How We Source Our Data

The figures on Wealthvieu, including tax brackets, benefit amounts, wages, interest rates and fees, come from the organizations that publish them. This page explains which sources we use, how we check them, and what you see at the bottom of each article.

The Sources Box on Every Article

Most articles end with a Sources used on this page box. It lists:

• The primary sources behind the page’s figures, linked to the publisher so you can check them yourself.
• The data date for figures drawn from our shared datasets, for example “May 2025 data” for Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data. Official statistics are released on a lag, so the data date is often earlier than the date the page was updated.
• A verification date. “Figures verified” means the page’s figures were checked against the listed sources on that date. If the page was edited after that check, the box shows the update date too. Pages that haven’t had a dated check yet show when they were last updated.

Which Sources We Use

We rank sources by how close they are to the original data and use the highest one available:

1. The publisher of the figure. Government agencies, regulators and official statistics bodies: the IRS, Social Security Administration, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, Federal Reserve, Federal Student Aid and CMS in the US; the CRA, Statistics Canada and Bank of Canada in Canada; HMRC, the ONS and the Bank of England in the UK. For laws and rules, the statute, regulation or official notice itself, such as the Federal Register.
2. The institution’s own disclosures. For a bank, card or lender, its published rate sheet, fee schedule or cardholder agreement.
3. Reputable secondary reporting, only when the primary source can’t be accessed. If an official site blocks access, we confirm the figure with at least two independent reports that cite the official release, and we say so.

We don’t use search-engine summaries, AI answers or other personal finance sites as the source of a figure.

How We Keep Figures Consistent

Figures that appear on many pages, such as wage statistics, household income, net worth percentiles, student loan rates and Social Security amounts, are stored once in shared datasets and inserted into each page from there. When the source publishes new data, we update the dataset and every page that uses it changes together, so the same number can’t say one thing on one page and another elsewhere. These are the datasets currently shared this way:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Expenditure Surveys
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employment Projections and Occupational Outlook Handbook
• U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey
• U.S. Census Bureau — Survey of Income and Program Participation, Wealth of Households
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles
• Federal Reserve — Distributional Financial Accounts
• Federal Reserve — Survey of Consumer Finances
• Federal Student Aid — Federal Student Loan Portfolio
• Federal Student Aid — Interest Rates for Direct Loans First Disbursed July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027
• Internal Revenue Service — Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 tax brackets and standard deduction)
• Missouri Economic Research and Information Center — Cost of Living Data Series
• Social Security Administration — Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) information
• Social Security Administration — Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2026 (90 FR 49047)
• Social Security Board of Trustees — 2026 Annual Report

How We Check and Correct Figures

• Before publishing or updating, we check each figure against the listed source, not against our own earlier pages.
• When we find an error, we fix it on every page that repeats it, not just the one where it was found.
• Worked examples and calculators are recomputed independently when a page is updated, since checking the text doesn’t catch a calculation mistake.
• Annual figures such as tax brackets, contribution limits and the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment are updated when the agency publishes the new year’s numbers.

Rates, Fees and Product Details

Interest rates, fees and card terms change often and can differ by applicant, state or account. We take them from the institution’s published disclosures on the date shown, but confirm the current terms with the provider before you apply.

Report an Error

If a figure on the site doesn’t match its source, please contact us with the page and the source you’re comparing it to. See our editorial policy for how we handle corrections.

Written by WealthVieu

WealthVieu researches and writes data-driven personal finance guides using primary sources including the IRS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, and Census Bureau.