Category: Taxes Made Simple
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The IRS is dropping the paperwork for first-time penalty relief and applying it automatically
For years, the way an otherwise punctual taxpayer got out of a late-filing penalty was to write a letter. You called the number on the notice, or you mailed a written statement or a Form 843, and you asked the IRS to look at your record and take the penalty back off. The penalty was…
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Self-employed and gig workers owe their next estimated tax payment by September 15
For anyone whose income arrives without taxes already taken out, the IRS expects to be paid as you go, not just at filing time. That means a quarterly estimated tax payment, and the third-quarter deadline for 2026 lands on September 15. Freelancers, gig drivers, independent contractors, small-business owners, and retirees living on investment or retirement…
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Storm victims near the San Carlos Apache Tribe have until September 28 to file, penalty-free
When a disaster upends a household, a looming tax deadline is the last thing anyone should have to juggle. The IRS agrees, and for people in the San Carlos Apache Tribe area of Arizona hit by severe storms and flooding, it has pushed a stack of federal filing and payment deadlines out to September 28,…
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Overtime pay is now deductible up to $12,500 on your 2026 taxes
If you work overtime, part of that extra pay can now come off your taxable income. Under the same law that created the tip deduction, workers can deduct qualified overtime pay on their 2026 federal return, up to $12,500 for a single filer or $25,000 for a married couple filing jointly. It is a real…
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Workers who earn tips can deduct up to $25,000 on their 2026 taxes under the new law
For servers, bartenders, hairstylists, and drivers, tips have always been fully taxable income, right down to the last dollar reported. A new federal deduction changes the math. Under the law commonly called the One Big Beautiful Bill, workers in tipped jobs can deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips on their 2026 federal return, which…
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Modest-income savers can claim a retirement tax credit worth up to $2,000
There is a tax break for retirement savers that pays you for money you were setting aside anyway, and a lot of the people who qualify never claim it. It is called the Saver’s Credit, and it is worth up to $1,000 for a single filer or $2,000 for a married couple. Unlike a deduction,…
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Another bill would skip the tariff checks and raise your standard deduction instead
The idea of returning tariff money to households has produced more than one plan in Congress, and they do not all work the same way. Alongside proposals to mail rebate checks, there is a competing bill that would skip the checks entirely and instead cut your taxes by raising the standard deduction. It is a…
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The standard deduction jumps to $16,100 for singles and $32,200 for couples on 2026 taxes
The standard deduction is the most-used number on the entire tax return, and it is going up again for 2026. For the coming tax year the IRS has set it at $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, with heads of household at $24,150. Nearly nine in ten filers take the…
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A stalled Senate bill would give a family of four $2,400 in tariff rebates
A proposal in the Senate would put tariff money back into household pockets in the form of rebate checks, and for a family of four the headline number is $2,400. It is an appealing idea to a lot of budgets, but it is important to be clear about where it actually stands: this is a…
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Pennsylvania seniors and renters can still claim up to $1,000 back, now under a higher income limit
Pennsylvania has one of the more generous state programs for older homeowners and renters, and it just got easier to qualify for. The Property Tax/Rent Rebate program pays back up to $1,000 to eligible seniors, widows and widowers, and people with disabilities, and the state has permanently raised the income limit to $48,110 while extending…