eyecrave | E+ | Getty Images Teachers who have spent their own money on masks, hand sanitizer or other Covid-19 related supplies this year will get a little help come tax time. Those costs can be deducted with other eligible out-of-pocket expenses on 2021 taxes filed next year. Teachers have been able to deduct up
Personal finance
Brothers91 | E+ | Getty Images If you lack health insurance, it may not be as out of reach as you might think. An estimated 10 million individuals who are uninsured could qualify for financial help with private insurance through the public marketplace, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 7 million could
JJFarquitectos | iStock | Getty Images The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented hardship to renters, at one point leaving as many as 40 million people at risk of losing their homes. That the situation got so bad, so quickly for tenants revealed long-lasting issues of housing instability in the U.S., caused by rapidly rising rents and
blackCAT | E+ | Getty Images It’s easy to ignore finances during the holiday season. But with five weeks left in 2021, there’s still time for year-end moves to slash tax bills or boost refunds, experts say. While tax planning is a year-round process, the last couple of months may offer the chance to finalize
katleho Seisa Despite the biggest cost-of-living adjustment in decades, Social Security beneficiaries may still find it challenging to make their monthly checks stretch farther next year. The reasons: Inflation is continuing to drive up consumer prices, while standard Medicare Part B premiums will rise by 14.5% in 2022 in a bigger-than-expected jump. The Consumer Price
President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is nominating Jerome Powell for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, which means Americans can expect the U.S. central bank to maintain its patient stance on inflation and interest rates. Biden praised Powell and the Fed for “decisive” action that cushioned the impact of the
Families, parents and caregivers call on Congress to include paid family and medical leave in the Build Back Better legislative package during an all-day Nov. 2, 2021 vigil in Washington, D.C. Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images It’s been a contentious battle to get paid family leave included in social spending legislation
Michael Tubbs, former mayor of Stockton, California. Nick Otto | AFP | Getty Images Michael Tubbs had the odds stacked against him while growing up in Stockton, California, as the son of a young single mother and an incarcerated father. Tubbs, 31, felt the expectations for his life as a Black man in America were
House Democrats on Friday passed their $1.75 trillion spending package with a temporary increase for the limit on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT. The bill would boost the limit to $80,000 from 2021 through 2030 before dropping it back to $10,000 in 2031. Without changes, the current $10,000 cap
A worker helps a customer at the Presidente Supermarket in Miami on April 13, 2020. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Workers across the U.S. are wondering how rising inflation might be impacting their take-home pay. Inflation has risen more than expected. In October, consumer prices increased 0.9% and pushed the year-over-year gain to 6.2%, hitting
Chesnot | Getty Images As the end of the year approaches, there are still ways to reduce cryptocurrency tax bills, financial experts say. The IRS generally defines cryptocurrency as property for tax purposes, and investors must pay levies on the difference between the purchase and sales price. If there’s a profit on assets held for less than
Student debt balances among 2020 graduates remained at an all-time high. Last year’s borrowing graduates in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Delaware owed close to $40,000 for their bachelor’s degree, on average, according to a report by the Institute for College Access and Success. More from Personal Finance:How to shop early and still get the best
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks at a press conference, along with House Democratic leadership, after the House passed the Build Back Better Act on Nov. 19, 2021. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images The House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would make the child tax credit fully refundable
By nearly all accounts, this Black Friday could be bigger than ever. Nearly 2 million more people are expected to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday (Nov. 29) this year compared to last year, according to the National Retail Federation. “We’re expecting another record-breaking holiday season, and Thanksgiving weekend will play a major role,”
lechatnoir | E+ | Getty Images Signing up for Medicare at age 65 doesn’t have to be a forever thing. If you’re among the retirees who are “unretiring” to rejoin the workforce and you are on Medicare, you may have a choice of whether to keep that health-care coverage or drop it until you need
Getty Images Many Americans are having a crisis of confidence when it comes to whether their savings will meet their retirement goals. To that point, 52% of working Americans feel they are behind on their retirement savings, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com. They may be on to something. There’s a $4 trillion difference
Terry Vine | DigitalVision | Getty Images For a retirement expense that you may or may not face, it’s nevertheless one worth taking note of: assisted living. The monthly cost to live in a facility that provides such care averages $4,057 (or $48,684 yearly) in the U.S., according to research from Seniorly, which helps users
XiFotos | E+ | Getty Images Millions of Americans are quitting and finding new jobs as the pandemic-fueled “Great Resignation” continues. Many are probably leaving retirement plans with thousands of dollars behind. More than 25 million people who switched jobs between 2004 and 2014 left one or more employer-sponsored retirement accounts at their former
MoMo Productions | DigitalVision | Getty Images Retirees are coming out of retirement, and that’s a good sign for the labor market. Early retirements among older Americans were among the many labor distortions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to economists, as health risks and other factors led many to leave their jobs. But there’s
Marko Geber | DigitalVision | Getty Images As investors flock to municipal bonds, also known as muni bonds, the tax-free interest may trigger a costly surprise for higher-income retirees. There’s been record demand for U.S. municipal bond funds in 2021, with an estimated $85.36 billion in net inflows through September, according to Refinitiv Lipper data.