Student loan debt is simply a part of college life now. With college tuition skyrocketing as wages stagnate, more and more people are turning to student loans to get an education. But that doesn’t stop the bill from eventually coming due, which is burying people under student loan debt for decades. Many people simply don’t…
Our schools stopped in-person instruction due to the pandemic in March. Within a few weeks, it was evident that we were going to have to make some changes. My daughter, who was studying for the German AP exam, was encouraged to practice at home. Since I could – at best – only order a Kolsch…
On August 6, 2020, the Senate adjourned without passing a stimulus package. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wasn’t involved in the talks, leaving Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to work directly with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. As of Friday…
Every Friday evening, my husband’s college friends have a Zoom happy hour: it’s practicing social distancing and being social at the same time. The conversations have been dominated, of late, by the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s affecting our families. One popular gripe? College tuition and room and board. During the pandemic, students are being…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued guidance for some taxpayers who took out federal or private student loans to finance attendance at a nonprofit or for-profit school. The guidance offers relief for students whose loans have been discharged by the Department of Education and who meet specific criteria. Typically, a discharge of indebtedness is…
My daughter has been sending me steady reminders about filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. If you–or your child–plan to attend college or grad school between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, the FAFSA form became available for filing on October 1, 2019. The form is used to apply for financial aid…
Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced a plan to cancel all U.S. student loan debt. The debt, which currently totals $1.6 trillion, affects nearly 45 million Americans. The proposal would be paid for by a new tax focused on investors. Sanders describes the tax as a “Wall Street speculation tax” and claims that it will…
Lives were changed during a 2019 commencement address at Morehouse College when self-made billionaire Robert F. Smith announced that he was paying the student debt for the entire class. Shortly afterward, those students, potential donors, and tax geeks like me began to wonder whether there would be any tax consequences as a result of the windfall (you can…
Life just got a whole lot better for some recent college graduates. During the 2019 commencement address at Morehouse College, self-made billionaire Robert F. Smith announced that he was paying the student debt for the entire class. The gift is estimated to be worth $40 million. It was the second gift that Smith announced during the commencement ceremony….
Some parents will do anything to get their kids into an elite university—even commit tax fraud. That’s what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston allege happened as part of a massive multimillion-dollar college entrance admissions scandal. At least 40 people, including actresses Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) and Lori…
