One Year Later, Trump’s Tariffs Hit Households

I share the 4-5 most important accounting that actually matter. I scroll so you don’t have to.

So grab your coffee, take a quick break, and lets catch up.

In this issue:

• Your clients' refunds might be on hold and they don't know it

• One year of Trump's tariffs. Here's what American households actually paid.

• OpenAI is worth $852 billion. That's every major US company combined.

- Ledger Lowdown Team

WTF of the Day🤯

The IRS Says Tax Season Is Going Great

The IRS put out a press release this week saying the 2026 filing season is going smoothly. And honestly the numbers are decent: 80% of refunds went out in under 21 days, average refund is $3,571, and 98% of returns were filed electronically. Over $202 billion in refunds have gone out so far.

The part that matters for your clients is the CP53E notice situation. Only about 1% of filers got one but if they did it means their refund is on hold because banking info was missing or wrong. They have 30 days to fix it by logging into their IRS Online Account and adding direct deposit info. Once they do that the IRS issues the refund within 7 days. If they do nothing the IRS will mail a paper check 6 weeks after the notice date. The fix is simple but clients who do not know they got the notice are going to be waiting a long time wondering where their money is.

Source: IRS

What’s poppin in accounting🍿

Trump's Tariffs Turn 1 Year Old Today. Here's the Bill American Households Are Paying.

One year ago Trump stood in the Rose Garden and called it Liberation Day. He promised short-term pain for long-term gain. A year later American consumers paid most of the bill.

Here is what actually happened:

• US households are out an average of $700 this year from tariff costs, with more coming

• Federal customs duties brought in tens of billions but barely touched the deficit

• Companies still cannot build stable supply chains because rates kept shifting with no warning

• The Supreme Court ruled Trump exceeded his authority in February. He is finding ways around it anyway

• Markets had one of the most volatile years in history, with gains driven almost entirely by tech stocks insulated from import duties

One year in and experts say they are still waiting for any evidence the pain was worth it.

Weekly Trend Chart 📊

Putting OpenAl's Valuation In Context

OpenAI just raised $122 billion in a single round. Nvidia put in $30 billion. SoftBank put in $30 billion. Amazon dropped $50 billion. That is the biggest fundraise in Silicon Valley history and it values a company that has never turned a profit at $852 billion. For context that is McDonald's, Disney, Boeing, Uber, Comcast, and Ford all added together.

They are expected to IPO before end of 2026. Their closest competitor Anthropic just raised $30 billion at $380 billion and it looked small. The whole thing is insane but the message is clear: the biggest money in the world has decided AI wins and they are not waiting around to find out.

Meme of the Day😂

Agreed 😂

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