Important Updates for the Coming Season

Jim Richter
1 day ago
4 min read

As the 2025 tax season approaches, taxpayers and businesses must stay informed about critical updates and deadlines to ensure a smooth filing process. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate this year’s tax requirements.

Key Dates Individual Tax Filers:

Jan. 31, 2026: Deadline for employers to furnish Form W-2 to employees and for businesses to provide certain Form 1099s to contractors and recipients.
Late Jan. 2026 (TBD): The IRS is expected to begin accepting and processing individual tax returns for the 2025 tax year.
Feb. 2, 2026: The date by which you should file your tax return if you did not pay your final installment of 2025 estimated tax by the January 15 deadline.
April 1, 2026: The deadline to take your first Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from retirement accounts if you turned 73 in 2025.
April 15, 2026: The primary federal tax deadline to file your 2025 individual income tax return (Form 1040) and pay any taxes owed.
April 15, 2026: The last day to make contributions to an IRA or HSA for the 2025 tax year.
April 15, 2026: The deadline to file Form 4868 for an automatic six-month extension to file, which pushes the filing date to October 15, 2026 (payment is still due April 15).
Oct. 15, 2026: The final deadline to file an extended 2025 tax return.

Estimated Tax Payment Dates (for 2026 tax year)

For self-employed individuals and others with income not subject to withholding, estimated tax payments for the 2026 tax year are due quarterly: 

April 15, 2026: First installment due.
June 15, 2026: Second installment due (date moves to June 16, 2026 if June 15 is a weekend/holiday).
Sept. 15, 2026: Third installment due.
Jan. 15, 2027: Fourth and final installment for the 2026 tax year due

Federal Tax Updates:

The most important U.S. federal tax updates for 2025, primarily driven by the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," include permanently extended lower tax rates and a higher standard deduction, alongside new temporary deductions for seniors, tips, overtime, and new vehicle loan interest. 

Key changes affecting your 2025 taxes (filed in early 2026) are outlined below:

Individual Taxpayer Updates

Tax Brackets and Standard Deduction: The seven federal income tax brackets (10% to 37%) from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are made permanent and adjusted for inflation. The standard deduction amounts for 2025 are:
Single filers: $15,750.
Married couples filing jointly: $31,500.
Heads of household: $23,625.
New Deductions (Temporary, 2025-2028): Taxpayers can claim new "above-the-line" deductions, even if they take the standard deduction.
Seniors: An additional $6,000 deduction per eligible individual (age 65+) is available, with phaseouts for higher incomes.
Qualified Tips: Workers may deduct up to $25,000 in qualified, reported tips, subject to income phaseouts.
Overtime Pay: A deduction of up to $12,500 for qualified overtime pay (or $25,000 for joint filers) is available, also with income phaseouts.
New Vehicle Loan Interest: You may deduct up to $10,000 in interest paid on a loan for a new, personal-use vehicle assembled in the U.S. (purchased after December 31, 2024), subject to income limits.
Child Tax Credit: The maximum credit increases to $2,200 per qualifying child under age 17, with a refundable portion capped at $1,700. A valid Social Security number is required for the taxpayer (or one spouse for joint filers) and the child.
State and Local Taxes (SALT): The cap on the SALT deduction is temporarily raised to $40,000 (from $10,000) for taxpayers with a modified AGI under $500,000, with gradual reductions above that threshold.
Retirement and Health Savings Accounts:
401(k) contributions can be up to $23,500, with an extra $7,500 catch-up for those 50+.
IRA contribution limits remain at $7,000, plus a $1,000 catch-up for those 50+.
HSA contribution limits are $4,300 for individuals and $8,550 for families.
Clean Vehicle Credits End: The new and used clean vehicle tax credits (Sections 30D and 25E) are no longer allowed for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.

Business and Other Updates

100% Bonus Depreciation: Businesses can again deduct 100% of the cost of qualifying new and used property placed in service after January 19, 2025.
R&D Expenses: Domestic research and development expenses can now be immediately deducted rather than amortized.
Form 1099-K Threshold: The reporting threshold for third-party payment networks (e.g., Venmo, PayPal for business transactions) reverts to over $20,000 and more than 200 transactions.
Form 1099DA: A new IRS form that will be issued for all digital assets sales such as cryptocurrency and NFTs.
"Trump Accounts" for Children: A new type of IRA for children (born between 2025-2028) is introduced, with a government-seeded $1,000 pilot program contribution for eligible children.

This article is a general communication being provided for informational and educational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as tax advice, investment advice or a recommendation for any specific investment product or strategy. The information contained herein does not take your financial situation, investment objective or risk tolerance into consideration. Readers, including professionals, should under no circumstances rely upon this information as a substitute for their own research or for obtaining specific legal, accounting or tax advice from their own counsel. Any examples are hypothetical and for illustration purposes only. All investments involve risk and can lose value, the market value and income from investments may fluctuate in amounts greater than the market. All information discussed herein is current only as of the date of publication and is subject to change at any time without notice. Forecasts may not be realized due to a multitude of factors, including but not limited to, changes in economic conditions, corporate profitability, geopolitical conditions, inflation or US tax policy. This material has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy, completeness and interpretation cannot be guaranteed.

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