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Tax day is this week: Avoid these 5 common mistakes that can cost you money
With Tax Day arriving this week, millions of filers are rushing to submit returns—often increasing the chances of simple but costly mistakes. Even minor errors, like incorrect personal details or overlooked income, can delay refunds, trigger IRS notices, or lead to penalties that take time and money to fix.
The good news is that most of these issues are entirely avoidable with both extra attention and preparation.
Here are five common filing missteps to watch out for and how to avoid them:
Your filing status is one of the most important choices on your tax return because it helps determine your tax rate, your standard deduction, and which credits you may be eligible to claim. Pick the wrong one, and you could end up paying more than you owe, getting a smaller refund or triggering delays if the IRS flags the return for review.
For many taxpayers, the confusion comes from life changes that happened during the year, like getting married or divorced, having a child, moving in with a partner, supporting an aging parent or sharing custody. Even if your situation feels straightforward, the IRS rules can be less intuitive, especially for taxpayers who aren’t sure whether they qualify as “head of household” or whether they can still file as a “qualifying surviving spouse” after a spouse has died.
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Head of household, in particular, can be costly to get wrong. It typically comes with a larger standard deduction and more favorable tax brackets than filing as single, but it has strict requirements tied to paying more than half the cost of keeping up a home and having a qualifying dependent. If you don’t meet the rules and claim it anyway, you may have to pay back tax benefits later, plus penalties and interest.
When in doubt, the IRS has an online filing-status tool, and many tax software programs will walk you through the questions to help you choose the right category.
An extension can buy you time to file your paperwork, but it doesn’t give you extra time to pay. For most taxpayers, the IRS deadline to pay what you owe is April 15, 2026 — even if you request an extension to file later.
“Remember that even if you claim an extension, the money is owed on April 15,” said Mike Faulkender, co-chair of American Prosperity at the America First Policy Institute.
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Faulkender, a former Treasury official and IRS commissioner, said taxpayers who need more time should still estimate their bill and pay by the filing deadline to help avoid added costs.
“You have to actually send in a check or have the payment deducted from your account by the filing deadline,” he said.
If you can’t pay in full by April 15, pay what you can to help limit penalties and interest that accrue on top of your tax bill.
One of the biggest and most expensive tax-season mistakes is failing to claim every credit or deduction you qualify for. That can mean a smaller refund or a higher bill.
“I think the top mistake people make is not fully understanding or taking the time to really research what are all the different deductions and the ways that you can put a little bit of extra money in your pocket that are available to you,” said Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP.
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Sweeney also warned taxpayers not to rely on last year’s return as a blueprint for filing because of recent changes to the tax code from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“This would be a good year given that there are these changes to the tax code, to make sure not to assume that what you did last year will convey over to this year. Really take a fresh look at your tax situation and see if there’s money that you’re leaving on the table,” he said.
Timing matters when it comes to filing your taxes. Submitting your return before you’ve received all your key paperwork, like W-2s or 1099s, can lead to errors, missing income or a return you have to amend later.
Faulkender said there’s a simple way to double-check what’s been reported under your name before you file.
“One of the things that I learned last year when I was IRS commissioner was that if you create an account on irs.gov, you can see everything that’s been filed under your tax ID,” he said.
“We’re supposed to receive all of our W-2s and our 1099 forms in the mail in January and February. But if you’re missing one, or you misplaced it, rather than requesting it again, you can actually go and see what was filed under your taxpayer identification number if you create an account on IRS.gov.”
If you choose direct deposit for your refund, the IRS relies on the routing and account numbers you provide. One wrong digit can lead to delays.
If you pay what you owe by direct debit, incorrect banking details can also lead to a rejected payment and potentially result in penalties and interest.
Filing late can also cost you extra money, especially if you owe. The goal is to wait until you have what you need, then file as soon as you’re ready, without rushing prematurely.
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Legendary Olympic hockey coach admits he used fake COVID vaccination card for Beijing Games
An Olympic hockey coach admitted to using a fake vaccination card to coach his team in the Beijing Olympics four years ago.
Swiss ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer has admitted he used a certificate falsely claiming he’d been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get around China’s strict travel restrictions.
Swiss public broadcaster SRF said it confronted Fischer with documents showing he was fined nearly 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) by local authorities in 2023 for document forgery after buying the certificate on social media. SRF said he went public with his admission shortly after.
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In a statement late Monday, Fischer said he made a “serious mistake in this matter” by traveling to Beijing with the Switzerland men’s team using false paperwork.
“I’m very sorry if I’ve disappointed people with this situation,” Fischer said. “I was in an extraordinary personal crisis because I didn’t want to be vaccinated. At the same time I certainly didn’t want to let my team down at the Olympic Games.”
Fischer is one of Switzerland’s most successful hockey coaches ever. He’s been in the post since 2015 and took the team to three Olympics as well as winning three silver medals at the world championship.
The team was eliminated in the quarterfinal round.
Ahead of the 2022 Olympics, China had some of the strictest COVID-19 rules in the world. It insisted any athletes heading to the Games had to either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or sit out a three-week quarantine in a hotel, as Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer did.
Switzerland hosts the world championship next month. Fischer was already due to step down after that, and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation said it considers the matter closed.
Fischer played for the Swiss national team in the 2002 and 2006 Olympics and also played for the country’s 1994 World Juniors team. He spent most of his career playing for EV Zug of Switzerland’s National League A, where his jersey number is retired.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Avid runner stabbed and shot in string of random attacks allegedly carried out by repeat offender
A 40-year-old avid runner was stabbed and shot during a string of attacks allegedly carried out by a repeat offender in Georgia.
Lauren Bullis, 40, was identified as one of the victims in Monday’s string of attacks in DeKalb County, Georgia. Police arrested 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel on Monday following the back-to-back incidents.
“It is apparent to us that this was a completely random attack,” Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said Monday.
The timeline of the terror began at approximately 12:50 a.m. Monday, when DeKalb County Police discovered a woman shot multiple times on Wesley Chapel Road. She later died from her injuries, police said. Authorities have not identified her.
The violence then shifted to Brookhaven, where a man was ambushed and shot several times while sleeping outside a business center on Peachtree Road. He remains in critical condition.
The spree reached a horrific conclusion around 6:50 a.m. on Battle Forest Drive. There, 40-year-old Bullis was found both shot and stabbed in a vicious attack. Witnesses, police said, reported seeing a man standing over her before he fled the scene. Bullis did not survive her injuries.
Adel was captured in Troup County after law enforcement used license plate recognition cameras to track his silver Volkswagen Jetta, police said.
He is charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in Brookhaven, with further charges expected across the jurisdiction.
Records reviewed by FOX 5 Atlanta show that Adel is no stranger to the legal system. He was arrested last fall for sexual battery in Chatham County and was sentenced to jail time and probation, which included a requirement for a mental health evaluation.
Bullis’ social media accounts showed that the 40-year-old Georgia woman was an avid runner, posting photos of participating in recent races.
In a Facebook post, her cousin, Lee Renfroe, wrote that Bullis was “such a special person.”
“My cousin Lauren Bullis was brutally murdered in a series of violent attacks in the Decatur GA area,” he wrote. “We love you and miss you Lauren. Please say a prayer for our families as well as the families of the other victims. I don’t even know how to completely put my thoughts together right now.”
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Eric Swalwell was cable news star for years before rapid fall from grace
FIRST ON FOX — Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., was one of the most visible Democrats on cable news before his quick fall from grace over sexual misconduct allegations, appearing on MS NOW and CNN hundreds of times in recent years, including 50 times already in 2026.
Swalwell, who suspended his California gubernatorial campaign this week and said he will resign from Congress following sexual assault allegations, developed a reputation over the last decade for being highly available to cable news producers. His ability to go on air with little notice and his positions on prominent House committees made him a point person to offer Democratic Party talking points.
A Media Research Center study found that Swalwell appeared on MS NOW 26 times and on CNN another 24 times in 2026 alone, with all the appearances coming between January 1 and April 10.
“A combined 50 cable news appearances in just the first 14 weeks of 2026 is astounding considering he’s not in party leadership. He was averaging three to four appearances per week,” MRC associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro told Fox News Digital.
MS NOW and CNN were giving the gubernatorial hopeful a significant amount of free airtime before he became engulfed in scandal, but Swalwell had been a fixture for years.
Swalwell, who was first elected to the House in 2012, saw his star rise during President Donald Trump’s first term due to his prominent role on the House Intelligence Committee and the sprawling Russia investigation, often making charges of “collusion.”
From Jan. 1, 2018 to the end of Trump’s first term on Jan. 20, 2021, Swalwell’s name was mentioned on CNN and MSNBC — now called MS NOW — more than 2,000 times, including on reruns, according to a Grabien data search. Swalwell made a brief run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out well before the Iowa caucuses.
The New York Times reported that Swalwell’s frequent media appearances helped give him credibility in the California gubernatorial race, as he had “no experience in state government” and few connections with Democratic leaders.
“What he had was a media profile as a Trump antagonist, burnished by years of appearances on news shows that made him more familiar to voters than most of his competitors,” the Times reported, later adding, “Mr. Swalwell’s experience combating President Trump gave him tremendous exposure — much more than a state government official can garner in today’s media ecosystem.”
“Swalwell was a staple for the liberal media throughout the first Trump term,” Fondacaro told Fox News Digital. “Often overlooking his cartoonish antics, he swiftly became a notable figure they would lean on heavily for anti-Trump commentary during events such as the Mueller investigation and the impeachments.”
“The liberal media’s love affair with Swalwell allowed him to weather the Fang Fang scandal and was carried over into the second Trump term,” Fondacaro continued. “As with the first term, they relied on him to be on the firebrand against Trump and his officials both on TV and in committee hearings.”
Swalwell was also swept up with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, or “Fang Fang.” The suspected operative helped raise funds for Swalwell’s 2014 House re-election campaign and placed at least one intern in his office, but the ordeal did not derail the non-stop cable news appearances.
In the past week, Swalwell went from frequent cable news guest to the subject of scathing reports about a series of sexual misconduct allegations that have swiftly derailed his career. CNN even had an exclusive with women coming forward with on-camera remarks.
The Democrat, who has denied serious wrongdoing but admitted “mistakes,” noted the allegations came as he was among the frontrunners in the crowded field to be the next California governor.
MS NOW and CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, members of the media have been casually noting that Swalwell’s behavior was commonly known in elite circles for years. Republicans are questioning how much top Democrats and media decision makers knew before the allegations became public.
“Ruthless” podcast host Josh Holmes believes the media simply used Swalwell until he couldn’t help them any longer.
“He’s a fall guy for a corrupt leadership and press corps that knew everything about his exploits as long as he was a useful idiot. He became a problem for their preservation of power, which is why you know about it,” Holmes posted.
“The View” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said on Monday that Swalwell’s reputation with women was reportedly an “open secret” that made him exploitable by America’s enemies. Liberal pundit Matthew Yglesias posted that the situation was “widely rumored” and journalist Yashar Ali said Democrats have “all known for years.” One reporter even suggested she failed to report out certain details because “MeToo stories on the Hill aren’t related to my beat.”
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“This should be a cautionary tale to be skeptical of those the liberal media elevate,” Fondacaro said.
“It’s been reported that Swalwell’s alleged misconduct was an ‘open secret’ among the media, D.C., and L.A. political circles,” he added. “What else aren’t they telling voters? Who else are they covering for and will only turn against when they outlived their political usefulness?”
Swalwell said Monday that he was “deeply sorry” to his family, staff and constituents, but still insisted the sexual misconduct and abuse allegations against him were “false.”
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel and Adam Pack contributed to this report.
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