Tax questions, answered plainly
Short articles on the situations people actually search: a refund that is late, a first year of gig work, a new baby, a storm, a letter from the IRS. Each one is labeled with the tax year it describes and the date we last reviewed it.
Basics
How a return fits together: who files, which status, what a deduction or credit actually does.
Which filing status you should use
The five filing statuses, the head of household test people get wrong, what married filing separately costs you, and when a widowed spouse files jointly.
Do you have to file a return this year?
The income thresholds that force a return, the rules for self-employment and for dependents, and why filing anyway is often worth it when you do not have to.
Deductions and credits are not the same thing
A deduction lowers the income you are taxed on; a credit lowers the tax itself. What that difference is worth, and which credits can pay out as a refund.
Standard deduction or itemize: how to tell
What the standard deduction is worth for 2025, what itemizing on Schedule A actually counts, and the simple test that decides which one belongs on your return.
Who counts as your dependent
The qualifying child and qualifying relative tests in plain language, who wins when two people claim the same child, and what a dependent is worth to you.
Where your refund comes from, and when it arrives
A refund is your own overpayment coming back, not a bonus. How withholding and credits produce it, when to expect it, and what tends to hold one up.
Refunds & filing
Dates, statuses, and why the number changed.
When can I file, when is it due, and when does the refund come?
The season calendar for a 2025 return: when the IRS started accepting returns, the April deadline, the extension date, refund holds, and next season.
Where's My Refund says "still processing": what each status means
The three stages the refund tracker shows, what the processing messages mean, why the tool is all your preparer can see, and when calling is worth it.
Free ways to file, and how to choose a preparer who signs the return
The four free routes to filing a federal return this season, who qualifies for each, and the checks that separate a real preparer from a ghost.
IRS transcript codes 570, 971 and 846, explained
What an account transcript is, what the common transaction codes on it actually say, what a hold next to a notice means, and where the refund date shows up.
Why do I owe taxes this year?
The seven reasons a return flips from a refund to a balance due, how to tell from your own return which one it was, and the change that stops it repeating.
Why is my refund smaller than last year?
A shrinking refund and a new balance due have the same causes. What moved, what an offset takes before the money reaches you, and how to read the difference.
Refund advance loans: how they work and what they cost
What a refund advance loan really is, how a refund transfer differs, what comes out of your refund, and why the wait it saves is usually short.
How long to keep tax records, and which ones
Three years covers most returns, six if income was badly understated, and forever if you never filed. Property and retirement papers outlive all of them.
Using the IRS
Step by step: your account, transcripts, payments, notices.
How to create your IRS online account with ID.me
The documents to have ready, the sign-in steps, what to do when identity verification fails, and what the account actually shows you once you are in.
How to get your IRS transcripts, and which one you need
Five transcript types, what each one proves, how to pull them online or by mail, and which one a lender, a student aid office or a missing W-2 calls for.
How to use irs.gov without getting lost
The eight places on the IRS site that answer most questions, how to search it, and why the official site is the only one worth trusting with your data.
How to pay the IRS: Direct Pay, card, check, or a plan
The free way to pay from a bank account, what a card costs, how to pay by check or cash, and what to do when the balance is more than you have on hand.
How to check on a refund, an amended return, or a payment
Three different IRS trackers answer three different questions. Which tool to use, what each one needs from you, and when to stop refreshing and call.
How to respond to an IRS notice online
The Document Upload Tool sends your reply to the IRS without a trip to the post office. What you need, what to send, and the proof to keep afterwards.
How to let your preparer talk to the IRS for you
Form 2848 lets someone act for you, Form 8821 only lets them look. How to approve a request in your own account, the years it covers, and how to revoke it.
How to update your address, name or bank details with the IRS
Form 8822 moves your address, the Social Security Administration handles a name change first, and bank details can only be fixed before the return goes in.
Paychecks & withholding
What comes out of a paycheck, and what the myths get wrong.
A mid-year withholding checkup
How to check what your paychecks are withholding for 2026, what the estimator needs from you, and how a new W-4 fixes a refund or a balance that is too big.
Are bonuses taxed at a higher rate?
A bonus is withheld differently, not taxed differently. What the flat supplemental rate does to your pay, and why the return settles the difference in April.
Will a raise push me into a higher bracket and cost me money?
Brackets tax layers of income, not all of it. A worked example of what a raise really costs, plus the two places where extra income genuinely does bite.
"Should I claim 0 or 1?" The W-4 no longer works that way
Allowances left the W-4 years ago. What replaced them, what each remaining step does, and how to get the effect people wanted from claiming zero.
RSUs, ESPP and stock options: the double-tax trap on your 1099-B
Your broker reports a cost basis that leaves out the part already taxed as wages. Here is why, where the right number lives, and how the adjustment is made.
Your teenager's first job: filing, withholding and claiming exempt
A dependent files on different thresholds from everyone else. When a teenager must file, when they should anyway, and why claiming exempt usually backfires.
Life events
Marriage, divorce, a baby, a death, a move, a layoff.
New baby: the credits, the paperwork, and the account
The number to apply for at the hospital, the credits a first child unlocks, how care costs are covered, and the new savings account with a one-time deposit.
Getting married: what changes on your taxes
The name change comes first, then one decision about filing jointly or separately, two new W-4s, and one Texas wrinkle about community property income.
Getting divorced: status, the kids, the house, support
Your filing status turns on the last day of the year, support is not deductible under current agreements, and the house transfer usually has no tax at all.
Moving to Texas: your last return for the old state
Texas has no personal income tax, but the state you left still wants a part-year return. What it covers, what proves your move, and where the W-2 goes wrong.
Living in Texas, working remotely for an out-of-state employer
Your federal return is the same. Whether the employer's state can tax your wages depends on where you work, and on a rule a few states apply differently.
When a spouse or parent dies: the final return and what comes after
One last individual return covers the year of death, someone has to sign it, and a separate return begins only if the estate itself earns enough income.
Married filing separately for student loans: is it worth it in Texas?
Filing apart can lower an income-driven loan payment, but Texas community property law splits your wages in half on the return and takes several credits away.
Caring for an aging parent: dependents, medical costs, head of household
A parent can be your dependent without living with you, siblings can agree who claims them, and the medical bills you paid may still count on your return.
Losing a job: severance, unemployment, the 401(k) and health coverage
Severance and unemployment are both taxable, unemployment usually arrives with no tax taken out, and cashing out a retirement plan is the costliest choice.
Side income & gig work
Apps, platforms, creators, rentals, cash.
1099-K in 2026: what payment apps will report
The reporting threshold payment apps and marketplaces use for 2026, why a form can arrive below it, and what to keep so the income is reported right.
Driving for DoorDash, Uber or Instacart: a first-year tax guide
The forms the apps send, why the number is too high, the mileage deduction that does most of the work, and the payments nobody withheld for you.
Do I have to report cash, Zelle and Venmo income?
Whether a form arrives has nothing to do with whether income is taxable. What each app reports, what a gift is not, and the records that settle the question.
Content creators: OnlyFans, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok income
Platform payouts are business income, free products count at their value, and the forms arrive late. What a creator owes, what to deduct, and when to pay it.
Selling on Etsy, eBay and Facebook Marketplace: hobby or business?
Clearing out a closet is not a business. Where the line sits, what to do with a 1099-K for personal items, and why the sales tax on your listings is not yours.
Can I deduct my car, phone and internet? Mixed-use expenses
Anything you use for work and for life is deductible only in proportion. How to find the percentage, which car method to pick, and why employees get nothing.
Airbnb and short-term rentals: Schedule E or C, and the 14-day rule
Whether you file Schedule E or Schedule C turns on the services you provide, and a Texas host also collects state hotel occupancy tax from most guests.
Your first rental property: Schedule E from day one
Depreciation is not optional, a repair and an improvement are treated very differently, and the loss you can use against other income has an income limit.
Hobby or business: when the IRS says your side hustle isn't a business
A hobby reports its income but cannot deduct its expenses. What the IRS weighs, the profit years that create a presumption, and what a loss year costs.
Small business
Starting out, Texas filings, hiring, paying contractors.
Quarterly estimated taxes for 2026: dates and how much
Who has to send estimated payments during 2026, the four due dates, the safe harbors that keep a penalty away, and a simple way to set the money aside.
Should your business be an S corporation?
What the S corporation election saves, what it costs to run, how a reasonable salary limits the benefit, and when staying a sole proprietor is better.
Texas franchise tax: the May 15 report every LLC still has to file
Texas has no income tax but it does have a franchise tax report. Who owes nothing, what still has to be filed, and what forfeiture costs a Houston LLC.
Starting a business: EIN, sole proprietor or LLC, and startup costs
An EIN is free and not always needed, an LLC changes liability more than tax, and the money you spent before opening has its own deduction rule.
Paying contractors: W-9s, the 1099-NEC, and the 2026 threshold
The reporting threshold for payments to contractors rose for 2026. Collect a W-9 before the first payment, and file the forms at the end of January.
Texas sales tax for small businesses: permits, rates and filing
Who needs a Texas sales tax permit, what the state and local rates add up to, which services are taxable, and what changes when you sell on a marketplace.
Hiring your kids in your business
A child on the payroll can be a real deduction, and payroll tax rules differ by age and by how your business is organized. What holds up, and what does not.
Business meals, travel and the receipts that survive an audit
A business meal is half deductible, travel meals too, entertainment not at all. What the IRS counts as travel away from home, and what a record must show.
Investing & crypto
Gains, dividends, brokers' forms, betting.
Capital gains basics: what your 1099-B is telling you
Short-term and long-term are taxed differently, basis decides the gain, losses net against gains, and the amount you can deduct against wages is capped.
Crypto taxes and the new Form 1099-DA
Brokers now report digital asset sales to the IRS. What the first forms show, why yours may have no cost basis, and how to avoid a tax bill on phantom gains.
Gambling and sports betting: winnings, losses, and the 2026 change
Every win is income even without a form, losses only help if you itemize, and from 2026 only part of your losses count. What to record before you need it.
Do I pay tax on stocks I haven't sold?
Growth in a taxable account is not taxed until you sell, but dividends and fund distributions are taxed in the year they are paid, even when reinvested.
Savings interest, CDs, I bonds and Treasuries: what's taxable
Interest is ordinary income, but the year you report it differs by product. The savings bond choice, the education exclusion, and what Texas cannot tax.
Home & property
Buying, selling, storms, property tax, inheritance.
Buying your first home: what is and isn't deductible
Most of what you paid at closing is not deductible. Mortgage interest and property tax are, points have their own rule, and mortgage insurance changes in 2026.
Selling your home: the exclusion and the 1099-S
Most home sales are not taxed at all. The ownership and use tests, the partial exclusion, and why a 1099-S means you report the sale even when nothing is owed.
Storm and flood damage: casualty losses after a federal disaster declaration
A Houston homeowner's guide to casualty losses: when damage is deductible at all, how the number is built, and the election that pulls a refund forward a year.
Solar and EV credits ended: what still counts on a 2025 return
The home energy and clean vehicle credits have closing dates behind us. What a 2025 return can still claim, which forms carry it, and what 2026 buyers face.
Property tax and the sales-tax deduction: what Texans can actually deduct
With no state income tax, Texans deduct sales tax instead, and property tax counts too. Both sit under one cap, and the homestead exemption comes first.
Inheriting a house: stepped-up basis and selling
Basis generally resets to the value at the date of death, so a house sold soon after often produces little or no gain, and the sale counts as long-term.
Retirement & seniors
Social Security, withdrawals, RMDs, Medicare, disability.
Is Social Security taxable? The real formula, and what the senior deduction changed
Benefits are taxed on a formula most people have never seen. How combined income works, what the new senior deduction did and did not do, and how to withhold.
Cashing out a 401(k) early: the penalty, the exceptions, the withholding
An early withdrawal costs income tax, an extra ten percent, and a fifth of the money withheld up front. The exceptions that apply, and the sixty-day escape.
Inherited IRAs: the 10-year rule and the penalty the IRS stopped waiving in 2025
Most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA within ten years, and some must withdraw every year. The tax for missing one is no longer waived.
Is disability income taxable? SSDI, SSI, VA, workers' comp and private plans
Five kinds of disability money, five answers. Two are never taxed, one follows the Social Security formula, and one depends on who paid the premiums.
Required minimum distributions and giving from your IRA
Withdrawals become compulsory at a set age, the first has a later deadline than the rest, and giving straight to charity can satisfy the requirement tax free.
Roth or traditional, and what a Roth conversion costs
One gives a deduction now, the other tax-free withdrawals later. The income limits, the two five-year clocks, and the pro-rata rule that breaks the backdoor.
Medicare premiums and your tax return: the income surcharge
Your Medicare premium is set by the income on your return from two years back. What crosses the line, how the ladder works, and what to do if income falls.
Health, education & family
Marketplace credits, student loans, HSAs, medical costs, kids' accounts.
Marketplace insurance in 2026: the enhanced credit expired and the cliff is back
The temporary rules that removed the income ceiling and capped repayment are gone for 2026. What that means for your premium, your estimate and your return.
Student loans: the interest deduction, and forgiveness is taxable again
What the interest deduction is worth and where it fades out, why a discharge after 2025 can create a tax bill, and which forgiveness routes stay tax free.
Saving for a child: 529 plans and Trump accounts, side by side
One account pays for education tax free, the other is seeded by the government and behaves like an IRA. What each can be used for, and which to fund first.
Health savings accounts: the triple tax break, done right
Contributions are deductible, growth is tax free and medical withdrawals are untaxed. From 2026 a bronze or catastrophic marketplace plan can qualify you.
Medical expenses: what counts, and the floor you have to clear
Medical and dental bills help only above a share of your income, and only if you itemize. Braces and therapy qualify; a gym membership does not.
Scholarships, grants and the FAFSA: what's taxable
Money spent on tuition and required books is tax free; money spent on housing is not. Sometimes taxing part of it on purpose produces a larger credit.
Immigrants & first-time filers
ITINs, visas, money from abroad, filing for the first time.
Filing with an ITIN in 2025: what changed and what you can still claim
An ITIN lets you file and pay, and it decides which credits are open to you. What is available, what is not, and how a mixed-status household files.
How to get or renew an ITIN
Form W-7, the documents that go with it, and the three ways to apply without mailing your passport. Plus the rule that quietly expires an unused number.
Filing for the first time ever
What a tax return actually does, the documents you need, how to file for free, and the four mistakes that turn a simple first return into a letter in June.
Your first year on a visa: resident or nonresident for taxes?
A day count decides which return you file, students and teachers do not count their days at first, and an arrival year is often split between two statuses.
Money from abroad and accounts abroad: gifts, remittances and FBAR
A gift from family overseas is not income, but a large one has to be reported. So does a foreign bank account once the combined balance passes the threshold.
From ITIN to Social Security number: what to update and what to reclaim
Getting a Social Security number does not merge your tax history by itself. How to tell the IRS, what opens up, and which past years you can and cannot reclaim.
IRS letters & trouble
What a notice means, and what to do when it is worse than a notice.
You got a letter from the IRS. Read this first
A notice number, a response date, and a careful comparison to your return. What to do first when an IRS letter arrives, and how to spot a fake.
CP2000: the IRS says your income does not match
A CP2000 is a computer match against the W-2s and 1099s the IRS holds, not an audit and not a bill. What causes one, and how to answer it in time.
What an IRS audit actually looks like
Most audits are a letter asking for documents for two or three lines of one return. The three kinds, what to send, your rights, and how they end.
If you cannot pay what you owe by April
File on time anyway, pay what you can, then pick a plan. Short-term and long-term IRS payment options, offers in compromise, and what an extension does not do.
Refund delayed? The usual reasons, and the IP PIN
Credit holds, identity verification letters, a return already filed under your number, and offsets. Why refunds stall, and how an IP PIN prevents one problem.
Haven't filed in years: how to catch up without making it worse
There is no deadline to file a late return, but there is one to claim a refund. The order to file in, how to rebuild the numbers, and what relief exists.
The IRS took my refund for my spouse's debt: injured spouse relief
Form 8379 asks for your share of a joint refund back after it paid your spouse's debt, and Texas community property rules change how the share is worked out.
First-time penalty abatement, and the automatic relief replacing it
A clean three-year record can remove a late-filing or late-payment penalty. From summer 2026 that relief becomes automatic instead of requested.
Liens, levies and wage garnishment: what the IRS can take and how to stop it
A levy takes property, a lien only claims it. The notices that come first, the thirty days that matter most, and what an agreement or hardship status pauses.
Settlements, back pay and lawsuit money: what's taxable
Money for a physical injury is generally not taxed. Almost everything else is, including back pay and punitive damages, and the legal fees can be taxed too.
Dependents, custody & support
Who claims whom, and what happens when two people do.
Can I claim my girlfriend, boyfriend, adult child or parent?
The qualifying relative test in plain language: the four conditions, the income limit that stops most claims, and what claiming an adult is actually worth.
Someone already claimed my child: the rejected return and what to do
Your return bounced because a dependent was already claimed. The steps that protect your claim, the letter both parties get, and how to stop it next year.
Sharing custody: who claims the child, and what Form 8332 does not transfer
Nights decide the custodial parent, and only that parent can release the claim. What the release moves, what stays behind, and why the decree does not control.
Child support and alimony: taxable, deductible, or neither
Child support is never taxed and never deducted. Alimony depends entirely on the date of the agreement, and agreements from 2019 onward are neither.
Kids' investment income: custodial accounts and the kiddie tax
A child's investment income can be taxed at a parent's rate. When a child files their own return, when a parent can report it instead, and what that costs.
Forms explained
One article per form you are likely to receive or file, box by box.
What your W-2 is telling you
Every box on the W-2 explained in plain language, which boxes change your refund, what to do if one looks wrong, and what to do if the form never arrives.
How to fill out a W-4 so April is not a surprise
The W-4 sets withholding, not tax. What Steps 2, 3 and 4 actually do, why a second job breaks the math, and when to hand your employer a new one.
You got a 1099-NEC. Now what?
A 1099-NEC means you were paid as a contractor. Where that income goes, which costs come off it, the self-employment tax it triggers, and what to pay in.
What a 1099-K does and does not mean
A 1099-K reports gross payments through an app or marketplace. What triggers one for 2025, why the number is too high, and where each kind of payment goes.
Interest and dividends: 1099-INT and 1099-DIV
Which boxes are ordinary income, which get capital-gains rates, when Schedule B is required, and the extra tax that starts at higher income levels.
Retirement distributions on a 1099-R
Gross versus taxable, what the box 7 code is telling the IRS, the extra tax on an early withdrawal, rollovers, and when Social Security becomes taxable.
Unemployment and state refunds on a 1099-G
Box 1 unemployment is taxable and usually has no withholding. Box 2 state refunds often are not taxable. And what to do about a form for benefits you never got.
Your 1098 and the mortgage interest deduction
What each box on the mortgage interest statement means, the debt limit that caps the deduction, and why the form only helps if you itemize at all.
The 1098-T tuition statement, box by box
What each box on the tuition statement reports, why box 1 is not the number a credit is figured on, and what Form 8863 still needs from the school.
Marketplace insurance: the 1095-A and Form 8962
If anyone on your return had Marketplace coverage, Form 8962 is not optional. What the three columns mean, how reconciling works, and what repayment costs.
Schedule C, line by line, for a first-time filer
Who has to file a Schedule C, what belongs in income, the expense lines that matter most, and where the net profit goes once the form is finished.
Fixing a filed return with Form 1040-X
When an amended return is the right answer, when to leave it alone, how long you have to file one, and what to expect once it is in the IRS queue.
Credits & deductions
The credits and deductions that move refunds the most, and who qualifies.
What the 2025 tax law changed on your return this year
New deductions for tips, overtime, car loan interest and seniors, a larger standard deduction and child credit, a higher SALT cap, and what to keep records of.
The Earned Income Tax Credit: who qualifies and how much
A refundable credit for people who work, sized by how many children live with you, with strict Social Security number rules and a refund hold every year.
Child Tax Credit for 2025, explained
What the credit is worth per child, who counts, how much of it can come back as a refund, and the Social Security number rule that is new this year.
AOTC or Lifetime Learning: which education credit
Two credits, one student, one choice a year. How the American opportunity and lifetime learning credits differ, what counts, and whose return they belong on.
Child and dependent care credit: daycare, camps and after-school
What care counts, how much of it the credit reaches, why both spouses need earned income, and what your provider has to give you before the return is filed.
The qualified business income deduction, explained
A deduction for business owners that costs nothing to claim and is easy to misread. What income qualifies, which form you use, and what it does not reduce.
Home office and mileage: what you can actually deduct
The two deductions self-employed people ask about most, the tests they have to pass, the two ways to figure each one, and who cannot claim them at all.
Giving to your church or charity in 2026: the deduction without itemizing
From 2026 a cash gift can be deducted even if you take the standard deduction. What qualifies, what does not, and the new floor that itemizers now face.