Category: Taxes Made Simple
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Los Angeles County mails about 2.4 million property tax bills, and the first installment, due Nov. 1, turns delinquent after Dec. 10 with a penalty added
About 2.4 million Los Angeles County property tax bills go out each year, and the 2026-27 round carries a date that costs real money to miss. The first installment is due Nov. 1 and turns delinquent at the close of business on Dec. 10, when a 10 percent penalty is added. The Treasurer and Tax…
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The IRS swapped IRS2Go for a free app showing refunds, balances and payments
The phone app that taxpayers have used for more than a decade to check a refund has a new name and more jobs. The Internal Revenue Service announced on Sept. 25, 2026 that its new IRS app replaces IRS2Go, and the agency says it costs nothing. People who sign in can see refunds, balances and…
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The Senate unanimously passed 65 IRS service reforms in the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, and the House must act before any take effect
Sixty-five changes to how the Internal Revenue Service treats taxpayers cleared the Senate on Sept. 30, 2026, with no senator objecting. None of them is law. The package, called the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, now sits with the House, and nothing in it takes effect unless the House acts and the bill reaches the…
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Utah’s gas tax is 31.9 cents a gallon through Dec. 31, down from its standard 37.9 cents
Utah drivers have been paying six cents less per gallon in state fuel tax since July 1, and that discount has a stop date. The Utah State Tax Commission’s fuel rate table lists a temporary motor fuel rate of 31.9 cents a gallon from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2026. The standard rate, in effect…
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About 47 million taxpayers who could get the new federal Saver’s Match are not saving for retirement, the IRS told Congress
About 47 million taxpayers who would be eligible for the new federal Saver’s Match are not putting money into a retirement account, the Treasury Department and the IRS told Congress. The number comes from a Sept. 28, 2026 report required by the SECURE 2.0 retirement law. The match starts with contributions made in 2027. What…
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Georgia extended its gas tax suspension through Nov. 5, and regular gas there fell about 33 cents a gallon after the pause began, AAA says
Georgia’s pause on its gas tax now has a longer runway. Gov. Brian Kemp’s office announced on Oct. 6 that the state of emergency behind the suspension, and the suspension itself, will run through Nov. 5. The first order had set Oct. 29 as the last day, so the extension adds a week. What the…
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Ohio drivers pay almost no state gas tax from Oct. 4 through Jan. 2, as the 38.5-cent gasoline tax and 47-cent diesel tax drop to a hundredth of a cent
At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, Ohio’s state tax on a gallon of gasoline dropped from 38.5 cents to one-hundredth of a cent. The diesel tax fell from 47 cents to the same $0.0001. The Ohio Department of Taxation says the break lasts until 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2027, which takes in Thanksgiving,…
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A Tucson tax preparer was convicted on 22 counts of filing false returns and faces sentencing Feb. 23, 2027
A paid tax preparer in Tucson, Arizona, has been found guilty of preparing false federal income tax returns for her clients without their knowledge. Darlene Musgrove, 68, was convicted on 22 counts on October 5, and she faces sentencing on February 23, 2027. The verdict in Tucson The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of…
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A Yonkers tax preparer admitted causing more than $5 million in IRS losses
A man who ran tax preparation offices in Yonkers, New York, has pleaded guilty to helping file false returns that cost the Internal Revenue Service more than $5 million. Joseph Clay, 52, of Lodi, New Jersey, entered the plea on October 1, and the same conduct cost New York State close to $900,000 more. What…
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Trump’s trade office kept two 2018 China tariff actions in force during a new review
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has decided that two of the original tariff actions against China will not end. The July 6, 2018 and Aug. 23, 2018 Section 301 actions, which put 25 percent duties on thousands of Chinese product lines, were set to lapse this summer unless American industries asked for them…