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If your student loans were forgiven last year, what does that mean for your tax bill?

Feb 15, 2024
Due to a temporary change in the law, student loan forgiveness is not considered federally taxable income. State tax laws vary, though.
Anyone who received forgiveness in 2023 or gets it in the next two years doesn’t have to worry about federal taxes.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Estimated taxes might be harder to figure out this year

Mar 30, 2021
Estimated taxes are usually predictable, but not this year because many businesses' 2020 income was so erratic.
Although the deadline for individual taxpayers was deferred, many businesses have to pay their quarterly estimate by April 15, and this tax season has been unpredictable.
Joaquin Corbalan/Getty Images

As state unemployment trust funds empty, employers face soaring taxes

Mar 24, 2021
States are scrambling to raise money — and changing their unemployment systems in other ways.
Owner Chris Knudson at Well 80 Brewhouse in Olympia, Washington. Knudson just started broadcasting Well 80’s weekly Tuesday Trivia Night live on the brewpub’s big-screen TVs for in-person diners, after holding the event virtually via Zoom for the past year during the pandemic.
Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace

Democrats' relief bill would expand earned income tax credit

Feb 23, 2021
Millions would become eligible, and the benefit could triple for some.
Sens. Richard Durbin, left, and Chuck Schumer discuss the COVID-19 relief bill. Tax policy changes backed by Democrats could make a big difference for low-income workers.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

IRS releases final rules on deductions for "pass-through" businesses

Jan 18, 2019
You won't find a lot of simple yes-and-no answers in the 247-page document.
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Confusion reigns for some businesses over "pass-through" deduction

Jan 14, 2019
Some companies are unsure whether a 20 percent income deduction applies to them.
Under the new tax law, LLCs and S corporations pay taxes based on their owner’s personal income instead of the corporate tax rate.
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Ahead of tax season, accountants are scrambling to understand the new law

Dec 21, 2018
It's been a year since Congress passed the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul. And there is still a lot accountants and lawyers don't understand about it.
Accountants are putting in long hours in order to understand the tax bill that was signed into law Dec. 22, 2017.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Midterms: Is it the economy, stupid?

Aug 16, 2018
You may have heard this phrase: “It’s the economy, stupid. ” And it usually is. Parties in power tend to do better when the economy is humming along, and voters are more likely to give them the boot when the economy’s not doing so hot. With low unemployment, a booming stock market and strong growth, […]
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, May 29, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. 
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An unintended consequence of the GOP tax law: bigger pensions for some

Jun 4, 2018
A decrease in the corporate tax rate gave companies more of an incentive to funnel money into defined-benefit pension plans.
There is a “considerable amount of concern that middle-income Americans are not saving enough for their retirement,” says Joseph Cordes of George Washington University.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images

Trying to squeeze through the pass-through loophole

Apr 5, 2018
Small businesses known as pass-throughs get a new deduction under the tax bill.
The deadline for filing taxes is approaching, but some people are already thinking the 2018 tax year.
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