Personal finance

Thomas Barwick | Stone | Getty Images For the first time, adult dependents will be eligible for a stimulus check. One year into the pandemic, many have an immediate need for the funds. Yet those with disabilities who want to save their stimulus money might instead consider putting it into a so-called ABLE account. This

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,

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

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

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

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

benedek | iStock Unreleased | Getty Images A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority when it banned evictions nationwide. U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese, who was nominated to the court by former President Donald Trump, sided with a group of property owners that

courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images The $1.9 trillion stimulus package that Congress aims to send to President Biden this week may make tax filing even more complex. For some Americans who have already filed, it may mean they need to amend their return. Last week, the Senate made changes to the Covid relief bill

Robert Knopes/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is almost law — meaning additional unemployment benefits for millions of workers should soon be on the way. The Covid relief bill, passed Saturday by the Senate, extends jobless benefits through Labor Day and raises them by $300 a week. The

Victoria Fricke is trying to juggle her work, virtual schooling and childcare during the pandemic. Source: Victoria Fricke Victoria Fricke had her first panic attack shortly after the coronavirus pandemic hit. The 34-year-old mother of two is a travel agent with her own business. The cancellations piled in as her children’s school and daycare shut

Steven Heap/EyeEm/Getty Images The latest version of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus relief package could save millions of people who lost work due to the pandemic from a surprise tax bill. On Saturday, the Senate passed a version of the Covid bill that included a provision to waive taxes on the first $10,200 in unemployment

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Congress may soon offer a tax break to unemployed Americans. States may not be so generous. The Senate passed a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill on Saturday that waives tax on up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits per person received in 2020. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the

VioletaStoimenova | E+ | Getty Images Out of sight, out of mind. For many people, that’s how their employer-offered 401(k) plan works. The employee chooses from a limited menu of investment options and, as long as the account continues a generally upward trajectory, the average investor has no reason to question their investment strategy nor any

Getty Images Hiring in the U.S. increased in February — and the unemployment rate ticked down slightly — but not all workers benefited from the larger-than-expected job growth. The unemployment rate is still significantly higher than February 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic began. And some workers are no longer counted as unemployed. “Over the same

The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan has inadvertently created a conundrum for the unemployed this tax season. The pandemic aid measure, which passed the Senate on Saturday, offers $1,400 stimulus checks and waives federal taxes on a portion of unemployment benefits received last

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many flights are canceled at Orlando International Airport in Florida on March 24, 2020. Stephen M. Dowell | Orlando Sentinel | Getty Images One year ago, I booked round-trip tickets on Frontier Airlines for a vacation in Florida. When the coronavirus outbreak grounded our plans, I was issued a voucher —

New York City housing advocates and tenants march to demand Gov. Andrew Cuomo cancel rent amid the pandemic on Oct. 10, 2020. Andrew Lichtenstein | Corbis News | Getty Images The new federal coronavirus relief bill that’s poised to be approved on Capitol Hill could put unprecedented sums of money into the hands of American

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WVA) removes his mask to speak as bipartisan members of the Senate and House gather to announce a framework for fresh coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief legislation at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 1, 2020. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Sen. Joe Manchin, the moderate Democrat from West Virginia, said