Personal Finance

College acceptance letters are already in the mail. Now high school seniors must decide their fate for September. Up until now, National College Decision Day, the deadline for high school seniors to choose which college they will attend, has always been May 1. This year, however, the global coronavirus pandemic and extreme economic uncertainty have pushed many

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy speaks after taking the oath of office in Trenton, New Jersey, January 16, 2018. Lucas Jackson | Reuters New Jersey homeowners whose finances have been affected by the novel coronavirus will get a 90-day reprieve on their mortgage payments, said Gov. Phil Murphy on Saturday. Lenders will also waive late

Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, speaks during a news conference at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York, U.S., on Friday, March 27, 2020. Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images New Yorkers are getting more time to submit their 2019 income tax returns to the Empire State. Individuals filing a New York

Yellow Dog Productions  What does the legislation do? The bill — the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act — expands unemployment insurance, a program enacted in 1935 to provide temporary income support for workers who lose their jobs. The legislation does three primary things: offers bigger unemployment checks, increases the duration of those payments and extends

Cabania | iStock | Getty Images Plus Congress has passed a $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, and you’re probably already counting up the money you could receive in relief checks — if you’re eligible. Generally, individuals who earn $75,000 or less qualify for $1,200 one-time payments, while couples making $150,000 or less may receive $2,400.

Small businesses are getting a potential lifeline from Congress. The massive $2 trillion economic rescue package — expected to get final approval from Congress on Friday — includes provisions aimed at helping smaller employers weather the economic storm brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. “We are cautiously optimistic that this will provide the cash flow

White flag blowing in the wind Derek Brumby After weeks of steep market declines, you may feel you’ve had enough, that you want your hard-earned money during these uncertain times with you, under quarantine. And who could blame you? Headlines warn us that we’re careening toward a global financial crisis uglier than 2008, and the

NoDerog | iStock | Getty Images As Congress pushes through a $2 trillion stimulus bill, some Americans can expect checks from the government to help them cope with the economic devastation stemming from the coronavirus crisis. Those payments are expected to be $1,200 for individuals, or $2,400 for those who are married and file income

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to reporters following the Senate Republican policy luncheon which both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence attended on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum | Getty Images The federal coronavirus relief bill would allow taxpayers to nab a $300 deduction for charitable giving –

katleho Seisa Congress may permit retirees to skip required minimum distributions from their retirement savings. The House coronavirus relief bill, which was released yesterday, contains a provision that waives for 2020 the required minimum distributions from individual retirement accounts and workplace retirement plans. A similar provision is in the latest version of the Senate bill.

The Treasury Department and the IRS are giving you more time to sock away money in tax-favored accounts – and have it count for 2019. The IRS announced that savers now have until July 15 to make 2019 contributions into their individual retirement accounts and their health savings accounts, which are typically paired with a high-deductible

Rep Ilhan Omar (D-MN) takes part in a discussion on “Impacts of Phobia in Our Civic and Political Discourse” during the Muslim Caucus Education Collective’s conference in Washington, July 23, 2019. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts introduced legislation on Monday that would suspend student loan

As the U.S. economy skids and many Americans scramble to make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic, one casualty may be credit scores. Some congressional lawmakers want to prevent that.  A Senate bill introduced last week would prevent negative information from reaching your credit report for at least four months, as the nation continues battling

BongkarnThanyakij It’s been a week since President Donald Trump announced he would waive all interest on federal student loans during the coronavirus outbreak. Brian Byrd’s debt is still growing. “Every day,” said Byrd, a 40-year-old software engineer from Seattle who owes around $50,000. “That clock has not stopped.” Byrd has called his student loan servicer,

Erica Cisneros, of San Anselmo, California, helps her daughters, third-grader Emilia and fourth-grader Eden, with schoolwork at their home. Both of the schools that the girls attend are closed because of COVID-19. Ezra Shaw It’s no fun thinking about scary things that may or may not happen. However, what’s even less fun is not being

cmannphoto | Getty Images Many Americans may soon get checks in their hands from the government. But Uncle Sam could also claw back some of that money. Information about how much those checks will be – and whether or not individuals will pay tax on them – will likely be hammered out in a deal

Princeton University’s campus was largely deserted as of March 18, 2020 as a growing number of colleges require students to leave for the remainder of the spring semester. Jessica Dickler | CNBC “Stay healthy, stay home,” reads a lit-up sign outside the gates of Princeton University. On campus, the majority of students are gone although

Tara Moore | Getty Images A  bill proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., calls for sending checks of $1,200 to $2,400 to most Americans as a result of the economic damage stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. Based on the language of the bill, most Social Security recipients should be covered. But whether that will

US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced on Friday that student loan borrowers could put their monthly payments on pause for at least 60 days during the coronavirus outbreak.  DeVos said this pause, coupled with the suspension of interest on student

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) Aaron P. Bernstein | Reuters Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., has proposed giving taxpayers until July 15 to submit their 2019 income tax returns – 90 days from the original April 15 due date. The Tax Filing Relief for America Act, which Senators Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Angus King, I-Maine, are joining

If you have cash parked in a money market fund that invests in non-U.S. Treasury debt, the Federal Reserve says it’s got your back. Late Wednesday, the Fed announced a new program that will make loans to financial institutions that buy shares in “prime” money market mutual funds, whose investments include corporate bonds. It’s the

To prevent millions of Americans from running out of money amid the coronavirus, the government has announced plans to send out checks to them soon.  When Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the announcement about the cash infusion on Tuesday, universal basic income proponents felt validated. Now, the group of those calling for such a policy,

boonchai wedmakawand Financial scammers will likely try to steal money offered to Americans suffering from the negative economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic — and the public should be on its guard, federal officials warned on Wednesday. The White House has proposed making direct payments to American households as the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while flanked by Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin (R) during a briefing about the coronavirus in the press briefing room at the White House on March 17, 2020 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer | Getty Images Taxpayers will get a three-month reprieve to pay the income taxes they owe

AndreyPopov | Getty Images Some good news – in the form of money – may be coming to Americans soon. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the Trump administration plans to move “immediately” to send money to Americans as the coronavirus cripples the economy. “Americans need cash now,” Mnuchin said, indicating checks could

Another wrinkle for the travel industry may emerge as the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues its rapid spread across the country: airline passengers who don’t have proper identification to fly domestically beginning in October. At least two states have now asked the federal government to delay the enforcement date for when travelers must comply with

The Internal Revenue Services offices in Washington, D.C. Adam Jeffery | CNBC The Trump administration has called for a delay to the April 15 tax deadline. Taxpayers are still in the dark on when they’ll need to submit paperwork and pay Uncle Sam. In fact, today – March 16 – marked a deadline for small businesses,

In a rare move, the Federal Reserve announced an emergency rate cut of 50 basis points in response to the growing threat from the coronavirus outbreak. It’s the first time the Fed has cut rates by half a percentage point since late 2008.  “The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said

Many international students are not able to come to the U.S. and that could cause a significant disruption in our college system. For years, there has been a major influx of students studying in this country, particularly from China. In fact, one-third of all the international students in the U.S. come from China — more

DenisTangneyJr Students at Georgetown College in Kentucky received a one-two punch of bad news this week. Amid the coronavirus, classes would be moved online until at least April and most students would need to vacate their dorms.  Oh, and they shouldn’t expect a refund.  “[T]he college is not in a financial position to offer any rebates