Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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HUD runs a free lookup for unclaimed FHA mortgage-insurance refunds
Millions of dollars in mortgage-insurance refunds from old Federal Housing Administration loans have never reached the people they belong to, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) runs a search page that costs nothing to use. Anyone who ever had an FHA-insured mortgage can type in a last name or a case number…
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SSI pays up to the full benefit for six months out of any nine in a public shelter
A stay in a public homeless shelter does not automatically cut off Supplemental Security Income. Social Security says people who live in one can keep getting up to the maximum SSI benefit for up to six months out of any nine. For 2026, that maximum is $994 a month for an individual. The rule is…
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Nine groups are exempt from Medicaid’s new 80-hour work rule
Nine groups of people are excluded from the new Medicaid work requirement, which asks certain adults to show 80 hours a month of work, volunteering or school. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services lists them in its rule. Anyone in one of those groups does not have to log hours to keep coverage. States…
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States will redetermine Medicaid for expansion adults every six months from January
Low-income adults covered through Medicaid expansion are about to move from one renewal a year to two. Starting with renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027, states must redetermine Medicaid eligibility for the expansion adult group every six months instead of every twelve. The change comes from a federal law, not a state choice,…
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A veteran who disputes a benefit debt within 30 days freezes collection
A veteran who gets a letter saying VA overpaid a benefit has 30 days from the day that first letter arrives to dispute the debt. A dispute filed inside the window stops collection until VA decides. The clock starts when the letter is received, not when the overpayment happened. VA lays out the rule on…
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Social Security asks for an overpayment back within 30 days
A Social Security overpayment letter comes with a clock. The Social Security Administration (SSA) tells people who get one to pay the money back within 30 days. That instruction is a request, not a legal deadline to appeal, and a form filed inside the 30 days can change what happens next. SSA’s own overpayments page…
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The Treasury Department counts 30 states already opted in to the new federal scholarship credit, which a donor may claim in any state
Treasury counts 30 states signed up for a new federal tax credit for scholarship donations, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The credit is worth up to $1,700 for one person and up to $3,400 on a joint return, and it begins with gifts made in 2027. A donor can give to a scholarship group…
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Trump’s diesel order also directs Treasury to look for ways to wipe out any deferred tax altogether, including through legislation
President Trump’s October 5, 2026 executive order on diesel fuel does more than offer a deferral. It also tells the Treasury Department to explore ways to cancel any deferred diesel excise tax altogether, and it names legislation as one of the routes. Nothing has been canceled so far, and the order only asks Treasury to…
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HUD said on October 16 that Opportunity Zones are now permanent and credits them with more than $100 billion of private investment in the areas they cover
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is telling the public that Opportunity Zones, a federal tax program aimed at struggling neighborhoods, no longer have an expiration date. The department also puts a large number on what the program has done so far. In a release from Grand Rapids, Michigan, HUD said on October 16,…
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The IRS began phasing out paper refund checks ahead of the 2026 filing season under an executive order, and House Democrats count more than 830,000 taxpayers told their refunds were on hold by March 9
The IRS has been winding down paper refund checks for individual taxpayers under an executive order, and the change caught many households short this spring. By March 9, House Democrats said, more than 830,000 taxpayers had been told their refunds were on hold. The paper-check phase-out began on September 30, 2025, according to the IRS…