Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Texas auto insurers filed rate cuts affecting 235,000 Auto Club County Mutual and 39,000 Loya policyholders
Two Texas car insurers have asked to lower what they charge, and together the requests reach 274,000 policyholders. Auto Club County Mutual Insurance Company filed a 3% decrease affecting 235,000 policyholders, and Loya Insurance Company filed a 10.3% decrease affecting 39,000. Both are filings, which means each company has proposed the new rate to the…
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Austin Energy’s average electric bill is up about $3.66 a month since October 1
Austin Energy customers are paying a little more for electricity since October 1, when the city-owned utility’s new rates took effect. The utility says the average customer bill will increase by around $3.66 per month, which works out to about $43.92 over a full year. The increase is smaller than the headline percentage suggests, because…
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Illinois froze its scheduled motor fuel tax increase only through December 31
Illinois drivers are paying a motor fuel tax that was held steady by a six-month pause, and the pause ends on December 31, 2026. Public Act 104-0468, signed June 16, 2026, suspended the increase that was scheduled to take effect July 1, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue. The rates in force through December…
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Indiana’s suspended gas tax of about 61 cents a gallon runs through November 4
Indiana drivers are not paying the state’s gasoline excise and sales taxes, about 61 cents a gallon combined, through Wednesday, November 4. Gov. Mike Braun renewed the suspension on September 30 for 30 days, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Braun said he will review the orders before they expire on November 4 and may…
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The IRS lets most farmers and fishermen skip 2026 estimated tax payments by filing and paying in full by March 1, 2027
Farmers and fishermen get a choice that most self-employed workers do not: skip the quarterly estimated tax payments for 2026 and settle everything at filing time. The IRS explains the rule in its 2026 Form 1040-ES. A filer who sends the 2026 Form 1040 or 1040-SR by Monday, March 1, 2027, and pays the total…
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IRS gives typhoon-hit Guam taxpayers until February 4, 2027 to file and pay
Taxpayers in Guam now have until Thursday, February 4, 2027, to file and pay a wide range of federal taxes that came due after Super Typhoon Bavi struck the territory. The IRS announced the postponement on October 14, 2026, in release GU-2026-01. The relief follows the federal disaster declaration number 4946-DR, which covers Guam. The…
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Trump is taking Canadian plywood, some paper products and refrigeration equipment off his tariff list and adding carpets and valves on October 30
President Trump has signed a proclamation that changes which Canadian goods are hit by his tariffs, and the new list takes effect Friday, October 30, 2026. Plywood sheets, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment, and certain packing crates and boxes come off the list. Certain valves, carpets, waste products and other items go…
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Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles charged 15 people in schemes behind over $1.8 billion in fraudulent claims, including hospice billing for Medicare patients who did not know
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced charges on October 22, 2026 against 15 defendants, including six medical professionals, in schemes the Justice Department says produced over $1.8 billion in fraudulent claims to government and private health care programs. Eight of the defendants were arrested. Among the cases are three hospice schemes totaling over $138 million…
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Social Security’s inspector general warns that scammers posing as police are telling victims to load money onto QR codes and barcodes, and some lose thousands of dollars
Scammers posing as police officers, sheriff’s deputies and federal agents are the subject of a new warning from Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General, which says they are telling victims to load money onto QR codes and barcodes at a retail store, and that some victims lose thousands of dollars. The alert, titled “Think…
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Social Security offices in Hoboken, Canarsie, Logan and Cody are phone-only until further notice
Social Security field offices in Hoboken, New Jersey; Canarsie, New York; Logan, West Virginia; and Cody, Wyoming are open by phone only, with no in-person service, until further notice. The agency’s office closings page lists each one with that wording and gives no reopening date. Three more offices carry the same notice: Corning and West…