Personal finance

Rep. Richard Neal, D-MA, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Kevin Brady, R-TX, the ranking member, during a Committee hearing on May 24, 2017 in Washington. Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images House Democrats on Monday proposed raising the top tax rate on capital gains to 28.8%, one

House Ways and Means Committee ChairmanRep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., (left) and ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images House Democrats on Monday revealed a package of tax hikes on corporations and the rich without President Joseph Biden‘s proposed levy on inherited property at death, according to an outline

BartekSzewczyk | iStock | Getty Images With attention in Congress on infrastructure and a new budget, discussions about student loan cancellation seem to be on the shelf. And despite the pressure some Democrats have put on President Joseph Biden to wipe out the debt through executive action, he has expressed mostly hesitancy about doing so.

A tourist boat passes cowboy statues along Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Canal. Western heritage is a big draw in Oklahoma’s capital. Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau Ready to head out on vacation after the long pandemic-era drought — but not looking to go broke in the process? Online airport parking platform ParkSleepFly has ranked the

Travel + Leisure Club is a new subscription travel booking and concierge service. Travel + Leisure Group/Travel + Leisure Co. From private-jet clubs to theme park memberships, subscription services are increasingly the way to go when it comes to vacations and other leisure trips. For example, Internet sites Tripadvisor and Scott’s Cheap Flights — both

Chloe Wohlforth, pictured with her father Martin, who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, said she still feels his presence in her life today. Courtesy: Chloe Wohlforth For Chloe Wohlforth, Sept. 11, 2001 started out like an ordinary day. That began to change as she was sitting

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images In just a few months, the new child tax credit featuring advance monthly payments has relieved financial instability and lowered food insecurity for many families with children. Continuing the expanded credit beyond 2021 would slash child poverty even further, reducing it to about 8.4% from 14.2%, a fall of

Money and mental health are connected. Financial problems can make you stressed, anxious or depressed, and those feelings, in turn, can have a big impact on your finances. In fact, anxious or stressed adults are more likely to engage in costly financial behaviors, including withdrawing cash from retirement accounts and borrowing from high-cost financial services

Getty Images Many Americans know the benefit of retirement savings, yet few realize there’s a special incentive to set aside money for their golden years: the saver’s credit. The saver’s credit, formerly known as the retirement savings contributions credit, offers low- and moderate-income filers a write-off at tax time.    Currently, savers may claim up to

Signage outside the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images The top 1% of Americans may be dodging as much as $163 billion in annual taxes, according to a report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  This estimate widens the so-called tax gap — the shortfall between

Trevor Williams | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re like most people, you probably assume you know more than you think you do, even if you don’t realize it. That false sense of security allows us to be decisive in the face of great uncertainties. But when it comes to investing, that can backfire, according

Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Federal unemployment benefits lapsed on Labor Day. But there’s good news for Americans who’ve been waiting weeks or months for that aid to arrive: They can still collect back pay past the cutoff date. Workers who haven’t yet applied for the federal assistance can still do

shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images Good news for those struggling to save for retirement may be on the way. House Democrats are including measures to help people prepare for the long term in their $3.5 trillion federal budget plan. The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday released legislative proposals for portions of the

Thomas Barwick When it comes to income in retirement, one looming question confronts most individuals: How much money is enough? While the answer to that question in never black-and-white, recent headlines about the solvency of Social Security could be injecting more fear into that dilemma. Last week, the Social Security Administration released its annual trustees

MANDEL NGAN | AFP | Getty Images Democrats may change the rules for “mega” individual retirement accounts with more than $5 million to help fund their expansion of the country’s safety net. “Mega retirement accounts” are among roughly two dozen tax categories congressional Democrats are eyeing to help raise money for a $3.5 trillion spending

Getty Images Saving for retirement is an important part of a long-term financial plan, even if you don’t get help with a 401(k) through work. In 2020, some 33% of private industry workers didn’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Part-time workers, those in service

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questions IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig at a June 8, 2021 Senate Finance Committee hearing. Tom Williams | Pool | Reuters Congressional Democrats are floating a slew of taxes to help cover their $3.5 trillion budget plan, including new levies on the wealthy.   Senate Finance Committee Chairman

Zach Gibson | Getty Images News | Getty Images The Covid pandemic caused a backlog of nearly 8 million paper-filed business tax returns at the IRS in 2020, according to a report issued Tuesday by a U.S. Department of the Treasury watchdog. That represents a 3,230% increase relative to the end of 2019, when the

Tim Robberts | Stone | Getty Images While Americans know they need to save for retirement, many are still coming up short. More than half of U.S. workers between the ages of 40 and 73 have less than $50,000 set aside for their golden years, a survey from the Insured Retirement Institute found. Nearly 6

People wait in line in Louisville, Kentucky, as Kentucky Labor Cabinet reopened 13 regional Career Centers for in-person unemployment insurance services on April 15, 2021. Amira Karaoud | Reuters Enhanced federal unemployment insurance put in place during the coronavirus pandemic ended this weekend, after nearly a year and a half. That means some 9 million