Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg chokes up on witness stand, claims his ‘personal greed’ drove $1.7 million tax-avoidance scheme

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s longtime finance chief choked up on the witness stand Thursday, saying he betrayed the Trump family’s trust by scheming to dodge taxes on $1.7 million in company-paid pe...

Opinion: Opinion: What Bullard got wrong about a 7% fed funds (and why he said it anyway)

An influential Federal Reserve official briefly spooked the stock SPX, -0.31% and bond TMUBMUSD10Y, 3.769% markets on Thursday by warning that the central bank may have to raise interest rates much fu...

Dear Tax Guy: ‘What happens if I sell my existing house to pay off the loan on my new home? How much tax will I owe?’

Greeting, readers. I’m Andrew Keshner and I’m the tax reporter for MarketWatch. I write about the controversies, open questions and best strategies about taxes. For the purposes of this new column, th...

As Pandemic Aid Dries Up, Businesses Chase Covid Tax Credit

A temporary tax break for small businesses has spawned a cottage industry of advisory firms tapping into federal pandemic aid, raising alarms at the Internal Revenue Service that some claims are going...

Judge Blocks Student Debt Relief Program. What That Means for Navient.

A federal judge from Texas blocked President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program on Thursday. This could be good news for lenders like Navient In August, Biden announced his student loan debt plan...

Market Losses Can Reduce Your Tax Bill for Years. Here’s How.

This year’s market mayhem could shave your tax bill for years to come. With just weeks to go, 2022 is poised for steep negative annual returns in both stocks and bonds, a correlated collapse that has ...

‘Voters are looking for help’: With control of Congress too early to call, here are 3 burning tax questions

A day after midterm elections, it remains uncertain whether either party will end up with Congressional control or whether it will be a divided Congress — and that has consequences for these tax quest...

‘It’s a touchy subject’: My in-laws live in our basement. They gave us our 20% down payment. Should we charge them for renovations?

Last year, my husband and I approached my in-laws to see if they wanted to live with us. We had learned that my father-in-law had terminal cancer but could still live five to seven years in remission,...

‘Am I being ripped off?’ I moved into my husband’s home. I pay for groceries. The rental income from my apartment goes into our joint savings.

I read one of your previous columns regarding the boyfriend who wants the letter writer to move in. My case is similar, but we have already made a decision on how to structure our finances as they rel...

40% of households will pay no federal income tax this year. Why that’s good news.

Millions of workers are bouncing back — and making enough money to pay Uncle Sam. Some 72.5 million households or 40% of households will pay no federal income tax this year, down from the pre-pandemic...

IRS releases new federal tax brackets and standard deductions. Here’s how they affect your family’s tax bill.

America’s high inflation rate will produce a 7% increase in the size of the standard deduction when workers file their taxes on their 2023 income, according to new inflation adjustments from the Inter...

IRS sets new 401(k) limits — investors can save a lot more money in 2023

People can contribute up to $22,500 in 401(k) accounts and $6,500 in IRAs in 2023, the IRS said Friday. For 401(k)s, that’s an almost 10% increase from 2022’s contribution limit of $20,500. For IRAs, ...

New IRS tax brackets and standard deduction could save families hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Now, for the bad news.

In a time of rising costs, the Internal Revenue Service just raised income-tax brackets through new inflation adjustments for next year. It might feel tough sometimes to link the IRS with the concept ...

Opinion: Don’t have $13 million? The lifetime estate- and gift-tax exemptions for 2023 still matter to you.

The wealthiest families in the U.S. will get a bit of inflation-adjusted relief from the IRS in 2023, with the lifetime estate-tax exemption increasing to $12.9 million for individuals, up from $12.06...

How to save a bundle on your tax return

This is Part Two of our list of suggested year-end strategies. Part 1 discusses gaming the federal standard deduction, and managing capital gains and losses. The tax environment is getting friendlier ...

The Fed Has Another Problem. States Are Doling Out Stimulus Funds

A spending spree is coming, and it may do more harm than good. An analysis by Deutsche Bank economists shows that 20 U.S. states have recently enacted, or are in the process of enacting, stimulus prog...

This is how high interest rates might rise, and what could scare the Federal Reserve into a policy pivot

The stock market’s reaction to the latest inflation report Thursday underlined just how confused and fearful investors are. The S&P 500 SPX, +2.60% plunged as much as 3% shortly after the open as ...

Tax-Loss Selling Is Wall Street’s Refuge in a Down Market

Taxes aren’t due for more than six months—but it’s time to start thinking about tax-loss selling. That’s the term for selling a stock at a loss and using that to offset gains elsewhere in one’s portfo...

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway Could Be Among Top Payers of New Minimum Tax

Listen to article (2 minutes) WASHINGTON—A handful of large companies, such as Berkshire Hathaway and Amazon.com could bear most of the burden from a 15% corporate minimum tax President Biden signed i...

The Fed raised rates — retirees and near-retirees should do this

Retirees have to watch their spending, especially after the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike announced on Wednesday.  For the third time in a row, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it would rais...

With inflation, many retirees will pay more federal income taxes

The federal income tax is generally indexed for inflation. Most particularly, the income brackets to which the marginal tax rates apply are increased in line with the “Chained CPI-U.” While the chaine...

Yellen pledges to target high-earning Americans in bid to keep U.S. finances on ‘sound footing’

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday pledged to pursue tax increases for high-earning Americans in a bid to keep U.S. finances sound, as she gave a speech in Michigan on the Biden administ...

Compounding a disastrous year for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency: IRS proposes controversial new question about digital assets

The Internal Revenue Service could have a potential head-scratcher of a question about your crypto investments and what’s taxable, according to a major accountants’ association. For two years, the IRS...

MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor Sued for Alleged Tax Fraud in Washington, D.C.

By Vicky Ge Huang and Richard Rubin Aug. 31, 2022 6:17 pm ET Listen to article (2 minutes) The District of Columbia attorney general sued Michael Saylor, the founder and chairman of software intellige...

‘Should I wait until the market calms down or pull the trigger now?’ I’m tired of my brokerage charging 1%, and I want to move my money now, but don’t want to lock in losses. What’s my move?

Is 1% too much to pay? Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: My current brokerage account charges 1% and also has high-priced funds so I’m thinking of moving my money.  My question is should I wait until...

My $10,000 in student debt is canceled. What should I do now? Save for retirement, invest in the stock market and bonds — or buy a home?

President Joe Biden made a long-awaited announcement in August that individuals earning less than $125,000 a year would have $10,000 in federal student loan repayments forgiven, but that would rise to...

Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Refunds Borrowers Who Paid During Pause

The few Americans who continued to make student loan payments during a federal pause enacted at the beginning of the pandemic will now be eligible for a refund. On Wednesday, President Biden announced...

Guitar cases and tissue boxes stuffed with cash: Yoga guru charged with not paying taxes while raking in $20 million

The leaders of a national chain of yoga centers that offered classes for free or for small cash donations, have been hit with major tax fraud charges for allegedly failing to pay any taxes for nearly ...

What $80 Billion More for the IRS Means for Your Taxes

The last Tax Report came out just as Congress took up the Inflation Reduction Act, and it discussed the bill’s $80 billion in proposed new Internal Revenue Service funding. Over half the new dollars w...

An investor’s guide to the Inflation Reduction Act — and what the bill means for your portfolio

If investors thought they were finding their footing in a volatile stock market, a new tax, climate and healthcare spending bill from Capitol Hill might have them trying again to regain their stabilit...

Billionaire Robert Brockman, Accused of Biggest Tax Fraud in U.S. History, Dies at 81

When Robert Brockman, one of the richest people in the country, was visiting his company’s offices near Dayton, Ohio, he stayed at budget motels and ate frozen dinners in his room, a former employee r...

Opinion: Why the Inflation Reduction Act is a very big deal for Americans

NEW YORK—Senate Democrats’ compromise bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, addresses not just inflation but also several key longstanding problems facing our economy and society. There is ...