Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Homeowners who pay thousands of dollars a year in property insurance premiums often wonder whether that cost can reduce their federal tax bill. The short answer is that a standard homeowner cannot deduct personal home insurance premiums, but taxpayers who use part of their residence for business or rent it out can claim a portion…
County governments in Tennessee, New York, and West Virginia are warning property owners that February 28 is the last day to pay the prior year’s taxes without triggering interest and penalties. The deadline, which effectively makes March 1 the delinquency date in several states, has prompted official notices from local trustees and state tax agencies…
The Florida House of Representatives passed a joint resolution on February 19, 2026, proposing a constitutional amendment that would exempt homestead properties from most non-school property taxes, sending the measure to the Senate with an 80-30 vote. The joint resolution, formally titled “Elimination of Non-school Property for Homesteads,” would exempt homestead property from ad valorem…
California Assembly Republicans introduced legislation to freeze the state’s motor vehicle fuel tax for a full year, targeting the $0.61 per gallon excise rate that hits drivers at the pump. Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez and Republican coauthors introduced AB 1745, which would suspend the state excise tax on gasoline for one year. The bill arrives as…
California hits top earners with the nation’s steepest state income tax rate, topping out at 13.3 percent. Yet for middle-income homeowners, Texas may actually extract more through property taxes, despite its reputation as a low-tax haven. The gap between headline tax rates and what families actually pay each month is driving a quiet but consequential…
The IRS can freeze refunds on millions of returns each year through identity-verification holds that may delay payments for weeks or longer, leaving some legitimate filers waiting past the standard 21-day processing window. The agency’s Taxpayer Protection Program (TPP) flags some returns it considers suspicious, triggering letters that can halt refunds until the taxpayer verifies…
The IRS has released a wave of inflation-adjusted tax parameters for 2026, shaped in part by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, and the changes create a narrow window for taxpayers to act before the April 15 filing deadline. Higher contribution limits for retirement accounts and health savings accounts, a bumped-up business mileage…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani set off a sharp political fight when he released a preliminary Fiscal Year 2027 budget projecting a $5.4 billion gap and warning of a 9.5% property tax rate increase if Albany does not grant the city new revenue tools. The proposal, which Mamdani has called a “last resort,” has…
Tipped workers across the United States could see a new tax break under the No Tax on Tips Act, which creates an above-the-line deduction allowing eligible employees and self-employed individuals to subtract up to $25,000 in qualified tips from their taxable income. The deduction applies to tax years 2025 through 2028, meaning the first returns…
The IRS opened the 2026 tax filing season on January 26, expecting roughly 164 million individual returns, but early processing numbers and a federal watchdog report suggest refund delays could hit harder than usual this year. For the week ending February 6, returns processed fell 12.3% compared with the same period last year, even as…