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 2023. Take a look and mark your calendar with any dates that apply to you.
Federal student loan interest rates change — July 1
New interest rates for several types of federal student loans take effect on this date:
- Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans (for undergraduate students): 5.50%
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans (for graduate and professional students): 7.05%
- Direct PLUS Loans (for parents as well as graduate and professional students): 8.05%
These rates apply only to these types of loans that are first disbursed anytime from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. These rates also are fixed, so they will not change during the life of such loans.
For more information, visit StudentAid.gov.
Florida’s yearlong sales tax holidays start — July 1
Florida has three yearlong sales tax holidays that begin on July 1, 2023. So for the next 12 months, shoppers in the state will not be charged sales tax on qualifying items. They include:
For more details, click the link for each sales tax holiday.
Postal rate increases take effect — July 9
If you use stamps, consider stocking up soon. Come July 9, the price of a standard stamp will increase by 3 cents, to 66 cents — one of several postal price hikes that take effect that day.
To learn more, read the U.S. Postal Service’s announcement about the price increases.
Prime Day — July 11-12
It’s official: Amazon’s big summer sale for Prime members is set for July 11-12 — although the early deals are already underway.
We’ve got the lowdown in “Amazon Unveils Prime Day Dates and Early Deals to Shop Now.”
Back-to-school sales tax holidays start — late July
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 a few states with back-to-school sales tax holidays that fall in the latter half of July:
- Alabama: July 21-23
- Florida: July 24 – Aug. 6
- Mississippi: July 28-29
- Tennessee: July 28-30
For more details, click the link for each state or contact its revenue department.
FOMC meeting — July 25-26
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 these days, given relatively high inflation and the looming possibility of a recession.
Chairman Jerome Powell recently suggested that the FOMC will raise its target range for the federal funds rate in July if not also later in 2023. If the committee votes in July to hike the rate, it will be the fourth hike so far this year.
Any change to the federal funds rate can affect everything from your savings account yield to your credit card interest. To learn more about what this means for you, check out “What Is ‘the Fed’ — and Why Should You Care?”
IRS Form 5500-EZ due — July 31
If you happen to be self-employed and participate in a one-person retirement plan, you might be required to file a Form 5500-EZ for the 2022 plan year by the end of July — or, as the IRS puts it, “by the last day of the 7th calendar month after the end of the plan year that began in 2022.”
Whether you are required to file this form depends on multiple factors, including the amount of the plan’s assets and whether 2022 is the final plan year. If you’re unsure, consider consulting a professional. Because the penalty for failing to file a Form 5500-EZ on time is steep: “$250 a day (up to a maximum penalty of $150,000 per plan year),” according to the IRS.
The Secure Act of 2019 drastically increased this penalty. Previously, it was $25 per day, up to a maximum of $15,000.
To learn more, check out the IRS’ 5500-EZ webpage.
Add a Comment
Our Policy: We welcome relevant and respectful comments in order to foster healthy and informative discussions. All other comments may be removed. Comments with links are automatically held for moderation.