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The first-quarter estimated tax deadline for 2025 is April 15, which is also the federal tax due date for most filers.
You could owe estimated tax payments for self-employment earnings, rental income, interest, dividends or gig economy work.
The “safe harbor” to avoid late payment penalties is sending 90% of 2025 taxes or 100% of 2024 levies if adjusted gross income is less than $150,000.

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If you’re scrambling to file your taxes, you could miss another key due date on April 15: the first-quarter estimated tax deadline for 2025. 
Typically, quarterly payments apply to income without tax withholdings, such as self-employment earnings, rental income, interest, dividends or gig economy work. Similarly, retirees and investors “frequently need to make these payments,” the IRS said in a news release last week. 

The first-quarter deadline for 2025 “could be a surprise” if you’re newly self-employed or recently started contract work, said Misty Erickson, tax content manager at the National Association of Tax Professionals. 
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Those individuals could experience “sticker shock” when it’s time to file 2025 taxes or be subject to future penalties, Erickson said.
Generally, you must make quarterly payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for the current tax year, according to the IRS.
The April 15 deadline applies to earnings from Jan. 1 through March 31. The other 2025 quarterly due dates are June 16, Sept. 15 and Jan. 15, 2026.

If you skip one of the payments, you could trigger an interest-based penalty calculated with the current interest rate. The fee compounds daily.

Follow the ‘safe harbor’ guidelines

Generally, you can avoid IRS penalties by following the “safe harbor” guidelines, certified public accountant Brian Long, also a senior tax advisor at Wealth Enhancement in Minneapolis, previously told CNBC. To satisfy the safe harbor rule, you must pay at least 90% of your 2025 tax liability or 100% of your 2024 taxes, whichever is smaller.
The threshold jumps to 110% if your 2024 adjusted gross income was $150,000 or more, which you can find on line 11 of Form 1040 from your 2024 tax return.
However, the safe harbor only protects an individual from an IRS underpayment penalty. If you don’t pay enough, you could still owe a balance for 2025, experts say.

Where to pay your quarterly taxes 

There are “several options” for estimated tax payments, according to the IRS.
You can pay by mail, online via IRS Direct Pay or the Treasury Department’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. You can also use a debit card, credit card or digital wallet.  
Your IRS online account “streamlines the payment process” because you can monitor pending transactions, see history and other key tax filing information, according to the agency.
The online account makes it easier to correct mistakes “sooner rather than later,” Erickson said. “I have heard stories of payments being misapplied, so this is a way to double-check.” 
If you mail the payment, experts recommend sending it via certified mail with a return receipt for proof. More

The Social Security Administration may be planning to cut staff at an important department responsible for protecting data, maintaining benefit claims processing and managing its website.
In a new letter to agency leadership, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden and Kirsten Gillibrand slammed the reported plans as “dangerous.”

A Social Security Administration office in Washington, D.C., on March 26. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly aiming to reform and downsize the agency.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images

Several Democratic senators are demanding answers from the Social Security Administration following reports that the agency may make staff cuts to a significant department within the agency.
The Social Security Administration is reportedly considering additional workforce reductions, including a potential 50% cut in the Office of the Chief Investment Officer. The department, otherwise known as OCIO, is responsible for protecting sensitive data, maintaining benefit claims processing systems, and managing the agency’s website and online portal.

The prospective cuts come as the SSA has already had “ongoing issues” with its website, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote in a letter dated April 13 to Social Security Administration acting Commissioner Leland Dudek.
“We are concerned these cuts will lead to further website and benefit disruptions, preventing tens of millions of Americans from accessing their hard-earned Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits,” the senators wrote.
A Social Security Administration spokesperson acknowledged the agency had received the letter and will respond to the senators.
“There has not been a reduction in workforce. Rather, to improve the delivery of services, staff are being reassigned from regional offices to front-line help – allocating finite resources where they are most needed,” White House spokesperson Elizabeth Huston said in an email to CNBC.
“President Trump will continue to always protect Social Security and there will be no disruptions to service,” Huston said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., walks with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., following a press conference with Senate Democrats on Social Security at the U.S. Capitol on April 1 in Washington, D.C. 
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The senators, however, cited disruptions for prompting them to write the letter.
The Social Security Administration website has crashed repeatedly and suffered outages, the senators wrote. The lawmakers previously wrote a letter to the agency asking about a March 31 issue that prompted some beneficiaries to receive messages that they are “not receiving payments” and see their account histories disappear.
In addition, the agency’s field offices are also experiencing glitches that impact their ability to serve the public, according to the senators.
The cuts to OCIO would be “intentional – and dangerous,” the lawmakers wrote. The OCIO staff know the agency’s programming language and can keep its systems running, the senators said.
President Donald Trump on March 27 signed an executive order ending collective bargaining for many federal workers. Because OCIO employees are represented by a union, that would affect them. The executive order makes it easier to replace existing employees with complacent personnel from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, according to the senators.
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The Social Security Administration was already at a 50-year staffing low when the Trump administration took office, the lawmakers note. Since then, the agency has announced plans to cut its force by more than 12%.
“We ask that you immediately cease all OCIO firings and act swiftly to restore SSA system and website functionality to prevent any further disruption of Social Security beneficiaries’ access to their account information and benefits,” the senators wrote.
The letter follows an April 10 letter sent by 21 senators, led by Sens. Gillibrand and Wyden, demanding that the Trump administration stop attacks on the agency, following plans for staffing cuts, field office closures and reduced phone services.
Democratic senators have also launched a “war room” to work to fight the changes that are happening at the Social Security Administration. As part of that initiative, the leaders are planning to propose legislation that would provide an emergency $200 per month boost to benefits through the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Last week, it was reported that the Social Security Administration would no longer use press releases and “dear colleague” letters to advocacy groups and third parties to communicate with the public, and instead shift its communications exclusively to Elon Musk’s social media platform X. The report also suggested the Social Security Administration plans to reduce its regional workforce by approximately 87%.
White House spokesperson Huston said that that report is “misleading.”
“The Social Security Administration is actively communicating with beneficiaries and stakeholders. There has not been a reduction in workforce,” she said. More

A rising share of America’s top executives sees a recession on the horizon, according to a monthly survey from Chief Executive released on Monday.
The data comes as President Donald Trump’s tariff rollout has sent financial markets reeling and worried the business world.

The Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A growing majority of America’s top executives now expects the U.S. economy to enter a recession in the near future, according to a survey released Monday.
Of the more than 300 CEOs polled in April, 62% said they forecasted a recession or other economic downturn in the next six months, according to Chief Executive, an industry group that runs the survey. That’s up from 48% who said the same in March.

Chief Executive’s data underscores the growing concern within corporate America around the future of the U.S. economy. Fears about a forthcoming recession hit a boiling point in the last two weeks, as President Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariff policy ratcheted up volatility in financial markets and stirred panic among some consumers.
Indeed, around three-fourths of CEOs surveyed said tariffs would hurt their businesses in 2025. About two-thirds said they did not support Trump’s proposed levies, many of which are currently on pause.

Economic anxiety among executives

The monthly survey, which has run since 2002, includes several data points that paint a concerning picture of how America’s foremost business leaders view the economy.
An index of CEOs’ views on current business conditions tumbled 9% in April, continuing its decline after plunging 20% in the prior month. The measure now sits at its lowest level since the early months of the pandemic in 2020.
When forecasting business conditions a year out, CEOs held their view steady from March. Still, these readings were the lowest since late 2012 and have tanked around 29% from the end of 2024.

The survey found that more than four out of five chief executives project costs spiking this year, which is no surprise given the ongoing negotiations over import taxes between the White House and foreign countries. Around half forecast their percentage increases in expenses to be in the double digits.
In this vein, just 37% said they believe their companies’ profits will increase. That’s a steep drop from the 76% who gave this response in January.
To be sure, Chief Executive’s data set included a few bright spots. Slightly over half of respondents said they foresee business conditions bettering over the next year, an increase from the 39% share seen a month earlier.
Many CEO may be getting some tariff relief as well. Trump late Friday announced that smartphones and PCs would be exempt from duties, though Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that these exemptions would be temporary.
Chief Executive’s data comes as U.S. business leaders have started flashing warning signs on the country’s economic future.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Friday that he expects earnings estimates for S&P 500 firms to fall due to the uncertainty around Trump’s levies. Also on Friday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned that the U.S. economy may have already weakened to the point of growth coming in negative.
“I think we’re very close, if not in, a recession now,” Fink said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” More

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The chaos around tariffs continues to rattle global stock markets, as fears of higher costs and concerns over a potential economic slowdown weigh on investor sentiment.
However, the pullback in several stocks due to these ongoing challenges has created an opportunity to pick attractive stocks trading at compelling levels. Top Wall Street analysts can help identify stocks that could navigate short-term headwinds and deliver solid returns over the long term.

With that in mind, here are three stocks favored by the Street’s top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Affirm Holdings
We start this week with Affirm Holdings (AFRM), a buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform. As of the end of 2024, Affirm had 21 million active customers and 337,000 active merchants.
On April 7, TD Cowen analyst Moshe Orenbuch initiated coverage of Affirm stock with a buy rating and a price target of $50, reflecting a valuation of about 23-times the 2026 adjusted earnings per share. “AFRM is one of the top performing BNPL brands in the U.S. with a full-suite [point of sale] lending capability vs peers, and likely the most pro-consumer practices in the industry,” said the analyst.
Orenbuch thinks that AFRM possesses more seasoned underwriting capabilities than its rivals, as the company began underwriting longer-term loans before offering BNPL solutions.
The analyst also highlighted the company’s partnerships with big e-commerce players like Amazon and Shopify. Orenbuch contends that these key partnerships reflect Affirm’s capabilities while allowing it to pursue higher volumes from both big and small businesses more effectively than other BNPL players. Additionally, he pointed out that Affirm has a strong funding program that has historically helped it secure better terms in the capital market compared to others in the consumer lending industry.

Orenbuch added that AFRM fared better than nonprime lenders in the tough credit period in 2022-2023. He contends that even if gross merchandise value growth slows down over the short term due to weakness in the job market, it will have a short-term impact on AFRM’s profits and likely not weigh on its long-term profitability trajectory.
Orenbuch ranks No.22 among more than 9,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 19.4%. See Affirm Holdings Stock Charts on TipRanks.
TJX Companies
This week’s second stock pick is TJX Companies (TJX), an off-price retailer that operates more than 5,000 stores across nine countries, including the TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Homesense, and Sierra stores in the U.S. TJX and other off-price retailers sell merchandise at deep discounts compared to prices offered on comparable merchandise by department stores or other retailers, as they opportunistically purchase their inventory at lower costs.
Recently, Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe reaffirmed a buy rating on TJX stock with a price target of $150. The analyst stated that Jefferies’ updated “Inventory Insanity” analysis following the fourth-quarter results revealed that inventory rose 2.9% year over year across the firm’s coverage group of 85 companies compared to 2.2% in Q3 2024. Tarlowe thinks that TJX Companies is the best positioned in the off-price space to take advantage of the surplus inventory in the marketplace. 
“Therefore, with an experienced team of +1.3k buyers, we believe TJX should witness and outsized benefit from continuing to buy opportunistically across its +21k vendors and more than 100 countries,” the analyst said.
Moreover, Tarlowe expects TJX to gain from the secular shift towards the off-price sector, which could help the retailer grab market share from other, more traditional retailers. The analyst also sees the company’s further expansion in the Home category and overseas markets as unique growth opportunities.
Tarlowe noted that TJX delivered a peak gross margin of 30.6% in fiscal 2025 despite an unfavorable comparison with the previous year, which included a 53rd week (due to a leap year). He thinks that management’s fiscal 2026 gross margin guidance of 30.4% to 30.5% seems conservative, especially given that the company exceeded its fiscal 2025 margin outlook.
Tarlowe ranks No.574 among more than 9,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 55% of the time, delivering an average return of 10.2%. See TJX Companies Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks.
CyberArk Software
Finally, let’s look at CyberArk Software (CYBR), a cybersecurity company that specializes in identity security solutions. The company is scheduled to announce its first-quarter results on May 13.
Heading into the Q1 2025 results, TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal reiterated a buy rating on CYBR stock with a price target of $450. The analyst thinks that CyberArk is well-positioned to navigate the challenging market conditions and surpass the Street’s revenue estimate. Eyal’s optimism is backed by checks by his firm that indicated continued strength in demand, with CYBR’s effort to expand its platform away from its core privileged access management gaining traction among customers.
Additionally, Eyal noted that despite increasing global macro challenges, value-added resellers, consultants, and partners are not seeing any slowdown in the second-quarter pipeline. He cited some of the key reasons for CYBR’s consistent performance, including its Identity and Access Management’s mission criticality and the persistent attack on digital identities by hackers. Also, rival SailPoint’s recent results and outlook didn’t indicate any slowdown, which bodes well for CyberArk as both companies are targeting similar market tiers.  
Eyal sees the possibility of CyberArk revising the mid-point of its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance higher as the year progresses. Nevertheless, he contends that even if the company reiterates its guidance despite a possible Q1 2025 beat, it will still be viewed positively, given the growing macro challenges.
The analyst also highlighted CYBR’s efforts to expand its platform through strategic acquisitions like that of Zilla, which offers identity governance and administration solutions, and Venafi, which provides machine identity solutions. He continues to see a huge opportunity for CyberArk in the Agentic AI market.
“CYBR is executing well and remains well positioned to achieve its LT FY28 targets of $2.2B in rev and $600M of FCF [free cash flow],” said Eyal.
Eyal ranks No.14 among more than 9,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 22.5%. See CyberArk Ownership Structure on TipRanks. More

With rising college costs, some top schools and programs have embraced a tuition-free model.
However, generous aid packages also attract more students, which “can skew admissions towards middle- or higher-income applicants who may be able to access more effective admissions resources,” says Jamie Beaton, co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education, a college consulting firm. 
For college hopefuls worried about the sky-high tab, there may be other ways to bring the cost down.

Entrance to NYU Langone Hospital, New York City. 
Joan Slatkin | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine made history in 2018 when it became the first top-ranked medical program to offer full-tuition scholarships to all students, regardless of need or merit. 
The number of applicants, predictably, spiked in the year that followed. But then, the share of incoming students considered “financially disadvantaged” sank to 3% in 2019, down from 12% in 2017, reports showed. 

“Tuition-free schools can actually increase inequity,” said Jamie Beaton, co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education, a college consulting firm. 
“Tuition-free colleges experience surges in application numbers, dramatically boosting the competitive intensity of the admissions process,” he said. “This in turn can skew admissions towards middle- or higher-income applicants who may be able to access more effective admissions resources, such as tutoring or extracurriculars.”
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“Our goal for tuition-free education was to clear pathways for the best and brightest future doctors from all backgrounds to attend NYU Grossman School of Medicine without the stress of taking on the average $200,000 in debt medical students typically incur,” Arielle Sklar, a spokesperson for the school told CNBC. “This allows students to align career choices with their passions in medicine rather than immediate economic pressures.”
Sklar, however, did not directly address the issue of declining low-income student enrollment.

Since the initiative by NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, other top schools and programs have embraced the tuition-free model.
Harvard University was the latest undergraduate school to announce that it will be tuition free for undergraduates with family incomes of up to $200,000 beginning in the 2025-26 academic year, following similar initiatives at Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Nearly two dozen more schools have also introduced “no-loan” policies, which means student loans are eliminated altogether from their financial aid packages.
In the case of Harvard, “you may see a trend of families with income closer to $200,000 outcompeting low-income students for slots,” Beaton said. “This may shift the proportion of Harvard students from the top 1% of income down, but it might also decrease the share of low-income students to the benefit of middle or middle-upper income families.”

More generous aid packages and tuition-free policies remove the most significant financial barrier to higher education but attract more higher-income applicants, other experts also say. 
“Even though it sounds like lower-income students are going to be advantaged, it’s the middle class that’s going to win here,” said Christopher Rim, president and CEO of college consulting firm Command Education.
“These colleges are trying to build a well-rounded class, they need middle class and wealthy students as well,” he added. “They are not trying to take fewer rich kids — they need them because they’re the ones that are also going to be donating.”
For lower income students, “anything that increases the number of applications will be detrimental,” said Eric Greenberg, president of Greenberg Educational Group, a New York-based consulting firm.

Nearly all students worry about high college costs

These days, taking on too much debt is the top worry among all college-bound students, according to a survey by The Princeton Review. 
College tuition has soared by 5.6% a year, on average, since 1983, significantly outpacing other household expenses, a recent study by J.P. Morgan Asset Management also found.

This rapid increase means that college costs have risen much faster than inflation, leaving families to shoulder a larger share of the expenses, experts say.
For the 2024-25 school year, tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college averaged $58,600, up from $56,390 a year earlier. At four-year, in-state public colleges, it was $24,920, up from $24,080, according to the College Board.

To bridge the affordability gap, some of the nation’s top institutions are in an “affordability arms race,” according to Hafeez Lakhani, founder and president of Lakhani Coaching in New York. 
However, overall, most institutions do not have the financial wherewithal to offer tuition-free or no-loan aid programs, added Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor in chief. “More than 95% of four-year colleges in the U.S. are tuition driven,” he said. 
Even if a school does not offer enough aid at the outset, there are other ways to bring costs down, according to James Lewis, co-founder of National Society of High School Scholars.
“Get beyond, ‘I can’t afford that,”‘ he said. “A lot of institutions will have a retail price but that’s not necessarily what a student will pay.”
Many schools will provide access to additional resources that can lower the total tab, he said, either through scholarships, financial aid or work-study opportunities.  
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Company: CoStar Group Inc. (CSGP)

Business: CoStar Group is a provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets. It manages its business in two segments: North America, which includes the United States and Canada, and International, which primarily includes Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Its major brands include CoStar, a global provider of commercial real estate data, analytics and news; LoopNet, a commercial real estate marketplace; Apartments.com, a platform for apartment rentals; and Homes.com, a residential real estate marketplace.
Stock Market Value: $32.64B ($77.39 per share)

Stock chart icon

CoStar Group in the past 12 months

Activists: D.E. Shaw and Third Point

D.E. Shaw Ownership: n/a
Third Point Ownership: 2.04%
Average Cost: n/a
Activist Commentary: D.E. Shaw is a large multi-strategy fund that is not historically known for activism. The firm is not an activist investor. Rather, it uses activism as an opportunistic tool in situations where the firm deems it useful. D.E. Shaw seeks out solid businesses in good industries and if it identifies underperformance that is within management’s control, it will take an active role. It places a premium on private, constructive engagement with management and as a result often comes to an agreement with the company before its position is even public.
Third Point is a multi-strategy hedge fund founded by Dan Loeb, that will selectively take activist positions. Loeb is one of the true pioneers in the field of shareholder activism and one of a handful of activists who shaped what has become modern-day shareholder activism. He invented the poison pen letter in a time when it was often necessary. As times have changed, he has transitioned from the poison pen to the power of the argument. Third Point has amicably gotten board representation at companies like Baxter and Disney, but it also will not hesitate to launch a proxy fight if it is being ignored.

What’s happening

On April 6, CoStar Group entered into support agreements with D.E. Shaw and Third Point in connection with a board refreshment and corporate governance enhancements. This includes the addition of Christine McCarthy, John Berisford and Rachel Glaser as directors to the board; the retirement of Michael Klein, Christopher Nassetta and Laura Kaplan from the board. It also includes the appointment of Louise Sams as independent board chair and the creation of a capital allocation committee. D.E. Shaw and Third Point agreed to abide by certain customary standstill and voting provisions.

Behind the scenes

CoStar Group is a provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets. It manages major brands including CoStar Suite, LoopNet, Apartments.com and Homes.com. Approximately 95% of the company’s revenue is derived from the core business, which largely consists of CoStar Suite and Apartments.com, which benefit from high barriers to entry, strong pricing power, proprietary data and subscription-based business models that drive recurrent revenue and highly predictable free cash flow. Because of these dynamics, this business has historically traded at a premium to its information services peers but is now trading in line with them.
This regression in the company’s valuation largely stems from CoStar’s aggressive investment in its residential marketplace business, Homes.com, which it acquired in May 2021. Unlike its core CoStar Suite and Apartment.com businesses, Homes.com lacks clear competitive advantages and faces intense competition from well-established peers like Zillow. Nevertheless, the company is diverting approximately 75% of its $1.3 billion of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization from its core business to fund the $900 million of losses from Homes.com. As a result, capital expenditures are up 878% from 2021 to 2024, marked by 347% increase in 2024 alone.
Enter D.E. Shaw and Third Point who have separately entered into support agreements with CoStar in connection with a board refreshment and corporate governance enhancements. This includes the following: (i) the addition of Christine McCarthy (former CFO of Disney), John Berisford (former president of S&P Global) and Rachel Glaser (former CFO of Etsy) as directors; (ii) the retirement of Chairman Michael Klein, Christopher Nassetta and Laura Kaplan from the board; (iii) the appointment of Louise Sams as independent chairman; and (iv) the creation of a capital allocation committee, which Berisford and McCarthy will join. In activism, there are settlements that are meant to appease an activist investor to keep them quiet, and there are genuine settlements that signify real agreement with the activist on how to proceed. This one is the latter. First, the obvious indication is that three directors were replaced on an eight-person board, which is a large refreshment (approximately 40% of the board). But less obvious and more telling is the structure of the settlement and who was replaced. First, the deal was structured as a replacement of directors, not an addition of three directors, which is more common in settlements, particularly ones with relatively smaller boards (i.e., eight directors for a $30 billion company). Second, the three directors who were replaced were three of the four longest-tenured directors, excluding the CEO, and one of them was the chairman of the company since 1987. Moreover, the new chair of the board is the second newest director prior to the settlement. This is not only a board refreshment in name, but in substance as well.  
There is also a more subtle provision of the settlement that we think offers the most insight into what levers for value creation may follow – the formation of a capital allocation committee, which will consist of four directors, two of whom will be the new D.E. Shaw/Third Point directors. This is a clear situation of something that is often seen in activist campaigns – a core business that is hugely profitable but whose profits are being used to fund an unprofitable non-core business. But the plan here is not likely to completely divest the Homes.com business, or else we would have seen a strategic transactions committee. This capital allocation committee will more likely be tasked with finding ways to fund the Homes.com business without using the cash flow from the core business. This could include a spinoff of the business with CoStar retaining some ownership, a sale of a part of the business to a strategic investor or taking in some third-party capital. The capital allocation committee is also tasked with assessing international expansion. CoStar has already made moves to expand internationally, including the acquisition of OnTheMarket.com in late 2023, one of the UK’s three most visited residential property portals. The company also recently offered to acquire Australian real estate classifieds firm Domain Holdings. The capital allocation committee will certainly evaluate this potential transaction as well as others and make recommendations to the newly reconstituted board. Ultimately, the goal here is to emerge with the core CoStar business with international growth prospects being valued on a multiple of its $1.3 billion consistent to the 30+ EBITDA multiple it historically received. This would result in an approximate $45 billion enterprise value versus around $30 billion today.
Both Third Point and D.E. Shaw are not purely activists, but multi-strategy firms that often use activism as an opportunistic tool. Third Point, founded by Dan Loeb, is a true pioneer in shareholder activism, but has used it more sparingly in recent years as dictated by the market environment and available opportunities. D.E. Shaw is relatively new to activism, but the firm has shown over the last several years that it is as proficient at activism as it is at the other strategies it has been so successful with at its multi-strategy fund. While they both settled with the company in their own agreements, the two are certainly like-minded, but not acting as a group. This is an encouraging development, and it’s something we often see today but would rarely see 15 years ago: It puts stockholder value above ego. Third Point disclosed that it has a 2.04% position in CoStar. D.E. Shaw did not disclose its position, but as a $70 billion hedge fund, it does not take small activist positions: We would expect it to be at least the size of Third Point’s.  
Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist 13D investments. More

April 15 is the deadline to file federal returns and pay taxes for most taxpayers.
You should file on time and pay what you can to reduce penalties and interest, experts say.
However, if you can’t cover the full balance, the IRS has payment plans and most taxpayers can qualify, according to the agency.

Fotostorm | E+ | Getty Images

The tax deadline is days away and the IRS is urging taxpayers to file returns on time and “pay as much as they can.”
However, if you can’t cover your total tax balance, there are options for the remaining taxes owed, according to the agency.

For most tax filers, April 15 is the due date for federal returns and taxes. But your federal deadline could be later if your state or county was affected by a natural disaster.
If you are in the military stationed abroad or are in a combat zone during the tax filing season, you may qualify for certain automatic extensions related to the filing and paying of your federal income taxes.
Additionally, those living and working abroad also have extra time to file. 
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If you’re missing tax forms or need more time, you can file a tax extension by April 15, which pushes the federal filing deadline to Oct. 15.  

But “it’s an extension to file, not an extension to pay,” said Jo Anna Fellon, managing director at financial services firm CBIZ.

File by April 15 and ‘pay what you can’

If you can’t cover your balance by April 15, you should still file your return to avoid a higher IRS penalty, experts say.  
The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of unpaid taxes per month or partial month, capped at 25%.
By comparison, the failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of taxes owed per month, limited to 25%. Both penalties incur interest, which is currently 7% for individuals.

File on time and pay what you can.

Misty Erickson
Tax content manager at the National Association of Tax Professionals

“File on time and pay what you can,” said Misty Erickson, tax content manager at the National Association of Tax Professionals. “You’re going to reduce penalties and interest.” 
Don’t panic if you can’t cover the full balance by April 15 because you may have payment options, she said.
“The IRS wants to work with you,” Erickson added.

Options if you can’t pay your taxes

“Most individual taxpayers can qualify for a payment plan,” the IRS said in a recent news release.The “quickest and easiest way” to sign up is by using the online payment agreement, which may include a setup fee, according to the agency.
These payment options include:

Short-term payment plan: This may be available if you owe less than $100,000 including tax, penalties and interest. You have up to 180 days to pay in full.

Long-term payment plan: You’ll have this option if your balance is less than $50,000 including tax, penalties and interest. The monthly payment timeline is up to the IRS “collection statute,” which is typically 10 years.  

The agency has recently revamped payment plans to make the program “easier and more accessible.”     More

Gold, used as a safe-haven investment in times of uncertainty, has notched more than a dozen record highs this year.
Experts often recommend getting investment exposure to gold through an exchange-traded fund. However, in turbulent times, demand for physical gold, and even gold jewelry, is also higher.
CNBC Financial Advisor Council members weigh in on the best ways to incorporate gold into your portfolio.

Gold is often considered a safe-haven investment because it typically acts as a hedge in times of political and financial uncertainty. Prices are currently soaring amid fears of a global trade war and its potential to push the U.S. economy into recession.
However, some analysts think gold prices may have peaked.

“We’re probably close to maximum optimism on gold at this point,” said Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Investors who chase returns may find themselves regretting it later.
“It’s so overbought,” Samana said. “Buying gold right now, you’re coming a little late to the party. It doesn’t mean it’s over, but you’re not early.”
So far this year, gold prices have notched more than a dozen record highs and are currently trading above $3,000.

Gold prices pop on tariff escalation

Gold futures prices were up about 21% year-to-date as of noon ET on Friday and 30% higher compared to the price a year ago. Prices have popped about 7% this week alone, on pace for the best week since March 2020.
By comparison, the S&P 500 is down about 11% in 2025 and up about 1% in the past year.

President Donald Trump imposed steep country-specific tariffs on Wednesday, but ultimately delayed them for 90 days. However, a trade war between the U.S. and China — our third-largest trade partner — escalated as each nation engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff increase.
As of Friday morning, the U.S. had put a 145% tariff on imports from China, which hit back with a 125% levy on U.S. goods.
While some analysts think gold prices are close to topping out, others think there’s room to run.
“Even though gold prices are at an all-time high, the reality is that in the next couple of years it could accelerate,” said Jordan Roy-Byrne, founder of The Daily Gold, an online resource for gold, silver and mining stocks.

How to invest in gold

Akos Stiller/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Experts often recommend getting investment exposure to gold through an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of physical gold, as part of a well-diversified portfolio, rather than buying actual gold coins or bars.
“For most [investors], I would say a gold bullion-backed ETF makes the most sense,” Samana said. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (IAU) are the two largest gold ETFs, according to ETF.com.
Financial advisors generally recommend limiting gold exposure to the low-single-digit percentage, perhaps up to 3% or so, of one’s overall portfolio.
Gold tends to perform “okay” when investors are worried about inflation or stagflation, Samana said — fears sparked by the Trump administration’s recent tariff policies. However, it “rarely does well” during recessions, which is when bonds “really show their value,” he said.

Buying physical gold

Alternatively, buying physical gold, or bullion, including bars and coins, “is a financial insurance position, as opposed to part of your portfolio,” explained Roy-Byrne.
Consumers, especially, seem to like that idea. When Costco started selling 1-ounce bars last year, revenue soared, with Wells Fargo analysts estimating that the wholesaler generated up to $200 million a month from gold sales alone.

“Amidst the recent stock market turbulence, we’re seeing renewed interest in tangible, physical assets that exist outside traditional financial structures,” according to Tim Schmidt, the founder of Gold IRA Custodians, an online resource for buying gold.
But buying physical gold during uncertain times may not make much sense for investors unless they are extremely anxious the financial system might implode — at which point physical gold can theoretically help people barter for goods and services, Samana said.

Buying gold jewelry

Fine jewelry is a different story. The baseline value of gold jewelry is tied to its precious metal content, according to Schmidt. Higher-karat pieces, or 18K and up, contain more precious metal and typically retain value better, though they may be less durable for everyday wear.
“High-quality jewelry … can offer both personal enjoyment and potential financial benefits when selected carefully,” he said.
Craftsmanship and artistry also play a key role in pieces that could appreciate over time, particularly with hallmarks from top brands, such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Tiffany & Co. 

Buying gold right now, you’re coming a little late to the party. It doesn’t mean it’s over, but you’re not early.

Sameer Samana
head of global equities and real assets at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute

One year ago, Tiffany’s chief executive officer Anthony Ledru said high-quality jewelry may even be considered “recession proof.”
“People have been investing in jewelry since ancient times,” Schmidt said. “There’s something psychologically reassuring about holding an investment in your hand, especially during periods when markets seem disconnected from economic realities.”

What financial advisors say about gold

Gold prices extended their gains on Wednesday, following a record high in the previous session, as investors sought the comfort of the safe-haven metal in anticipation of the potential impact of U.S. reciprocal tariffs.
Akos Stiller | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“We have clients who currently hold positions in gold. These are typically individuals with substantial assets across various industries and sectors, using gold as a means of portfolio diversification and balance,” said Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Sun Group Wealth Partners, based in Irvine, California.
Even in the face of heightened uncertainty largely due to tariff-induced market swings, “we are not proactively recommending that clients add to their gold positions at this time,” said Sun, a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council. “Instead, we suggest maintaining higher cash reserves, fully funding emergency savings, and reallocating as needed based on evolving financial goals.”

Lee Baker, a CFP based in Atlanta, says more clients are worried that tariffs will hinder economic growth and have recently been asking about alternative investments in gold. “Often during times of chaos there is a ‘flight to safety,’ so in a time like this we are seeing some movement to gold as a part of the fear trade.”
According to Baker, who is the founder, owner and president of Apex Financial Services and a member of CNBC’s FA Council, “incorporating gold, and other commodities, is a good idea in general.”
He recommends adding gold ETFs to client portfolios, although “there have been occasions where we have utilized gold stocks in the form of investing in mining companies or gold-related company mutual funds.”
As for physical gold, “if it makes you feel good to go grab an ounce at Costco or wherever, do it,” he said. But with that comes the additional responsibility and costs of storing, insuring and safekeeping those holdings, he added.
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