On today’s episode of the Taxgirl podcast, Kelly is joined by Elaine Maag and Professor Francine Lipman to explain the 2021 tax changes for families, especially the child tax credit.

Some believe the new stimulus will lift many children out of poverty, but tax policy experts say it’s not so simple.

All but one of the 10 most tax-friendly states experienced gains in population from 2019 to 2020, according to a new analysis from MoneyGeek, a personal finance technology company located in San Francisco.

Here's What You Need to Remember: The checks from the American Rescue Plan cannot be garnished for such debts as unpaid federal debts or back taxes, but they can be garnished for other debts, including medical bills, credit card debts, and other debts, providing that is ordered by a court.

The American Rescue Plan, which passed back in March, did not include a provision that would prevent private debt collectors from garnishing the stimulus checks. There were some attempts by lawmakers to close that loophole, during and after the legislative process, but it remained in place.

The government sent out an additional 1.1 million stimulus payments last week, but some low-income taxpayers won't receive them because of Congress' failure to keep the money from going to private debt collectors instead.

All but one of the 10 most tax-friendly states experienced gains in population from 2019 to 2020, according to a new analysis from MoneyGeek, a personal finance technology company located in San Francisco.

Each spring Jim Lundy gives up his weekends to file taxes for his clients, but there’s a secret most of them don’t know: He hates doing his own. “It’s like you use up all your energy on your clients’ tax returns and the last thing you want to do is go to work on your own,” says Lundy who works for Marcum LLP out of the Nashville office.