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High-income taxpayers help some states stay above water

Mar 1, 2021
Overall, state revenue is down 1.9%, but 22 states have higher revenue than a year earlier. Tech and Wall Street have helped.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images

States battle over remote-worker income tax

Dec 24, 2020
Which state should get income taxes when out-of-state workers no longer go to the office?
A teacher works in her home office in Virginia. Some workers have stopped commuting across state borders, provoking skirmishes over tax revenue.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

45 states just started a new fiscal year. None are celebrating.

Jul 8, 2020
Tax revenue is down, expenditures are up and the future's uncertain.
Public health workers in Denver check in with people waiting to be tested for COVID-19 in March. The fight against the pandemic has contributed to state budget shortfalls.
Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Cities and states that lean on sales and income tax to operate have taken a hit

Apr 15, 2020
A place like Columbus, Ohio, relies on income tax for 75% of its revenue.
With much of the economy shutdown and more and more people out of work, cities and states aren’t collecting as much in taxes.
Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images

For people who qualify, free tax prep assistance is available

Apr 9, 2018
As tax day approaches, many Americans are rushing to tax preparers for paid help. The National Society of Accountants found in a survey last year that Americans paid tax preparers $176 on average to file federal and state returns. That’s without itemized deductions. But what programs are available for people with low incomes so that […]

New York's wealthy balk at the new tax law

Jan 9, 2018
They pay half of the city's income tax revenue. Now that they can't deduct it, some may leave.
At age 71, Diane Gilman finally got her dream penthouse on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Ryan Kailath/Marketplace

Cutting the federal income tax rate is just a start, some economists say

Nov 9, 2017
Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser, told CNBC this morning that it would be hard for the current tax bill to reduce federal tax rates further for a family earning median income without going into negative tax rates. But federal income tax is just one kind of tax that everyone pays.  Click the audio […]

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Key question on the GOP tax plan: What’s your ZIP code?

Nov 2, 2017
The GOP tax bill as written gets rid of deductions for state and local income taxes and would cap state and local property tax deductions at $10,000. It would also limit the mortgage interest deduction by capping it at $500,000 for future home purchases. These provisions will have a bigger impact in some parts of […]

Think of the alternative minimum tax as the government's 2-drink minimum

Oct 9, 2017
It's designed to ensure all taxpayers pay their fair share, including those with higher incomes.
Alternative tax filers have to file their taxes twice, under form 1040 and form 6251. The higher tax is paid.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

How tax withholding became the norm for American workers

Jul 31, 2017
Not everyone thinks automatic deductions for state and federal taxes are a good idea.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images