Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Domestic airfares averaged $436 in the second quarter, up 9% in a year
The average domestic airline ticket cost $436 in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That is 9.0% higher than the same quarter of 2025, or about $36 more per ticket. For a couple flying to see family, or a retiree booking a trip around a doctor’s appointment, the fare…
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Rents are down 4.3% in a year in San Antonio and 3.6% in Las Vegas, while San Francisco’s are up 26%
A renter in San Antonio is paying 4.3% less than a year ago. A renter in Las Vegas is paying 3.6% less. In San Francisco, the same comparison runs the other way, with rents up 26%. Those are the year-over-year figures in Apartment List’s September rent report, published Sept. 29, and they show how little…
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Rents slipped in September for the first time since January, with the national median at $1,388, Apartment List says
The national median rent slipped to $1,388 a month in September, Apartment List reported on Sept. 29, the first monthly decline since January. The move was 0.1%, roughly $2 below August’s $1,390, which is far too small to change any one lease. It does close a stretch of seven straight monthly increases, and it lands…
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The IRS will keep taking paper checks for tax payments through 2026 and run two lockboxes until December 2027
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reports that IRS management said the agency will not refuse a paper check as payment in calendar year 2026, and that the IRS will keep using two lockbox locations for checks and money orders until December 2027. The findings appear in report 2026-108-054, dated September 16, 2026.…
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Nebraska, Mississippi and Montana cut income tax rates Jan. 1, with Nebraska’s top rate falling to 3.99% from 4.55%
Three state income tax cuts are written into law for the tax year that begins Jan. 1, 2027. Nebraska’s top rate falls to 3.99% from 4.55%, Mississippi’s rate on income above $10,000 drops from 4% to 3.75%, and Montana’s top rate moves to 5.4% from 5.65%. Each figure comes from the state’s own statute or…
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Draft IRS instructions show refunds can no longer be used to buy savings bonds
A tax refund that once could be turned into savings bonds appears to have lost that route. Draft instructions for Form 8888, the IRS form for splitting a refund among accounts, say the program allowing a refund to be deposited into a TreasuryDirect account to buy savings bonds has been discontinued. Because the document is…
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Thirty states have now opted into Trump’s $1,700 scholarship tax credit that starts in January, up from 27 in June
Three more states have joined the federal scholarship tax credit that starts on January 1, 2027, bringing the total to 30. The IRS list, current as of September 14, 2026, is up from 27 in the agency’s June announcement. The credit, created in Trump’s tax law, lets taxpayers in participating states give cash to scholarship…
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Itemizers can’t write off the first 0.5% of their income in charitable gifts starting this year, a new floor in Trump’s tax law
Charitable gifts have always been worth a deduction only to households that itemize. This year, a new hurdle sits in front of that deduction. Under Trump’s tax law, itemizers cannot write off the first 0.5 percent of their income in charitable gifts, so a household with a $200,000 income gives away the first $1,000 without…
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Gamblers who itemize can deduct only 90% of their losses starting this year, so breaking even can still mean a tax bill
A gambler who wins $10,000 over a year and loses $10,000 has, on paper, gone nowhere. Starting with tax year 2026, that person can still owe tax. For gamblers who itemize, the deduction for losses is now capped at 90 percent of the losses, while every dollar of winnings stays in income. Breaking even can…
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The child care tax credit can now cover up to 50% of costs for lower-income parents, up from 35%, under Trump’s tax law
Parents paying for child care so they can work can claim a bigger slice of the bill back on their 2026 tax return. Under Trump’s tax law, the child care tax credit, formally the credit for child and dependent care expenses, can now reach up to 50 percent of qualifying costs, up from a 35…