Tax-Loss Harvesting: A Step-By-Step Guide

Savvy investors are always looking for ways to reduce their tax burdens. Although no one can completely avoid taxes, harnessing the power of tax-loss harvesting is one smart way to save.No one buys an investment with the expectation that it will lose money. But tax-loss harvesting provides a unique opportunity to benefit from downturns when they occur. Through tax-loss harvesting, you can use losing investments to offset your realized capital gains and/or some of your ordinary taxable income. Keep reading to learn all about how it works!

The average student graduates college with over $30,600 in debt. If you went to a 4-year nursing program (or its equivalent), you have probably accumulated around this amount as well.Tack on grad school costs in case you want to advance your nursing career and you could be looking at around $60,000 in student loan debt.Even if you do get a well-paying job as most nurses tend to get once they are out of school, a $60,000 loan hanging over your head is still stressful considering that paying back student loans will not be the only responsibility you have after you graduate.If you are a nurse or healthcare worker who would really like those pesky student loans gone for good, this post is for you. In today’s post, we will provide you with some great resources that will help you get most if not all of your loans forgiven.This guide is specific to nurses, but you might also find this guide helpful: 80 Ways To Get Student Loan Forgiveness. Let's dive in!

It should be a simple question - does the government profit off of student loans? But depending on who you ask, the federal government either earned a profit or lost money on federal student loans prior to the pandemic. The answer depends on political and accounting perspectives. During the pandemic, however, the payment pause and interest waiver has caused the federal government to lose money on federal student loans, regardless of the method used to calculate the subsidy rates. By forgoing nearly $5 billion a month in interest, the federal student loan program swung from a profit to a loss even in the most optimistic of projections. Let’s take a tour of how the federal government’s budget calculates the subsidy rates for various federal programs. But, before we do this, let’s review the concept of net present value accounting.

Choosing the right school for you can be difficult. Not only does the decision come while you’re still fairly young, but it can also be heavily influenced by external factors that end up not aligning with what you want. Take it from someone who’s been there.In fact, about one-third of college students transfer schools at some point before finishing their degree. And total transfers represented over 13% of all continuing and returning undergraduates last year.This article walks through the top reasons students choose to transfer, how to identify when the time is right, and what to do to set yourself up for success at a new school.

The Trump administration is once again weighing whether to sell off parts of the federal government’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to private investors — a move that could reshape the nation’s higher education finance system and affect more than 45 million borrowers.According to reports, senior officials at the Education Department and Treasury Department have been exploring how to offload “high-performing” federal loans to the private market. The discussions, which have allegedly involved finance industry executives and potential buyers, reflect the administration’s broader goal of shrinking the government’s role in student lending and reviving private-sector competition.This comes after reports earlier this year that Trump wanted the Small Business Administration to take over the student loan portfolio.The administration is looking at whether privatization could help reduce administrative costs and improve portfolio performance. However, the move could borrower protections, including income-driven repayment options, loan forgiveness programs, and the government’s unique ability to offer flexible hardship relief.This isn’t the first time the idea has surfaced. The Department of Education chapter in the Project 2025 document proposes reviving the old Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program to “privatize all lending programs, including subsidized, unsubsidized, and PLUS loans (both Grad and Parent).”So what exactly would it mean if federal student loans were sold to private lenders and could it really happen this time? Let’s unpack the latest proposals, political motivations, and potential consequences for borrowers.

Older workers nearing retirement have long enjoyed a valuable benefit: the ability to make additional, tax-deferred contributions to their workplace retirement plans. But under a new federal rule taking effect in 2026, that benefit is changing for many.Beginning January 1, 2026, employees age 50 or older who earn more than $145,000 in the prior year will no longer be able to make pre-tax catch-up contributions to 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plans. Instead, these contributions must go into a Roth account, meaning they’ll be taxed upfront but grow and withdraw tax-free later.The change stems from the SECURE 2.0 Act, which included dozens of provisions designed to expand retirement savings and modernize plan administration. The Roth catch-up rule was one of the most debated, prompting the IRS to delay its start date from 2024 to 2026 to give employers time to update payroll systems and plan documents.In fact, just this month we've seen solo 401k plan providers update their plans to provide more options as well!

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program requires 120 qualifying monthly payments while working for an eligible employer. But many borrowers are falling short because months spent in deferment or forbearance (even while employed full-time in public service) did not count. This is specifically harmful because of the SAVE forbearance, which found 8 million borrowers in forbearance due to court rulings outside of their control.The buyback provision was introduced to address this gap. It allows borrowers to make a lump-sum payment covering past periods of deferment or forbearance, effectively turning those months into qualifying payments. For someone sitting at 117 or 118 payments, buyback could push them over the forgiveness threshold.In theory, it’s a practical fix for years of technical disqualification. In practice, the process is opaque and there's currently a backlog of 74,000 PSLF buyback requests while the Department of Education is only processing about 5,000 per month.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) has long been a lifeline for teachers, nurses, social workers, and other public sector employees carrying student loan debt. But the rules around consolidation (the process of combining multiple federal loans into one Direct Consolidation Loan) have shifted over time, often leaving borrowers confused.Under earlier rules, consolidating wiped out your progress entirely, resetting your PSLF payment count to zero. Then came a one-time PSLF waiver, which let borrowers lock in the highest count from any loan - a major win for those with older debts.That waiver ended in 2023. Now, as of Sept. 1, 2024, the Department of Education has adopted the weighted average rule as the default. This new rule assigns a weighted average of your PSLF payment count to your new consolidation loan.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), representing 1.8 million members, has escalated its legal battle with the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Earlier this year, the union sued ED and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, alleging the agency unlawfully froze access to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans after a court blocked parts of the Biden-era SAVE plan.Last month, AFT filed an amended complaint seeking to certify the case as a class action, potentially extending relief nationwide to impacted borrowers. If granted, the preliminary injunction could force ED to resume processing applications and cancel loans under longstanding repayment and loan forgiveness programs.Meanwhile, the Department insists its pause was necessary to comply with litigation, and earlier this week began processing IBR-based student loan forgiveness again.

Student loan scams are surging in 2025. Policy changes, repayment restarts, and nonstop headlines give fraudsters the perfect chance to trick borrowers. Every day, fake “debt relief” companies and government impersonators are stealing money - or worse, hijacking borrower accounts.Before you get overwhelmed, remember three things:You never have to pay to manage federal student loans. Enrollment in student loan repayment plans or loan forgiveness programs is always free at StudentAid.gov.Never share your FSA ID. That login is your digital signature. Handing it over is like giving someone power of attorney on your finances.Verify everything at the source. Ignore texts, ads, or calls. Log in at StudentAid.gov or call your loan servicer using the number listed in your secure dashboard.This guide breaks down the most common scams in 2025, the red flags to watch for, and exactly what to do if you think you’ve been targeted.