Taxes
Filing, withholding, credits and the letters the IRS sends when something is wrong. Explained in plain language, with the current year's figures named and sourced — and flagged where the IRS itself has not published them yet.
How to File Your Taxes for Free in 2026
IRS Direct File is gone. Four free options are still standing — Free File, Fillable Forms, VITA/TCE and MilTax — plus the cases where free genuinely isn't enough.
How the W-4 Actually Works (and How to Fix Your Withholding)
Allowances are gone, Step 2 is the one that matters, and two jobs means the standard deduction gets applied twice. Here's the arithmetic and how to correct it mid-year.
Tax Deductions vs. Tax Credits: Why a Credit Is Worth More
The same $2,000 is worth $440 as a deduction and $2,000 as a credit. Here's the arithmetic at one income, plus what refundable actually means.
Standard Deduction vs. Itemizing: When Itemizing Actually Wins
The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 single and $32,200 joint. With the SALT cap now at $40,000, a specific group of homeowners is back in play.
That IRS Letter: What Each Notice Number Actually Means
CP2000 is a proposal, not a bill. LT11 starts a 30-day clock you cannot get back. The code in the upper right corner is the whole message.
How to Amend a Tax Return (and the Deadline Nobody Knows)
Form 1040-X has a hard expiration date: three years from filing, or two from paying. Most people who want to amend shouldn't — and most who should, don't know.
Self-Employment Tax Explained: The 15.3% and What to Do About It
Freelance income carries 15.3% before income tax touches it. Two adjustments soften that, four due dates govern it, and one safe harbor makes it predictable.
The Earned Income Tax Credit: Who Qualifies and Why It Goes Unclaimed
About one in five eligible households never claims it, and the average credit is $2,916. Here are the tests, the tables, and the refund date the law forces.
The Child Tax Credit, Explained: Amounts, Tests, and the Age-17 Cliff
$2,200 per child, up to $1,700 of it refundable — until a birthday drops it to $500. Here are the seven tests and the arithmetic behind the refundable portion.
IRS Impersonation Scams: How to Tell a Real Notice From a Fake
The IRS normally makes first contact by mail. Here's the 2026 Dirty Dozen list, how ghost preparers make money, and every address for reporting a scam.
Capital Gains Tax on a Home Sale: The $250,000 Exclusion
Most sellers owe nothing. The ones who owe usually owe because they threw away twelve years of improvement receipts — here's the arithmetic that proves it.
Moving to Another State: What Happens to Your Income Tax
Domicile doesn't move because you did. Between statutory residency tests, part-year returns and the remote-work rule, two states can tax the same paycheck.