It's time again to decide if you're going to slog through your own tax forms or enlist a pro.
The IRS begins accepting 2025 tax year returns on Jan. 26 amid some of the most tax law changes since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending package added many new provisions, including no tax on tips and overtime, Trump accounts and an additional senior deduction that are retroactive to 2025.
The new provisions, meant to fatten Americans' wallets, can also cause confusion, accountants said. To avoid mistakes, many Americans who usually do their own taxes might consider changing strategies.
"While the new deductions are beneficial to millions of Americans, they can be confusing because there are a lot of nuances and rules," said Mark Steber, chief tax officer at tax preparer Jackson Hewitt. "That’s certainly the case for any taxpayers who will claim the new deduction related to overtime pay or tip income, as they might need to do a little extra work to correctly calculate the right amounts to claim because W-2 forms weren’t automatically updated to reflect the new tax laws before year end."
But that doesn't necessarily mean you must hire a tax pro. Many Americans still have fairly simple tax returns. With guidance from tax software, IRS help or a traditional or artificial intelligence search engine, people can still handle their own taxes.
