Millions of Americans count on getting their tax refunds as soon as possible, but thanks to Congress, ASAP hasn't been all that soon this year. However, the IRS has worked through all the changes from the long-delayed fiscal cliff deal and is ready to start taking all of our tax returns.
Walmart released its fourth-quarter results Thursday morning, reporting a mixed bag on earnings and sales. But the big story of the day was the retail giant's February sales "disaster," which it blamed largely on tax issues.
It's hard enough doing your taxes in normal years. But with the major tax code changes the fiscal cliff deal created, this might be the time for even stalwart do-it-yourselfers to hire a professional tax return preparer.
In recent years, with low interest rates devastating the returns on conservative investment options, income-hungry investors have turned more and more to dividend stocks. And had there not been a fiscal cliff deal, even that last refuge for income investors could have disappeared.
The new year rally in global markets showed few signs of abating Monday ahead of a speech on monetary policy from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. A number of stock indexes around the world have hit multi-year highs as a key measure of volatility, the so-called VIX index, has fallen to a five-year low.
Buried deep in the American Taxpayer Relief act is a provision that will let a lot more workers convert their traditional 401(k) savings account into a Roth 401(k). Here's why doing that might be a good deal for you in the long term -- and why it might not.
The fiscal cliff compromise has been signed, clearing up a host of questions about taxes for the near future, and the year that just ended. But the long wait for answers left the IRS in limbo, and that may mean millions of refund checks will be delayed too.
The fiscal cliff compromise on taxes leaves critical issues of borrowing, spending and budget cutting unaddressed, and lawmakers have given themselves only two months to settle their differences. Here's a look at what's been resolved and what they left hanging.
The "fiscal cliff" compromise, even with all its chaos, controversy and unresolved questions, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year.
While the tax package that Congress passed New Year's Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013. That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring.
A weary House of Representatives passed legislation late Tuesday night that will prevent the long-feared fiscal cliff of broad tax increases and spending cuts. The bill's passage on a bipartisan 257-167 vote sealed a hard-won political triumph for President Barack Obama.
An agreement was reached late Monday between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell aimed at averting the fiscal cliff. Early Tuesday morning, the Senate passed the bill, and late Tuesday night, so did the House. Let's break down the key points of the deal.
The Senate passed legislation early New Year's Day to neutralize a fiscal cliff combination of tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in at midnight. The pre-dawn 89-to-8 vote set the stage for a final showdown in the House, where a vote was expected later Tuesday or perhaps Wednesday.
The stock market shot higher on Monday even as the "fiscal cliff" neared. By the time trading ended, Republicans and Democrats still hadn't reached a budget compromise %u2014- but investors were betting that they would.
