Personal Finance

Millions of households that hustled to get their tax returns to the IRS early could be waiting until March for their refunds. If you’re claiming the additional child tax credit or the earned income tax credit, the IRS cannot issue your refund before mid-February. An anti-fraud law requires the agency to use that additional time

Daniel Grill | Getty Images When it comes to retirement, it’s no secret that women face an uphill battle financially. And while women’s retirement readiness is improving, there’s room for much more, according to new research from the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement. Women around the world share the same three career challenges: a

Swell Media Who among us has suffered an airline delay or cancellation, or even been bumped from a flight? Plenty. Who’s been compensated for the inconvenience? Probably not very many. One Berlin-based firm, AirHelp, is trying to rectify that, educating flyers around the world of their rights to compensation — and, for a fee, helping

Payday Loan Store (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images) Interim Archives You’ll find the words in Utah’s constitution: “No imprisonment for debt.” And yet more than 3,000 people in the state were served arrest warrants arising from an unpaid loan between September 2017 and September 2018, according to a new report on payday loans by the

If you want to improve your financial know-how, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. From short online tutorials to extensive in-person bootcamps, the number of “Money 101” classes has ballooned since the Great Recession. And yet, when it comes to financial literacy, Americans are still falling far short. According to a survey by

Democratic presidential candidate former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Paris Las Vegas on February 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mario Tama | Getty Images Michael Bloomberg, billionaire and former mayor of New York, is the latest Democratic presidential candidate to turn his attention to the

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg — whose wealth is estimated at $60 billion — says his tax return is probably thousands of pages long and he can’t use TurboTax to finish it. Most taxpayers don’t deal with such complications. While preparing taxes can be a headache and may involve a lot of pages, using online

James Gorman, chief executive officer and chairman of Morgan Stanley, speaks during the International Economic Forum Of The Americas (IEFA) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday June 12, 2019. Photographer: Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg Financial services firms are moving out of their comfort zone. Some of the most recognizable names on Wall Street,

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a campaign event on February 17, 2020 in Richmond, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Justin Sullivan When Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proposed legislation last year to tax stock trades, he decried the “recklessness of Wall Street billionaires” and cited a goal of building an economy

Getty Images The IRS will soon start make house calls to high-income individuals who didn’t submit a tax return. Starting this month, the agency will send its revenue officers to visit people with income in excess of $100,000 and who failed to file Form 1040 in 2018 or in previous years. “These visits shouldn’t come

skynesher | E+ | Getty Images If you’re like many Americans, you’re carrying a balance on your credit cards. And the candidate you choose in November for president could have an affect on how well you grapple with those debts. The latest numbers from the Federal Reserve show that credit card balances climbed to $930

Tetra Images | Getty Images If you want to get your refund as quickly as possible, you’d better hustle that tax return out the door. The IRS has received 28.6 million tax returns for the 2019 tax year as of Feb. 7, and it anticipates receiving more than 150 million returns in total. Filers are

Jhanilka and Anthony Hartzog say they could have saved an extra $5,000 or $6,000 if they’d hired an accountant in their first year. Source: Jhanilka and Anthony Hartzog If only you could go back in time, but with today’s 20/20 vision. Starting a business is a little like that. You’re fired up with enthusiasm for

Even though it’s still early to file your taxes, the sooner you crunch the numbers on your return, the better off you could be. The IRS issued more than 111.8 million refunds for the 2018 tax year, with taxpayers receiving an average payment of $2,869. This year could bring an even bigger windfall, for those

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg gives the thumbs up as he embarks on his bus after speaking to supporters at the Viva Villa restaurant in San Antonio, Texas on January 11, 2020. Mark Felix | AFP | Getty Images Mike Bloomberg released plans to shore up Americans’ retirement on Sunday, promising to increase Social Security

Even though February isn’t known as a big sales month for cars, you’ll likely find some decent deals if you head to the dealership over this three-day holiday weekend. While some advertised specials may be pegged to Presidents Day, many deals last for the month. And with more of last year’s models still hanging around

Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins looks on after being tackled by the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half at FedExField on Dec. 30, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. Scott Taetsch | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images Adrian Peterson is heading to arbitration against Morgan Stanley Wealth Management over an investment dispute, the latest

Goodboy Picture Company A hot tax-advantaged opportunity is making the rounds among financial advisors. Just make sure you don’t overlook the risks. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which went into effect in 2018, established so-called qualified opportunity zones — economically disadvantaged areas across the country. Funds specializing in qualified opportunity zones allow people to

Netflix, Apple TV and Prime Video. egadolfo I signed up recently for a clothing subscription service called NUULY. The company lets you wear six items a month for $88. But what the service provides me feels deeper. For that fee, I can arrive to a date in a $860 designer coat, which wouldn’t normally be

Many Americans seem to be addicted to income tax refunds, even though financial planners often advise having less tax withheld from your pay throughout the year as the better way to manage your cash flow. Nearly two-thirds of taxpayers — more than 111 million Americans — received a refund from the Internal Revenue Service last

Tetra Images | Getty Images In a world where much of consumer banking has gone high-tech, the most costly scams involve an old-school tool: checks. At about $2,000 a pop, fake-check scams cheated consumers out of more than $28 million in 2019, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That per-instance amount is more than six

As taxpayers roll into the second tax-filing season under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one question remains: “Will I come out ahead in 2019?” The IRS began accepting 2019 tax returns on Jan. 27 and anticipates it will receive more than 150 million individual returns this year. Thus far, the agency has delivered 4.3

Sandy Nurse doesn’t see why she needs to be $120,000 in debt “just for trying to improve my understanding of the world.” And so, after a decade of struggling to repay her student loans, she plans to stop trying. She hopes others will join her, too, in a national strike against the country’s outstanding student

About 115 pages into President Trump’s proposed 2021 budget are two line items that Medicare beneficiaries might want to take note of. While the president’s proposals pertaining to Medicare are largely aimed at behind-the-scenes shifts — i.e., lowering reimbursement rates to providers and rooting out waste or fraud — the budget also includes changes that

Most workers have an age in mind for when they would be willing to call it quits. But the traditional retirement age — 65 — could be changing. Research by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement looked at what age workers around the world expect to retire from

Once you reach age 65 and are eligible for Medicare, sorting through your options can be tricky. Add in any layer of complexity to the maze — i.e., jumping in and out of the workforce, dropping and picking up coverage — and look out. The program comes with rules — lots of them. And if

NICHOLAS KAMM As student debt continues to climb, President Donald Trump released a budget for 2021 on Monday that would slash many of the programs aimed at helping borrowers. Student loan spending would be cut by $170 billion in Trump’s plan, titled “A Budget for America’s Future.” The cuts include “sensible annual and lifetime loan

Donald Trump Carlo Allegri | Reuters Whether you love or hate the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, President Donald Trump wants to keep the tax overhaul going. The president released his proposed budget for 2021 on Monday. In the spending plan, the President is calling for an extension of the individual tax cuts set to

When financial advisor Liz Miller took on a client whose spouse had recently died, she realized a piece of the survivor’s financial life needed more attention than her wealth management services would provide. That is, the client needed help with the basics of managing money because her late husband had handled everything. “She hadn’t been

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, a democratic presidential candidate, attends the U.S Conference of Mayors 88th Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C, January 22, 2020. Yasin Ozturk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Democratic presidential candidates are taking aim at a new tax break for small businesses. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg last week pitched a