Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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The IRS says it will never call or text asking for the six-digit number that protects a return
A federal notice from the Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit partners this month renewed a specific warning aimed at anyone who has ever worried about a stolen refund: no one from the agency will ever telephone, email or text asking for the six-digit code that keeps a tax return tied to the right…
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The consumer bureau has not filed a new enforcement case in more than a year
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s public list of enforcement actions has not gained a new entry since August 21, 2025, when the agency sued a failed fintech company called Synapse Financial Technologies. More than a year has now passed without a fresh case appearing on that list, an unusually quiet stretch for the federal regulator…
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Ring customers are being paid again over the camera-spying case, and the money arrives by Zelle
Some former Ring customers who never collected an earlier settlement payment are now seeing money show up in their bank accounts through Zelle. The Federal Trade Commission is sending a new wave of payments tied to a 2023 case over how the smart-camera company handled customer videos and account security. For anyone who owned a…
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The IRS says a short-term payment plan now covers a tax bill under $100,000
Millions of taxpayers finish a filing season owing more than expected, and the confusion that follows usually comes down to one number: does the balance qualify for a quick, no-fee arrangement or a slower monthly plan that carries a setup cost. The Internal Revenue Service’s payment plan rules answer that question with a specific dollar…
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Employers must break out overtime pay on the W-2 for the first time this year
A new line is coming to millions of pay stubs and W-2 forms, and it has nothing to do with a raise. Employers and other payers must now separately spell out how much of a worker’s pay was overtime compensation, a change tied to the federal tax deduction for overtime that took effect with the…
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Part of the adoption credit now comes back as cash, up to $5,000
The federal Adoption Credit has existed for decades as a nonrefundable break, which meant a family with too little tax owed could lose part of it outright. That changed for adoptions finalized in 2025 and afterward: a portion of the credit, up to $5,000 per child, now pays out even to households that owe little…
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A $1,700 federal credit for school donations starts January 1, and only some states signed up
A tax break aimed at helping families cover private and religious school costs is set to take effect at the start of 2027, but it will not be available everywhere. The Internal Revenue Service has confirmed that individual taxpayers will be able to claim a federal credit worth up to $1,700 for cash donations to…
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A new law gives disaster victims more time to claim an old refund
A technical fix buried in last year’s tax legislation is now deciding whether thousands of Indiana households can actually collect refunds the Internal Revenue Service already owes them. For years, disaster survivors who followed the agency’s own instructions sometimes learned only later that a refund they were entitled to had technically expired before they ever…
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Anyone with a bank account can pay a federal tax bill free and without registering
A tax bill sent by the federal government does not require a login, a new account, or a fee just to hand the money over. The Internal Revenue Service runs a free tool called Direct Pay that moves funds straight out of a checking or savings account, using only the numbers already sitting on a…
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A family of four earning $5,088 a month still qualifies for reduced-price school meals
Federal rules updated this year let a household of four bring home as much as $61,050 a year, or $5,088 in a single month, and still qualify for reduced-price meals at school. That threshold sits well above what most people picture when they hear “poverty guideline,” and the gap is intentional: the reduced-price cutoff is…