experts. Backed by the U.S. government, Treasury bills, or T-bills, are widely considered a relatively safe asset, with terms of four weeks to 52 weeks. You receive the

A renovated apartment in New York City after The Expert consultation sessions with designers Jessica Gersten and Athena Calderone. The Expert Aside from bingeing Netflix, creating the picture-perfect home may have been the pandemic’s most popular habit. Whether it’s organizing a pantry or adding on a home office, gym or spa-like bathroom, homeowners have been

Phiromya Intawongpan | Istock | Getty Images Anyone who’s exploring homeownership may know that rising interest rates and elevated home prices are making that goal challenging. The average rate on a typical 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has been zigzagging between 6% and 7% for the last several months — down from above 7% in early November