Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Supplemental Security Income does not reach Puerto Rico, Guam or the Virgin Islands
Federal law gives Supplemental Security Income a map, and Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not on it. A resident of San Juan, Hagåtña or Charlotte Amalie who is aged, blind or disabled with almost no income cannot draw SSI, and a person who receives it on the mainland can lose it…
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The Equifax credit-score settlement goes before a judge in Atlanta on January 22, 2027
Chief Judge Leigh Martin May will hold the final approval hearing for the Equifax credit-score settlement on January 22, 2027, at 2:00 p.m. in Atlanta. The hearing decides whether a $100 million deal over a 2022 coding error becomes final. The dates that matter to most households arrive earlier, because the opt-out and objection deadline…
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California adds a natural gas credit to residential bills starting in February 2027, alongside the electric credit it already applies automatically
February 2027 is the month the California Public Utilities Commission’s fact sheet gives for the first natural gas credit on residential bills. It will sit beside the electric credit that already arrives without an application. The sheet, dated April 30, 2026, describes the whole program as “an automatic direct credit on residential energy bills” and…
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Food stamps waive the general work rules for six groups, including anyone caring for a child under six or studying at least half-time
Who has to meet SNAP’s work rules, and who does not? The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s SNAP work requirements page, last updated July 16, 2026, answers with a list of exactly six general exemptions. Food stamp recipients who fall into any of the six are excused from the general work rules, and two of the…
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In a state that adds its own money, a working recipient’s $878 Supplemental Security Income check becomes $893
Start with a monthly paycheck of $317 and a federal benefit rate of $994, and the Social Security Administration’s own worked example lands on a federal Supplemental Security Income payment of $878. In a state that tops that up with a $15 supplement for a person living alone, the total becomes $893. Those numbers come…
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In SSA’s worked example, a $15 state supplement lifts a $714 Supplemental Security Income payment to $729 for someone living alone
The Social Security Administration publishes the arithmetic behind Supplemental Security Income in plain subtraction, and one worked example shows how a small state payment fits on top. In SSA’s illustration, a person living alone with a $300 Social Security benefit has a federal SSI payment of $714. A $15 state supplement for an individual living…
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A retirement match that Treasury is implementing under Executive Order 14403 starts with 2027 contributions and pays nothing out until 2028
Nothing is payable under the Saver’s Match today, and nothing will be until 2028. The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced in August 2026 that they intend to write the rules for the federal program, which begins with contributions made for 2027. Until proposed regulations appear, the dollar figures attached to the match…
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An executive order directs Treasury to defer the federal excise tax on dyed diesel used on the highway through December 31, with no interest or penalties
A presidential order signed on October 5, 2026, tells the Treasury to put off a fuel tax bill for a set group of buyers. The executive order, titled Emergency Tax Relief on Diesel Fuel, covers the federal excise tax on dyed diesel used on the highway, and it sets a deferral period that runs from…
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The IRS now removes failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties automatically for taxpayers with three clean years, and sends a confirmation notice
Late-filing and late-payment penalties have long been the part of a tax bill that feels most avoidable in hindsight. On August 10, 2026, the Internal Revenue Service announced a process that removes some of them without anyone asking. Taxpayers with a clean three-year record can have failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties lifted automatically, and the agency…
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Four exceptions extend the three-year limit on claiming a federal tax refund, including a presidentially declared disaster and combat zone service
A federal tax refund does not wait forever. The Internal Revenue Service says the law sets a deadline for claiming a credit or refund for any given tax year, and once it passes the claim is barred. The same IRS page also lists four exceptions that stretch the clock, and they cover very different situations:…