The Latest Personal Finance News for September 2026

National Debt Tops $40 Trillion for the First Time

The gross national debt passed $40 trillion for the first time in August. That milestone arrived roughly five months after the debt crossed $39 trillion in March, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the deficit for this fiscal year alone will reach $2.1 trillion.

Interest on the debt has become one of the government's largest expenses. Through the first 10 months of fiscal year 2026, the government spent $931 billion on interest, an 11% increase over the same stretch a year earlier.

Why It Matters

Washington and everyday borrowers compete for the same pool of money, so heavier government borrowing tends to lift interest rates for everyone else. A growing national debt load pushes up interest rates and inflation, which raises the cost of mortgages, car loans and credit card balances.

None of this necessarily moves your rate in a single month, but it can make long-term financial planning more complicated and challenging.

What You Can Do

• Understand how interest works when you borrow and when you save.
• Read up on what inflation is and how it affects your budget.
• Learn how mortgage interest works before you shop for a loan.
• See how rising interest rates impact credit cards.

IRS Clarifies the Rules for the New Overtime Deduction

The IRS has released updated guidance on the new overtime deduction, replacing the temporary rules the federal agency released earlier this year. The clarification limits what counts toward the tax break, but it also makes it easier for employees to know what to claim.

More specifically, only the premium portion of the standard time-and-a-half rate is eligible for the deduction. So, if you earn $20 per hour and earn $30 per hour when working overtime, you can only claim the additional $10 per hour. If state law or a labor union agreement requires overtime pay in a different way than the Fair Labor Standards Act, only the portion required by federal law is eligible.

The update also requires employers to report qualified overtime pay on workers' W-2 and 1099 forms, something that was not required for the 2025 tax year.

Why It Matters

The temporary deduction on overtime pay offers up to $12,500 for single taxpayers and up to $25,000 if you're married and filing jointly. It starts phasing out once your modified adjusted gross income hits $150,000 or $300,000, respectively.

But as is clear from the updated guidelines, not all of your overtime pay is eligible. This could be a significant reduction in expectations for workers who regularly do overtime work.

That said, the new requirement for employers to report the eligible pay will make it easier for employees at tax time because you won't need to worry about calculating it on your own.

What You Can Do

• Review how the 2025 tax law changes affect you.
• Learn what adjusted gross income means.
• Compare standard and itemized deductions.
• Read up on ways to get a bigger tax refund.

Some Public Service Borrowers Lost Credit Toward Loan Forgiveness

The Education Department recalculated payment counts for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) this summer, and some borrowers watched months of credit disappear from their totals. The department said it was correcting counter code errors dating back to changes made in 2024.

The agency says those errors had produced inaccurate payment counts for some borrowers, and officials described the reversals as technical corrections rather than a change in policy. The department has not said how many borrowers were affected, which months came off or whether payments that legitimately counted were pulled along with the errors.

Why It Matters

PSLF wipes out the remaining balance on federal student loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments made while working full time for a qualifying employer.

Losing even a handful of months could be devastating for someone close to the finish line, and it could mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in payments that affected borrowers weren't planning on making.

If you were impacted, check your payment count on StudentAid.gov against your own records to ensure that the update was accurate. Remember that federal rules do allow credit for certain deferment and forbearance periods, including economic hardship, military service and administrative forbearance.

What You Can Do

• Learn how Public Service Loan Forgiveness works.
• See whether income-driven repayment could lower your payments.
• Understand the difference between deferment and forbearance.
• Brush up on student loan repayment basics.

Good Credit Can Contribute to a Healthy Financial Plan

While there are aspects of your financial situation that are outside of your control, building and maintaining good credit scores can help you weather challenges and save money in the long run.

With Experian's free credit monitoring service, you'll get access to your FICO^® Score^Θ and your Experian credit report. With this information in hand, you can gauge your credit health and target areas of your credit profile that you can improve over time. And with real-time alerts whenever your report is updated, you can spot potential issues and fraud and address them quickly.