To paraphrase Tolstoy , all simple families are alike; each complicated family is complicated in its own way. So when the tax code aims to...

Congress is moving toward rectifying the decade-long funding crisis at the IRS . The House is on track to adopt President Biden’s proposed $1.6 billion...

I —among many others —have called for more money for the Internal Revenue Service to enable it to collect even more money owed to the...

Change can be good, right? Maybe or maybe not. But if you are the Internal Revenue Service, “no change” audits never are good. And, for...

By including in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) a provision to exempt up to $10,200 of last year’s unemployment benefits from federal income tax, Congress...

Depressed that you won’t be dining out in a romantic restaurant with your loved one this Valentine’s Day? The Tax Policy Center has a prescription...

A few years ago, Ta-Nehesi Coates wrote a powerful essay, “The Case for Reparations” for The Atlantic . Reparations, he affirmed, would help close the...

Was it really last May that the House of Representatives passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would have authorized...

Would increasing the Internal Revenue Service’s funding for audits increase tax collections by more than the cost? Yes, if the funds are spent wisely.

It may be months before a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus is available to everyone. But it may be just a month or so before...

With Congress about to debate a second round of stimulus payments for tens of millions of people, it is important to review some lessons about...

Sometimes, the junk mail and the bills pile up unopened on my dining room table. The Internal Revenue Service has me beat. After the COVID-19...

I look forward to the day when the economy is strong enough that we can worry about the gigantic debt left behind by federal relief and recovery efforts.

Can heirs keep a Coronavirus Recovery Rebate that the Internal Revenue Service sent to a dead person? If the decedent passed away this year, the...

Defying the skeptics (including me ), the Internal Revenue Service last week began depositing direct payments of $1,200 for adults (plus $500 per child under...

Today’s advice: If you have not yet filed your federal income tax return, do not—repeat, do not—send the Internal Revenue Service a paper return—especially if...

One big unanswered question about the COVID-19 recovery rebates included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus (CARES) Act: What year’s income will the...

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act promises that low-income Social Security beneficiaries will automatically get their $1,200 COVID-19 rebate, but new guidance...

During last month’s Democratic presidential debate, moderator Gayle King asked the candidates what motto guided their lives. If Oprah’s best friend ever asks me, I...

Democracies become oligarchies when wealth is too concentrated. So begins a letter by Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman about presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’...

Take two tax credits, and call me in the morning. For many politicians that is the tried and true prescription for the economic and social...

More than 300 tax ideas explained

It's not exactly a "2-cent" tax.

I believe that every person in the tax policy game—from members of the tax-writing committees to research assistants at the Tax Policy Center—should compute their...

Following nearly a decade of cutbacks in the Internal Revenue Service’s funding, many observers are concerned about the agency’s ability to enforce the tax code...