No $2,000 stimulus check has been approved, scheduled, or confirmed by the IRS, Treasury, or Congress as of mid-2026, despite widespread posts claiming a payment is on the way. What’s actually happening is a proposal — a "tariff dividend" idea floated by President Trump — that hasn’t passed Congress and doesn’t have a payment date. […]
The IRS deadline to file a protective claim for COVID-era penalty and interest refunds passed on July 10, 2026. If you didn’t file by then, the window to preserve that specific refund right has closed — even though the underlying legal fight over whether the IRS wrongly charged those penalties is still ongoing. What This […]
The Child Tax Credit rose to $2,200 per child and the Earned Income Tax Credit rose to as much as $8,231 for 2026, after the "One Big Beautiful Bill" signed in July 2025 permanently raised the CTC and indexed it to inflation for the first time. What Changed for the Child Tax Credit The maximum […]
Enhanced ACA marketplace premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, and the impact is now showing up in 2026 bills — average monthly premium payments after tax credits rose 58% for enrollees who kept the same plan, with some estimates putting the increase over 100% for certain subsidized households. What Actually Expired The […]
The IRS quietly opened electronic filing for Form 843 — the form used to claim a refund or abatement tied to penalties and interest charged during the COVID-19 disaster period — ahead of a July 10, 2026 deadline reported in the news. If you’re reading this after that date, the deadline described below has already […]
The Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child for the 2025 tax year — and even if you owe little or no federal income tax, you may still get money back through the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit. Here’s exactly who qualifies, verified directly from IRS.gov. Three Related but Different Credits […]
If you’re a low- to moderate-income worker, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) could be worth up to $8,046 — and unlike many credits, it’s refundable, meaning you can get it as a refund even if you owe no tax. Here’s who qualifies for tax year 2025 and how much you might get, based directly […]