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AsiaVision | E+ | Getty Images Most Americans can file their taxes for free — but many don’t seize the opportunity. Roughly 70% of taxpayers qualify to use IRS Free File, but only 2% used it during the 2022 filing season, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s annual report to Congress. A public-private partnership between

Allison Michael Orenstein | Getty Images As the tax season kicks off, seniors may be facing new questions this year. A record 5.9% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment last year likely pushed up their income. Meanwhile, other income, such as required minimum distributions, other retirement account withdrawals or part- or full-time work may make filing more

Moyo Studio | E+ | Getty Images The first Social Security check was issued 83 years ago. The check, for $22.54, went to retired legal secretary Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont. Today, in 2023, the average retirement benefit is $1,827 per month, according to the Social Security Administration. The maximum Social Security benefit for

Djordje Krstic | Istock | Getty Images Fewer borrowers will be able to claim the student loan interest deduction for 2022, with federal loan payments on hold for the duration of the year. But some people may still qualify. Before the Covid pandemic, nearly 13 million taxpayers took advantage of the break, which allows borrowers

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images It’s tax season, and Americans are confronted by a lot of tax jargon when preparing their returns. Two types of tax breaks stand out among all the lingo: credits and deductions. Each lowers your tax liability, which is the total annual tax owed on your income. (That figure can

A worsening macroeconomic climate and the collapse of industry giants like FTX and Terra have weighed on bitcoin’s price this year. STR | Nurphoto via Getty Images After a tough year for crypto, you may be looking for ways to turn steep losses into possible tax breaks. The digital currency industry lost nearly $1.4 trillion

Bill Oxford | E+ | Getty Images If you’re banking on a tax refund, it may be “somewhat lower” than last year’s payment, according to the IRS. Typically, you can expect a federal refund if you’ve overpaid yearly taxes or withheld more than what you owe. One of the big reasons for smaller payments this

Maskot | Maskot | Getty Images Getting a $7,500 tax break for the purchase of a new electric vehicle will likely get harder in a few months — meaning prospective buyers who want the financial incentive may wish to speed up their timeline.   The Inflation Reduction Act, a historic climate law President Biden signed

Drakula & Co. | Moment | Getty Images Tax season officially kicked off for individual filers on Jan. 23. This year’s tax deadline is April 18 for most filers.  Although the IRS expects to start the filing season stronger, taxpayer service improvements may take time as the agency hires and trains more workers.   In the

pcess609 If you’re expecting a refund this season, it’s critical to file a complete and accurate tax return to avoid “extensive processing” and delays, according to the IRS.    One of the keys to error-free filing is including all your required tax forms, known as information returns, which employers and financial institutions send yearly, with copies

Residents drop off Covid-19 PCR tests at a testing site run by the Centers for Disease Control, Federal Emergency Management Agency and eTrueNorth in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2022. Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images When Christopher Perry got sick in July 2021, he thought he just had a bad cold. But after

Insta_photos | Istock | Getty Images If you’re getting close to retirement age, there are some upcoming changes enacted as part of a government funding bill that may be of interest to you. Dozens of retirement-related provisions known as Secure 2.0 were included in an omnibus appropriations package that cleared Congress last week. While the

Mike Yada Courtesy: Mike Yada Mike Yada remembers the day in August 2020 when it became clear that his unusual symptoms — which emerged after a mild case of Covid-19 earlier in the year — were worsening. “I went for an easy hike, but by the end I was so winded that I couldn’t walk

Itsskin | E+ | Getty Images Thinking about retiring to another state? You’re not alone. A United Van Lines study found the percentage of people retiring to a new state had increased to 18.3% in 2021, up from 13.4% in 2015. Making the move is not a straightforward decision, however, as there are myriad financial

Teresa Harding Source: Teresa Harding It took three months for Teresa Harding to open her termination letter. “I couldn’t look at it,” Harding, 47, said. For seven years, she’d worked at a pain management center in Lexington, Kentucky. “I enjoyed my co-workers and our patients. “It was a fun, exciting job,” she added. But after

Charlotte Hultquist Charlotte Hultquist Weeks after Charlotte Hultquist got Covid-19 in November 2020, she developed a severe pain in her right ear. “It felt like someone was sticking a knife in [it],” said Hultquist, a single mother of five who lives in Hartford, Vermont. The 41-year-old is one of millions of Americans who have long

Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images Every investor looks to buy low and sell high, which sounds simple enough … until you try to actually put it into practice. The problem is that it’s seldom obvious when the highs and lows of a particular cycle will happen. Most of the time, that’s apparent only

Barry Sternlicht, founder, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. CNBC | NBCuniversal | Getty Images In Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht’s view, the Federal Reserve’s ongoing interest rate hikes are driving the U.S. economy straight into a recession. During a session of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Summit on Tuesday, Sternlicht said he thinks that an

Milan2099 | E+ | Getty Images Long Covid is a chronic illness with far-reaching impact, both in terms of health and household finance. As many as 23 million Americans have suffered long-haul symptoms of Covid-19, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But there are steps individuals and their families can take to blunt

Sam Norpel and her family. Norpel, 48, second from the right, got Covid-19 in December 2021 and hasn’t recovered. This chronic illness, known as long Covid, impacts up to 23 million Americans. Kirstie Donohue Sam Norpel used to present regular financial updates to C-suite executives. Now, unpredictable bouts of broken, staccato speech make that impossible

Family and friends gather in San Felipe, Texas, for the Jan. 26, 2021, funeral of Gregory Blanks, 50, who died of Covid-19. Callaghan O’Hare | Reuters As Americans brace for the third winter of the Covid-19 pandemic, many are still grappling with ongoing related health and financial issues — including insurance battles over long Covid

The Covid-19 unit at United Memorial Medical Center in north Houston. Carolyn Cole | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images Long Covid has affected as many as 23 million Americans to date — and it’s poised to have a financial impact rivaling or exceeding that of the Great Recession. By one estimate, the chronic illness

Tech startup company Fast Chief Communications Officer Jason Alderman (R) talks with an employee on the first day working in the office on March 24, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Inflation has stretched household budgets near their limit. As a result, most people have reined in discretionary spending, even when

Michael Bryand, 35, first got Covid in September 2020. “I never really got better,” he said in a sit-down interview with CNBC. “I had symptoms that stayed with me and that are still with me.” Bryand, who was working at Wells Fargo in San Antonio at the time, went on short-term disability and then long-term

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images Some 70% of people want to age at home, yet only 10% have long-term care insurance, a recent HCG Secure/Arctos Foundation study found. Furthermore, about half of respondents had no idea how much in-home care would cost. With the median annual cost of a home health aide nationally

Boonchai Wedmakawand | Moment | Getty Images The collapse of FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, has rippled through the world of digital currencies. Once valued at $32 billion, FTX filed for bankruptcy protection and founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as its CEO after reports alleged that the company had loaned billions of dollars

Yongyuan | E+ | Getty Images Data suggests some retirement savers are seeking out safe havens within their 401(k) plans. But the move may hobble those investors in the long run; in fact, it may have done so just last month. Investors sold out of target-date funds and large-cap U.S. stock funds in October in

Me 3645 Studio | Moment | Getty Images Cautious investors are turning over every rock in the equities market in search of stocks that have not only high growth potential, but also a record of resiliency in downturns. Yet this dual advantage — a good offense and a good defense — really isn’t that hard

Ridofranz | Istock | Getty Images We adamantly want to age in place, say experts. A recent AARP report shows that 85% of respondents 65 or older wish to stay in their current residences as long as possible. Retirement-focused financial advisors can help with both the financial and non-financial preparations to do so. “We’re often

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images The end of the year is one of the most important times for investors because there are so many decisions to make that impact their overall financial planning. This time around, the year’s end is marked with a lot of financial challenges, including inflation, market volatility, domestic political uncertainties