Personal finance

Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images President Joe Biden asked Congress for a $400 annual increase in maximum Pell grants for college students as part of a budget proposal issued Friday. The president also called to broaden eligibility to undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers. Pell grants are available to undergraduate students who

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at Rochdale Village Community Center in Queens, New York, on April 5, 2021. Brendan McDermid | AFP | Getty Images The highest-earning New Yorkers are about to be hit with a tax hike. The New York state Senate and Assembly late Wednesday passed a $212 billion budget proposal after

antongvozdikov / 500px | 500Px Plus | Getty Images Some newlyweds get an unwelcome gift from the IRS: a bigger tax bill.  While many couples end up paying less in taxes after tying the knot, some face a “marriage penalty” — that is, they end up paying more in taxes than if they had remained

HRAUN Linda, a lawyer from California who was laid off from her job in January, is like millions of others in the pandemic who are living without health insurance. But she discovered that the government would fully subsidize her COBRA health insurance premiums from April until September, thanks to a provision in the latest stimulus

Those armed with a newly minted diploma are entering a job market that suddenly looks a lot more promising than it did a year ago. Employers project hiring 7.2% more new college graduates from the Class of 2021 than they did from the Class of 2020, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges

Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a delay Wednesday to two debt-collection rules issued in the waning days of the Trump administration. Those rules broadly addressed how debt collectors may communicate with and make disclosures to consumers. Kathy Kraninger, the former CFPB head during the Trump administration, said the measures

Marcos Elihu Castillo Ramirez | iStock | Getty Images Considering a Medicare supplement plan, aka Medigap? Be sure to choose one based on more than just its cost. These policies, sold by private insurance companies, generally cover part or most cost-sharing — i.e., copays or deductibles — that comes with basic Medicare (Part A hospital

The Inn of Rosslyn, which is permanently closed due to pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic, on Feb. 5, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images Nearly a quarter of all unemployed workers in the U.S. have been out of work for at least a year, a stretch of joblessness dating to the early

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is warning mortgage servicers that they’re expected to help the surge of struggling homeowners in the pandemic and explore options other than foreclosure. “Responsible servicers should be preparing now,” CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio said in a statement. “There is no time to

JGI | Getty Images The IRS is automatically recalculating and refunding money to Americans who filed their tax returns without claiming a new tax break on unemployment benefits. However, taxpayers will have to file an amended tax return, in some cases, to get their maximum refund. That situation applies to people who, thanks to the

fstop123 | Getty Images The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a rule Monday to prevent a wave of foreclosures this fall, when certain Covid-era protections for homeowners are set to expire. The proposal, which would need final approval, generally prohibits mortgage servicers from initiating foreclosure proceedings against delinquent borrowers until after Dec. 31, 2021. The

In this article IRSA3-AR Getty Images This year’s tax season has brought with it a new opportunity to collect any unpaid funds from previous rounds of federal stimulus checks. But the amount you claim could be adjusted by the IRS, the agency said on Monday. A new feature called a recovery rebate credit enables people

Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images The IRS is still holding more than $1.3 billion in unclaimed tax refunds for those who didn’t file a return in 2017, the agency announced on Monday. The pot of money is owed to roughly 1.3 million Americans. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig warned that time is running out for these

In this article TVAG-FF Drazen_ | E+ | Getty Images Now that spring has sprung and it looks as if an end to the pandemic might be in sight, many Americans are again planning vacations — and they’re booking beach destinations in a big way, says Trivago. The online global accommodations platform, based in Dusseldorf,

Morsa Images | E+ | Getty Images A new set of $1,400 stimulus checks may tempt some recipients who don’t really need the money to instead dabble in the stock market. Depending on your goals, a brokerage account may not be your best bet, some experts say. A third round of direct payments was authorized

In this article ESGEX IPX-GB US President Joe Biden speaks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 31, 2021. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden’s infrastructure initiative — and the measures it contains to curb climate change — may be a tailwind for investors in so-called sustainable or ESG funds, according to financial

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images Many Americans will pocket some extra money this year and next courtesy of changes the American Rescue Plan made to a handful of tax credits. The $1.9 trillion Covid relief measure tweaked the child tax credit, earned income credit, and child and dependent care credit. The changes, especially those

Pamela Moore | iStock | Getty Images Plus Ah, the joys of the open road and carefree driving, until something happens that makes it cost even more.  There are events — i.e., accidents, arrests for driving under the influence, a lapse in coverage — that can drive up the cost of your car insurance. By

urbazon | E+ | Getty Images A big wad of debt owed to the IRS can be a soul-crushing burden, but the worst thing you can do is to ignore the issue. It will not go away. “It depends on the level of debt you have, but it can be overwhelming,” said Beverly Winstead, a

The days of working from home may numbered. While some companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Salesforce and PricewaterhouseCoopers, are dumping office space, others are ramping up their return-to-work plans.   Just this week, Google, one of the first major U.S. companies to send employees home last year because of the coronavirus, told staffers it is accelerating