Life moves quickly. It’s easy to get distracted. But that can be costly.
Miss an important financial date or deadline, and you could be on the hook for a penalty or lose out on a limited-time opportunity to save money.
Enter our “Money Calendar” series.
In this edition, we’ve rounded up the noteworthy money dates in July 2022. Take a look and mark your calendar with any dates that apply to you.
July 1 — IRS’ standard mileage rates change
The IRS recently announced taxpayers who take the standard mileage rate deduction on their tax return for the miles they log as part of their business, or for deductible medical- or -moving-related purposes, will be able to use a higher rate during the last six months of the year.
These new rates, attributed to inflation, are:
- Business: 62.5 cents per mile (an increase of 4 cents)
- Medical: 22 cents per mile (an increase of 4 cents)
- Moving: 22 cents per mile (an increase of 4 cents)
To learn more, check out “IRS Offers Surprise Gift to Millions of Drivers.”
July 1 — Federal student loan interest rates change
New interest rates for several types of federal student loans take effect on this date:
- Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans (which are for undergraduate students): 4.99%
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans (which are for graduate and professional students): 6.54%
- Direct PLUS Loans (which are for parents as well as graduate and professional students): 7.54%
These rates apply only to these types of loans that are first disbursed anytime from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. These rates also are fixed, so they will not change during the life of such loans.
For more information, visit StudentAid.gov.
July 1 through July 7 — Florida’s Freedom Week
During this sales tax holiday, shoppers in Florida will not be charged sales taxes on qualifying purchases of recreation and outdoor items as well as admission to entertainment and cultural events.
The state has created an online poster that details which items qualify and the limits on how much you can save. A question-and-answer document also is available.
July 12 through July 13 — Prime Day
It’s official: Amazon’s big summer sale for is Prime members is set for July 12-13 — although the early deals are already underway.
We’ve got the lowdown in “Amazon Unveils Prime Day Details: Here’s What’s New for 2022.”
Also don’t miss “How to Get $35 (or More) in Free Amazon Credits for Prime Day.”
Late July — 3 back-to-school sales tax holidays
July is the first month of back-to-school sales tax holidays — during which residents can buy items like school supplies, clothing and sometimes computers without paying any sales tax.
We’ve identified three states with back-to-school sales tax holidays that fall in the latter half of July:
- Alabama: July 15-17
- Mississippi: July 29-30
- Tennessee: July 29-31
For dates and links to more details, click the link for each state or contact its revenue department.
FOMC meeting — July 26-27
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) generally meets eight times a year, and we usually exclude those meetings from our Money Calendar series. But they are a hot topic this year, given inflation’s continued climb.
The FOMC is expected to vote on July 27 to raise its benchmark federal funds rate, which can affect everything from your savings account yield to your credit card interest. It would be the fourth hike this year — but is hardly expected to be the last.
In other words, the outcome of this next FOMC meeting — if not also the direction of the federal funds rate for the remainder of this year — is a near certainty. And knowing that in advance means you can prepare for the presumed additional hikes. To get started, check out:
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