Personal finance

Your monthly bill for Netflix and Spotify may be going up. States are trying to capitalize on Americans’ growing fervor for digital consumption of movies, TV, music and other media content by taxing monthly subscriptions for streaming entertainment services. That means that $12.99 bill you just paid for a February full of on-demand shows could

Daniel Grill | Getty Images When it comes to retirement, it’s no secret that women face an uphill battle financially. And while women’s retirement readiness is improving, there’s room for much more, according to new research from the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement. Women around the world share the same three career challenges: a

As college costs soar, financial aid can make all the difference. Still, many families wrongfully assume they won’t qualify and don’t even bother to apply. Each year, more than 1.7 million private scholarships and fellowships are awarded, worth more than $7.4 billion. Your family’s income doesn’t have to stand in the way. In fact, qualifying

Swell Media Who among us has suffered an airline delay or cancellation, or even been bumped from a flight? Plenty. Who’s been compensated for the inconvenience? Probably not very many. One Berlin-based firm, AirHelp, is trying to rectify that, educating flyers around the world of their rights to compensation — and, for a fee, helping

Payday Loan Store (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images) Interim Archives You’ll find the words in Utah’s constitution: “No imprisonment for debt.” And yet more than 3,000 people in the state were served arrest warrants arising from an unpaid loan between September 2017 and September 2018, according to a new report on payday loans by the

If you want to improve your financial know-how, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. From short online tutorials to extensive in-person bootcamps, the number of “Money 101” classes has ballooned since the Great Recession. And yet, when it comes to financial literacy, Americans are still falling far short. According to a survey by

Millions of households that hustled to get their tax returns to the IRS early could be waiting until March for their refunds. If you’re claiming the additional child tax credit or the earned income tax credit, the IRS cannot issue your refund before mid-February. An anti-fraud law requires the agency to use that additional time

Michael Bloomberg, billionaire and former mayor of New York, is the latest Democratic presidential candidate to turn his attention to the country’s $1.7 trillion outstanding student loan balance. “At its best, higher education serves as an engine of economic mobility and a pathway to the middle class,” the 78-year-old wrote in his $700 million proposal released

Sally Anscombe Don’t bet the house on a proposed tax incentive from the White House for investing — at least not yet. As campaigning around the 2020 presidential election heats up, President Donald Trump is weighing a round of tax ideas, including a plan to encourage American households to invest in the stock market. One

James Gorman, chief executive officer and chairman of Morgan Stanley, speaks during the International Economic Forum Of The Americas (IEFA) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday June 12, 2019. Photographer: Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg Financial services firms are moving out of their comfort zone. Some of the most recognizable names on Wall Street,

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg — whose wealth is estimated at $60 billion — says his tax return is probably thousands of pages long and he can’t use TurboTax to finish it. Most taxpayers don’t deal with such complications. While preparing taxes can be a headache and may involve a lot of pages, using online

Getty Images The IRS will soon start make house calls to high-income individuals who didn’t submit a tax return. Starting this month, the agency will send its revenue officers to visit people with income in excess of $100,000 and who failed to file Form 1040 in 2018 or in previous years. “These visits shouldn’t come

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a campaign event on February 17, 2020 in Richmond, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Justin Sullivan When Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proposed legislation last year to tax stock trades, he decried the “recklessness of Wall Street billionaires” and cited a goal of building an economy

Sa El, 35, says the key to fluctuating income is keeping money from leaking out. Source: Sal El Everything has pros and cons. In return for being your own boss, you give up the soothing, steady drip of regular pay. That hard-to-predict income is definitely one of the less-desirable things about entrepreneurship. Fluctuating income is

skynesher | E+ | Getty Images If you’re like many Americans, you’re carrying a balance on your credit cards. And the candidate you choose in November for president could have an effect on how well you grapple with those debts. The latest numbers from the Federal Reserve show that credit card balances climbed to $930

Tetra Images | Getty Images If you want to get your refund as quickly as possible, you’d better hustle that tax return out the door. The IRS has received 28.6 million tax returns for the 2019 tax year as of Feb. 7, and it anticipates receiving more than 150 million returns in total. Filers are

Peter Dazeley Tax season is in full swing — and that means it’s hunting time for scam artists hoping to rip off taxpayers. The Internal Revenue Service expects to receive around 150 million tax returns during this filing period, which began Jan. 27 and runs through April 15. Americans need to remain vigilant to guard

Even though it’s still early to file your taxes, the sooner you crunch the numbers on your return, the better off you could be. The IRS issued more than 111.8 million refunds for the 2018 tax year, with taxpayers receiving an average payment of $2,869. This year could bring an even bigger windfall, for those

Even though February isn’t known as a big sales month for cars, you’ll likely find some decent deals if you head to the dealership over this three-day holiday weekend. While some advertised specials may be pegged to Presidents Day, many deals last for the month. And with more of last year’s models still hanging around

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg gives the thumbs up as he embarks on his bus after speaking to supporters at the Viva Villa restaurant in San Antonio, Texas on January 11, 2020. Mark Felix | AFP | Getty Images Mike Bloomberg released plans to shore up Americans’ retirement on Sunday, promising to increase Social Security