Personal Finance

IronHeart | Moment | Getty Images Extra unemployment benefits offered by the American Rescue Plan may not arrive until mid-April or later, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday. The $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, which President Joe Biden signed Thursday, extended jobless aid to Labor Day and continued a $300 weekly enhancement to benefits.

William Thomas Cain | Getty Images Those new $1,400 stimulus checks are arriving. While the majority of payments will be made by direct deposit, others will receive the money in the mail — as paper checks or debit cards. There could be some differences in what the U.S. Postal Service drops in your mail box

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images Jobless Americans should wait to file an amended tax return to get a new tax break on unemployment benefits received last year, the IRS said Friday. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which President Joe Biden signed Thursday, waives federal

Tetra Images | Tetra images | Getty Images The rules governing flexible spending accounts are temporarily more generous to workers, thanks to two pieces of legislation. The American Rescue Plan — the $1.9 trillion Covid-relief package signed into law on Thursday by President Joe Biden — boosts the amount that companies can let workers put

College dreams are not what they used to be. Up until this year, high school senior Jason Neuharth, 18, was set on attending a technical school in his home state of Minnesota. “I was adamant on going to college — this was going to be my future,” he said. But the last 12 months of

David-Prado | iStock | Getty Images Those $1,400 stimulus checks are starting to hit bank accounts this weekend. The IRS announced on Friday that the first batch is going out via direct deposit. It is unclear exactly how many of the estimated 159 million payments are scheduled to be sent in this first deployment. The

Justin Samuels, 44, was living in Malaga, Spain, when the Covid pandemic hit. The freelance writer is fighting New York for unemployment benefits. Justin Samuels Justin Samuels was living abroad in Malaga, a Spanish port city in the country’s south, along the Costa del Sol, when the pandemic chaos began to unfurl. It has led

KamiPhotos | iStock | Getty Images Many people’s budgets look a lot different during Covid. Unemployment benefits and direct payments have replaced paychecks in the income ledger. For many, that aid is still not enough, and food and rental assistance as well as protections against eviction have also been necessary to keep families afloat. Fortunately,

bymuratdeniz President Joe Biden signed $1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief into law on Thursday, which means $1,400 stimulus checks could start to reach Americans in the coming days. Payments should go to about 159 million households. “People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend,” White

Audrey Saracco / EyeEm Almost one year ago, Congress authorized the first $1,200 stimulus checks to help Americans cope with the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Most of those payments – 74% – were sent by direct deposit to bank accounts. However, some 22% of Americans received the payments by paper check. People spent an estimated $66.6

Cunaplus_M.Faba | iStock | Getty Images The government will pay for laid-off workers to maintain their employer-sponsored health insurance through September, thanks to a provision in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed into law on Thursday by President Joe Biden. As part of the relief bill, the government will subsidize COBRA premiums for former workers

Robert Knopes/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is almost law — meaning additional unemployment benefits for millions of workers should soon be on the way. The Covid relief bill, passed Saturday by the Senate, extends jobless benefits through Labor Day and raises them by $300 a week. The

Ika84 | E+ | Getty Images Private health insurance through the nation’s public exchanges is set to become more affordable — at least for a couple of years. The $1.9 trillion Covid relief package, which received final congressional approval Wednesday and will soon head to President Joe Biden for his signature, includes provisions that will

Steven Heap/EyeEm/Getty Images The latest version of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus relief package could save millions of people who lost work due to the pandemic from a surprise tax bill. On Saturday, the Senate passed a version of the Covid bill that included a provision to waive taxes on the first $10,200 in unemployment

Ika84 | E+ | Getty Images It could become more affordable for laid-off workers to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance, thanks to a provision in the Covid relief bill making its way through Congress. As part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, the government would pay for former employees to maintain health coverage from their

Thomas Tolstrup The Senate has passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, helping to clear the way for millions of Americans to potentially receive $1,400 stimulus checks. But the new checks won’t be official until the House of Representatives and President Joe Biden give their final approval, which is expected to happen this week. The

The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan has inadvertently created a conundrum for the unemployed this tax season. The pandemic aid measure, which passed the Senate on Saturday, offers $1,400 stimulus checks and waives federal taxes on a portion of unemployment benefits received last

New York City housing advocates and tenants march to demand Gov. Andrew Cuomo cancel rent amid the pandemic on Oct. 10, 2020. Andrew Lichtenstein | Corbis News | Getty Images The new federal coronavirus relief bill that’s poised to be approved on Capitol Hill could put unprecedented sums of money into the hands of American

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WVA) removes his mask to speak as bipartisan members of the Senate and House gather to announce a framework for fresh coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief legislation at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 1, 2020. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Sen. Joe Manchin, the moderate Democrat from West Virginia, said

It’s been one year since the coronavirus crisis brought the economy to its knees, and some people may never financially recover. Despite recent signs of improvement — including modest job gains and progress on Covid-19 vaccine shots, which paves the way to a more open economy — about half of working adults in the U.S. said

Getty Images If you’re one of the millions of Americans struggling financially because of the coronavirus pandemic, more relief is on the way. Included in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package working its way through Congress and expected to be signed into law by mid-March will likely be direct payments of up to $1,400, an extension

Food is loaded as drivers in their vehicles wait in line on arrival at a “Let’s Feed LA County” food distribution hosted by the Los Angeles Food Bank on Dec. 4, 2020 in Hacienda Heights, California. FREDERIC J. BROWN | AFP | Getty Images Long-term joblessness is nearing a record, as Washington lawmakers rush to

JGI/Tom Grill | Tetra images | Getty Images Self-employed and gig workers who have been waiting for new rules that would mean larger forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program can now move forward with their applications. As of Friday, the Small Business Administration is ready to accept and process updated PPP applications from sole

You’ve probably received a phone call claiming your Social Security number has been compromised. For people who fall for such scams, the experience can add up to big financial losses. One elderly woman in Massachusetts lost more than $900,000 to a Social Security imposter scam operation, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for

chee gin tan | E+ | Getty Images The Small Business Administration on Wednesday released a new application and loan calculation formula for Paycheck Protection Program loans for self-employed and gig workers. For these small businesses, it will mean larger forgivable loan amounts going forward. The new PPP application for self-employed workers and sole proprietors

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., speaks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 25, 2021. Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images News | Getty Images Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday it’s a “prescription for trouble” to end jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and gig

The headquarters of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SAUL LOEB | AFP | Getty Images The Securities and Exchange Commission will probe conflicts of interest in financial advice this year with more vigor, at a time when market conditions may lead brokers to take advantage of clients with greater frequency, the federal agency

Luis Alvarez | DigitalVision | Getty Images The House of Representatives’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill includes a proposal that could help keep some seniors out of nursing homes. The bill calls for a 7.5% increase — or about $10 billion — in additional federal Medicaid matching funds for home- and community-based services. The extra

romrodinka | iStock | Getty Images You may already have noticed that you’re spending more to fill your car’s gas tank. Don’t be surprised if the price keeps ticking higher. The national average cost for a gallon of gas has increased by about 18 cents over the last two weeks, on the heels of reduced

Hispanolistic New $1,400 stimulus checks could be on the way to millions of Americans now that the House of Representatives has passed the latest coronavirus relief bill. The fate of those payments now rests in the hands of the Senate, which is due to begin considering the proposed legislation this week. The terms have called