Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
For many households, tax season comes with a second bill: the cost of getting the return filed. Yet the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Defense say a wide range of taxpayers can file this year without paying anything for software or basic preparation help. The 2026 filing season, which the IRS says opened…
Your 2026 tax refund will land in the middle of big shifts, from President Donald Tr tax changes to new IRS refund rules. Feb reporting warns that when You Got a Raise or Star at work, your refund can shrink even if your finances feel stronger overall. I will walk through seven specific reasons your…
Ohio’s push to end property taxes has moved from talk radio to the official ballot pipeline, and the stakes reach far beyond a line on homeowners’ bills. Wiping out that revenue would force state leaders to hunt for money elsewhere, likely through higher sales taxes and deep cuts to local services. The debate now turns…
Congress has long held the power to review and block laws passed by Washington, D.C.’s elected leaders, even when those laws deal with local matters like taxes or criminal justice. That authority comes from the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which created limited self-government in the 1970s while keeping Congress in ultimate control. The…
Florida’s fight over property taxes has moved from quiet committee rooms to the center of a high-stakes clash between lawmakers and Governor Ron DeSantis. At issue is whether the state should strip away most local property taxes on primary homes and how far to go in reshaping who pays for local government. With DeSantis already…
The Internal Revenue Service processes millions of refunds every year, and each one represents a taxpayer who loaned money to the government without earning interest. Fixing IRS overpayments and adjusting tax withholding is less about chasing a bigger refund and more about putting that money to work in your own budget. Withholding is a year‑long…
President Donald Trump has signaled that he wants to treat many owner-occupied homes more like business property for tax purposes. His new idea, floated as part of a broader 2025 tax push, would let homeowners claim depreciation, the same type of write-off that landlords and companies already use for buildings and equipment. Supporters say this…
Tax season punishes the disorganized, but it does not automatically punish you for every missing receipt. The rules focus on whether an expense was real, reasonable, and properly documented, not on whether you kept every flimsy paper slip. If you understand which deductions are built to be claimed without receipts and how to rebuild proof…
In Columbus, Ohio, a new push to cut property taxes is zeroing in on the local levies that appear on almost every homeowner’s bill. A fresh proposal in the Ohio House would stack new state-funded discounts on top of what voters already approved, offering relief without dismantling the property tax system. Layered onto several recent…
Tax season has opened with a mix of optimism and worry. Americans are being told to expect the biggest tax refunds ever, with average checks projected at about $3,800 for tax year 2025 and roughly $1,000 higher than in a typical year. At the same time, millions of people are being warned that they could…