Tax Breaks: The Texas Two-Step Through The Courts Edition Plus: Tax refunds, changing your name, TurboTax gets a win, the FTC claims a loss, tax filing statistics, Taxes From A to Z, tax filing deadlines, tax trivia and more. Plus: Tax refunds, changing your name, TurboTax gets a win, the FTC draws a loss, tax filing statistics, Taxes From A to Z, tax filing deadlines, tax trivia and more.We’re nearing the home stretch for the tax filing season, and the most recent IRS data shows a mixed bag as the April 15 deadline nears. Refunds are higher than last year, with total refund dollars up and the average refund now around $3,571, roughly an 11% increase. However, these numbers–which reflect an increase of about $350 over last year–aren’t as strong as lawmakers had expected . Worse, the numbers reveal that average refunds have actually declined in recent weeks, dropping from $3,804 a month ago to $3,623 last week, and now settling lower.Getting those refunds hasn’t been entirely smooth either. While the usual advice still applies—file electronically and choose direct deposit to speed things up—some taxpayers are running into delays, especially as the IRS shifts away from automatically issuing paper checks when direct deposit fails.still arrive within about 21 days for e-filers, but timing can slip if there are errors, missing information, or additional review is needed. And if your refund doesn’t match what you expected, it could be due to IRS adjustments or offsets for certain debts. Refunds may be a bit more generous this year, but they are also a bit more unpredictable, so keeping an eye on your filing details and refund status matters more than ever.—but that doesn’t mean leaving the IRS behind. U.S. citizens are taxed on their worldwide income, no matter where they live. For those who want a clean break, renouncing citizenship is an option, but it is a serious step with lasting financial consequences. One of the biggest hurdles is the exit tax, which can apply if you meet any of three triggers: having a net worth over $2 million, averaging more than about $211,000 in annual income tax liability over five years, or failing to certify full tax compliance for the prior five years. If you fail any of those tests, the IRS treats you as if you sold all your assets before expatriating and taxes the gains accordingly. The lesson? While moving abroad may be relatively easy, fully exiting the U.S. tax system is anything but.On March 19, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down a Treasury rule that would have required, dealing another blow to the government’s recent transparency efforts. The rule, issued through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , was designed to target money laundering by requiring real estate professionals to collect and report detailed information on cash sales of residential real estate and would have applied broadly to hundreds of thousands of transactions each year. Judge Jeremy Kernodle found that the Treasury went too far by treating all cash real estate deals as inherently suspicious without sufficient legal authority. In doing so, he rejected the idea that an entire category of otherwise routine transactions could trigger sweeping reporting obligations, and vacated the rule nationwide. For now, that means no new reporting requirements for real estate professionals, though the broader fight over how far agencies can go in the name of transparency is far from over.in its fight with the FTC, vacating the agency’s decision and sending the case back for further proceedings. The Fifth Circuit did not decide whether Intuit’s “free” TurboTax advertising was misleading. Instead, it focused on where the case should be heard, concluding that the FTC cannot decide these kinds of claims through its own in-house administrative process. Relying on recent Supreme Court precedent, the court said deceptive advertising claims like this look too much like traditional fraud claims to be handled internally by an agency. That means the FTC will likely have to pursue the case in federal court, a shift that could slow enforcement and reshape how similar cases are brought going forward. For companies, it opens the door to challenging agency proceedings, while for regulators, it raises bigger questions about how far their authority really goes.within the next decade, with projections showing the trust fund could be depleted around 2033. If nothing changes, incoming payroll taxes would only cover part of the promised benefits, triggering an across-the-board cut of about 23%. Fixing the gap will likely require some mix of higher taxes, reduced benefits, or both. Proposals range from raising the retirement age and increasing payroll taxes to trimming benefits or targeting higher earners, but none come without trade-offs. The longer Congress waits, the harder those choices become. The 72–75 million Americans who receive benefits from SSA programs are watching as the agency grapples with tech upgrades, staffing cuts, and procedural changes. We’ll have more on that next week. In the meantime, may your Cinderella pick keep dancing and your ninth inning stay mercifully drama-free .This is a published version of the Tax Breaks newsletter, you can sign-up to get Tax Breaks in your inboxI finally got around to changing my name after my divorce. Do I have to tell the IRS? I am worried that it will mess up my refund. Short answer: yes, you need to tell the IRS, but not by sending the IRS a separate “name change” note like you’re updating a mailing list. The IRS syncs your name through the Social Security Administration , so the real move is updating your name with the SSA first . Once that’s done, the IRS will recognize your new name when you file your next tax return. If the name on your return doesn’t match SSA records, the IRS system can hiccup and reject an e-file or delay processing, so you’re right to be thinking about how it could impact your refund. If you’ve already filed under your old name, don’t panic. Just make sure everything is updated with SSA before your next filing. And if you’re mid-year with estimated taxes or correspondence, use your current legal name while keeping your SSN consistent to avoid confusion.. The IRS reports that there are over $1.2 billion in refunds still unclaimed, and there is a firm deadline to act. Typically, taxpayers have three years to claim refunds, meaning April 15, 2026, is the cutoff for 2022 returns. Miss it, and that money becomes government property forever. Which states boast the most unclaimed refunds? Unsurprisingly, the largest states, with California and Texas leading the list, followed by Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. And while tax refunds are often about getting back what was withheld from your paycheck, that’s not always the case. Filing could also unlock refundable credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, which can produce a refund even if you owed no tax. Great, right? But if you don’t file, you don’t qualify for those tax credits. Importantly, there is no penalty for filing late if you are due a refund. The real risk is waiting too long–in this case, past April 15–and losing it entirely.An IRS tax lien is the government’s legal claim against your property when you don’t pay your tax bill—it signals to other creditors that they have a claim. It arises automatically after the IRS assesses the tax, sends a notice and demand for payment, and you do not pay in full. The lien, which is public record, attaches to all your current assets and can extend to future assets you acquire. A lien secures the government’s interest and can affect your credit, ability to sell assets, and access to financing. Don’t confuse it with the other L word: levy. A tax levy is the enforcement muscle—typically thought of as a seizure. Through a levy, the IRS can garnish wages, withdraw funds from bank accounts, or take and sell assets such as a car or home. Think of it this way: a lien protects the government’s right to collect, while a levy is the act of collection itself.In 1938, the E.H. Ferree Company decided to promote its product by showing how a Social Security card would fit into its wallet, sold at Woolworth’s and other department stores. The company vice president thought it would be clever to use a sample card with his secretary's actual SSN. Following the promotion, how many incorrect earnings reports were submitted under this number?at more than 200 Taxpayer Assistance Centers nationwide to provide taxpayers with additional time to receive in-person assistance during the filing season.regarding the withdrawal of elections to be classified as excepted trades or businesses under Sec. 163 for the business interest deduction and late elections under Sec. 168 to be exempt from bonus depreciation.to the Treasury on the proposed revised Voluntary Disclosure Practice which suggests that the rules are headed in the right direction, but that parts of them are confusing or too hard to apply in practice. The Section recommends clearer definitions and simpler mechanics so taxpayers can follow the rules without unnecessary headaches and so that the IRS can administer them more smoothly.in prison a Dallas man will spend for his role in a fake trust tax scheme. He won’t be the only one. In total, four members of a Texas family were found guilty of attempting to turn fake “trusts” into real tax refunds. Prosecutors showed that the group created multiple sham trusts, filed false tax returns claiming large refunds, and used the money for personal spending—pulling in over $1.7 million before the IRS caught on. The case is a reminder that while trusts can be legitimate planning tools, they don’t magically erase taxes or convert personal expenses into deductible ones. When used to hide income or fabricate refunds, these arrangements cross into fraud, exposing those involved to steep penalties, restitution, and even criminal prosecution.Many people used the SSN as their own—5,755 individuals did so in the peak year of 1943, and 12 continued to use it as late as 1977. Overall, the Social Security Administration received 40,000 incorrect earnings reports associated with the number, which it was forced to cancel .