As Thanksgiving and Christmas draw near, many people think about making charitable donations – for both altruistic and tax reasons. For people who don’t take the standard deduction on the 10-40 form but itemize instead, items like donations to charities can help reduce the amount of money you owe to the government. So, if you’re looking to shave a little off the amount of tax the IRS will collect, there are a few important things to keep in mind. Make a qualified gift. Make sure the organization you’re giving to

Americans drawing money from Social Security received some good news for 2023 with a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) designed to keep up with inflation. The Social Security Administration (SAA) announced last month that it would implement an increase in benefits of 8.7 percent. The new rate will go into effect in January. For many recipients, this will amount to a monthly addition of $140-150. The SAA distributes funds to retired senior citizens, as well as to those who are disabled and to widows, widowers, and children of deceased workers. The 8.7

Employment in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area inched up by 200 jobs in September to stand at 244,400, but employment locally remains below pre-pandemic levels. With little change in total employment, it is not surprising that there was little change in employment in many industries. Industries seeing a decline in employment include leisure and hospitality with a decline of 600 jobs and professional and business services falling by 1,325. There was an improvement in other labor market indicators with average weekly earnings increasing at 8.5 percent on an annual basis