Personal finance

IronHeart | Moment | Getty Images Extra unemployment benefits offered by the American Rescue Plan may not arrive until mid-April or later, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday. The $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, which President Joe Biden signed Thursday, extended jobless aid to Labor Day and continued a $300 weekly enhancement to benefits.

Marko Geber | DigitalVision | Getty Images Millions of Americans who collected unemployment benefits last year got a new tax break from the American Rescue Plan. Here’s how it works. $10,200 tax break President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill Thursday that waives federal tax on up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits

William Thomas Cain | Getty Images Those new $1,400 stimulus checks are arriving. While the majority of payments will be made by direct deposit, others will receive the money in the mail — as paper checks or debit cards. There could be some differences in what the U.S. Postal Service drops in your mail box

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images Jobless Americans should wait to file an amended tax return to get a new tax break on unemployment benefits received last year, the IRS said Friday. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which President Joe Biden signed Thursday, waives federal

The Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington, D.C. Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images The IRS should police wealthy Americans who intentionally dodge their income taxes with more vigor, according to a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. About 686,000 taxpayers who earn at least $200,000 a year had a combined $38.5 billion

Anna Flores and Higinio Garcia Photo: Gabriela Alvarez Remember student loan payments? It’s been almost a year now since the U.S. Department of Education allowed tens of millions of federal student loan borrowers to press the pause button on their bills because of the financial damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Around 90% of eligible

College dreams are not what they used to be. Up until this year, high school senior Jason Neuharth, 18, was set on attending a technical school in his home state of Minnesota. “I was adamant on going to college — this was going to be my future,” he said. But the last 12 months of

Tetra Images | Tetra images | Getty Images The rules governing flexible spending accounts are temporarily more generous to workers, thanks to two pieces of legislation. The American Rescue Plan — the $1.9 trillion Covid-relief package signed into law on Thursday by President Joe Biden — boosts the amount that companies can let workers put

David-Prado | iStock | Getty Images Those $1,400 stimulus checks are starting to hit bank accounts this weekend. The IRS announced on Friday that the first batch is going out via direct deposit. It is unclear exactly how many of the estimated 159 million payments are scheduled to be sent in this first deployment. The

Justin Samuels, 44, was living in Malaga, Spain, when the Covid pandemic hit. The freelance writer is fighting New York for unemployment benefits. Justin Samuels Justin Samuels was living abroad in Malaga, a Spanish port city in the country’s south, along the Costa del Sol, when the pandemic chaos began to unfurl. It has led

KamiPhotos | iStock | Getty Images Many people’s budgets look a lot different during Covid. Unemployment benefits and direct payments have replaced paychecks in the income ledger. For many, that aid is still not enough, and food and rental assistance as well as protections against eviction have also been necessary to keep families afloat. Fortunately,

bymuratdeniz President Joe Biden signed $1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief into law on Thursday, which means $1,400 stimulus checks could start to reach Americans in the coming days. Payments should go to about 159 million households. “People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend,” White

For many, that money has served as a lifeline during the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent economic crisis. Americans are using the funds to buy food and household supplies, pay rent and utility bills and make car payments, according to new data from the Census Bureau. They are also paying down debt and saving more than they have in decades. 

Cunaplus_M.Faba | iStock | Getty Images The government will pay for laid-off workers to maintain their employer-sponsored health insurance through September, thanks to a provision in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed into law on Thursday by President Joe Biden. As part of the relief bill, the government will subsidize COBRA premiums for former workers

Ungureanu Vadim | EyeEm | Getty Images Student loan forgiveness is now tax-free, thanks to a provision included in the $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus stimulus package that President Joe Biden signed into law on Thursday. Formerly, any student loan debt canceled by the government was considered taxable and levied at the borrower’s normal income tax

If you’ve discovered your 2021 Medicare Advantage Plan is not a good fit for you, now is the time to do something about it. Through the end of March, Advantage enrollees can either drop their plan and return to basic Medicare (Part A hospital coverage and Part B outpatient care) or switch to another Advantage

Ika84 | E+ | Getty Images Private health insurance through the nation’s public exchanges is set to become more affordable — at least for a couple of years. The $1.9 trillion Covid relief package, which received final congressional approval Wednesday and will soon head to President Joe Biden for his signature, includes provisions that will

Ting Shen/Xinhua via Getty Images The IRS will be able to send money electronically for taxpayers who filed returns with direct deposit or bank account information. The government will send paper checks or debit cards to those households for which Treasury cannot determine a bank account. The IRS will use information on 2020 tax returns

Getty Images Congress is poised to authorize new $1,400 stimulus checks, but this time some people with unpaid debts could have that money garnished. The House of Representatives is due to pass the $1.9 coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday, which includes a third round of direct payments. From there, it will go to President Joe

Ika84 | E+ | Getty Images It could become more affordable for laid-off workers to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance, thanks to a provision in the Covid relief bill making its way through Congress. As part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, the government would pay for former employees to maintain health coverage from their