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Clear reporting on the choices people actually face.

Section

Finance

  1. The last week before the deadline, in order

    If you took the six-month extension in April and the return is still not done, the worst thing you can do now is start at the beginning.

    869 words
  2. Insured for less than it costs to rebuild, and what that does to a claim

    Under-insurance rarely announces itself. It is discovered at the point of a claim, and on some policies it reduces payouts on partial losses as well as total ones.

    1,171 words
  3. Seven deductions people get wrong, in both directions

    Half the errors on a Schedule C are people claiming something they cannot. The other half are people quietly paying tax on money they were entitled to keep.

    1,060 words
  4. How to find the exclusions in your policy in twenty minutes

    A homeowners policy is mostly a list of what is not covered. The list is organized, it is findable, and reading it once is the cheapest hour of insurance work you will ever do.

    1,043 words
  5. Before storm season, read the two numbers that decide what a roof claim pays

    Wind and hail coverage has changed quietly over the last decade. Two lines on the declarations page now determine whether a damaged roof is a small bill or a large one.

    1,031 words