Tax Day Reality Check: What You Missed and What's Coming

We filed. We either got a refund or we owe. But here's the real question nobody's asking: did we actually learn anything? Or did we just white-knuckle our way through another tax season and hope for the best?

That's where this episode starts. Morgan Anderson is back at the table, and she brought receipts. Literally. Her team has been digging into the numbers from last filing season and what they found should make every single one of you pay attention. Over 44 million individual taxpayers filed with a balance due. Over 30% of them couldn't pay it. And 80% of people who owe the IRS right now are not in any kind of resolution plan. Read that again. Eighty. Percent.

We kill the noise on the biggest tax myths floating around social media. "If you owe, you did something wrong." Wrong. "Refunds are free money." Hell no, that's YOUR money the government held all year at zero percent interest. "Estimated payments are only for rich people." Not even close. And the trend telling people to claim 9 or 10 on their W-4? That one's gonna cost you. We go through all of it.

Then Morgan drops something most people have never heard of. Under the FAST Act, the IRS can freeze your passport if you owe more than $66,000 in individual tax debt. Right now, over 279,000 taxpayers have frozen passports. And the IRS has been sleepy for the last two years. They're waking up. After filing season, collections are getting aggressive. They're coming for 401(k)s, home equity, CDs, investments. If you've been sitting on tax debt thinking nobody's watching, that window is closing.

We wrap with the plan. Installment agreements, how to use them, how to pay them off early, and why cashflow flexibility is the whole game. Get a professional. Do your planning quarterly. Stop relying on TikTok for tax strategy. Your financial future depends on decisions you make right now, not in April when you're scrambling.

If this hit home, drop a comment. Tell me where you're feeling it most. I read every single one.

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