Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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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:…
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A marriage of at least ten years can qualify a divorced spouse for up to half of an ex-spouse’s full retirement age benefit
Divorce does not always erase a claim on a former spouse’s Social Security record. According to the Social Security Administration, “ex-spouses who were married for at least 10 years, as well as some valid non-marital legal relationships, may be eligible” for benefits, and the payment can reach up to half of the benefit amount the…
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Food stamp recipients aged 18 to 54 with no dependents must work at least 80 hours a month to keep benefits past three months
Eighty hours a month is the number that decides whether some SNAP households keep their food benefits past a short initial stretch. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration says adults aged 18 to 54 who are able to work and have no dependents must work, volunteer or take part in a work program for at least…
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Nearly a month after the White House promised health exchange refunds, no federal agency has published a page saying how they will be paid
Twenty-six days separate the White House’s September 10 promise of $500 health exchange refunds from today, and in that time the agencies that would normally run such a payment have said nothing in writing. As of October 6, 2026, the newsrooms of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Treasury Department and the IRS,…
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Credit Acceptance pays more than $15 million in penalties to the attorneys general, on top of the debt it must erase
A settlement reached September 17, 2026 splits $700 million in a way that matters to anyone who ever financed a used car through a subprime dealer: more than $630 million in debt relief, $60 million in restitution, and more than $15 million in penalties that go to the states rather than to borrowers. Credit Acceptance…
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USDA modified Missouri’s food stamp purchase ban to February 15, 2027, after approving the state’s first request on December 10, 2025
Missouri’s plan to bar candy, prepared desserts and certain unhealthy beverages from food stamp purchases now has a new start line: February 15, 2027. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) recorded the change in a Federal Register notice published September 15, 2026, nine months after it first approved the state’s request…
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Nebraska asked USDA on September 1 for a December 1 soda ban, after a court vacated its first waiver
Soda is still allowed in Nebraska’s SNAP program, and nothing USDA has published says that will change on December 1. A federal court wiped out the state’s first soda-and-energy-drink waiver on June 22, 2026. Nebraska responded on September 1 with a new request, and USDA’s waiver page, updated October 2, says only “We are working…