New tax changes and deadlines in 2025

Victims of natural disasters have been granted new tax deadlines; plus, here's a roundup of changes to the standard deduction, increases in tax credits and ways to maximize your refund this year from CPA and TurboTax expert Miguel Burgos. Watch the video above or read the transcript below.

Video transcript:

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Tracy Byrnes: So the 2024 tax season is upon us. I know everyone's, like, groaning. But you got to get it done. And the good news is you have a lot of help. We have with us right now CPA and TurboTax expert Miguel Burgos.

And he's going to go through the important things. So basically, let's start from the top. When is the deadline? What do people need to know about this April?

Miguel Burgos: Well, Tracy, for this 2024 tax year that we're filing out on 2025, the tax deadline for most taxpayers is April 15, 2025. However, we know that, sadly, many taxpayers, both in California and the south of the country, Florida, have been going through some natural disasters, wildfires, hurricanes. So for some of them, they might have an additional time to file their taxes and pay their taxes if they have any balance due.

In the case of the California affected counties and declared disaster zone by the federal government, they have until October 15, 2025. For many of those in the south of the country in Florida affected by the hurricanes, they have until May 1st to file their tax return and pay their taxes.

Now, keep an eye on the IRS website, so you can confirm if your county is declared as a disaster zone by the federal government and if you do qualify for that additional time to file your taxes.

Tracy Byrnes: Yeah. And the IRS is really good about keeping their site updated, IRS.gov. So please, please stay on top of that and check it out.

All right, so there's a ton of new stuff this year too as well before we sit down. What kind of adjustments and things should people be aware of as they start to prepare their returns?

Miguel Burgos: Well, every year, we expect some sort of change in tax law or our tax situation. However, we do have to say that, for 2024 tax year compared to perhaps what we had during the pandemic or what we had in the 2017 tax reform, we don't have as many changes as we did before.

However, we do have the usual inflation-adjusted amounts. For example, the standard deduction, the filing requirements for single taxpayers, it's $14,600. For head of household, it's $21,900. And for married filing jointly taxpayers, it's $29,200.

Additional to that, we see the usual increase in tax credits. One of them is the earned income tax credit. For those with at least three qualifying children, it goes up to $7,830.

We also see changes in the form 1099K for those that are using third-party processing payments. In the past, it was the filing requirement was $20,000 and 200 transactions. That comes down to $5,000. Once you have over $5,000 receiving payments on either a mobile app, credit, debit card, it is likely that you will get that form 1099-K.

And something new this year is that those that use the clean vehicle credit, that purchase an electric car, in 2024, for the first time, they were able to claim the credit directly with the dealership, reducing the purchase price of the vehicle. And now when they file their 2024 return on 2025, they will have to reconciliate that credit and see if they qualify for the full amount, if they qualify for more, or perhaps if they have to return a little bit of it.

So let's make sure that we access the tools that we have available, turbotax.com, our bilingual experts. So that way, you can make sure that you're up to date with all the changes and see how they apply to you.

Tracy Byrnes: Yeah, that's super important. All right, so the other thing that people always are worried about is that refund. And how do I make it bigger? So what are some quick things people could do to maximize their refunds?

Miguel Burgos: Yes. Well, we start from simple to complex, simple things that make a significant difference. Start filing your return as soon as possible. That way, you have the time to research, to consult, to see what's the best options for your taxes. So from early on, right now, start gathering your income documents, W-2s, 1099, any deductions, any medical expenses, charitable contributions, any state tax that you made, either property tax, income tax, sales tax that you pay to the state, and also any information related to credits, your full names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers for you, your spouse, and dependents.

Tracy Byrnes: Yeah, so get yourself organized and start to think about things. All right, and, finally, I'm a big proponent of filing early, even though, sometimes, I have to admit, I do come down to the wire. But my kids are pretty much done already. So I'm trying to instill that. Why should people file early other than for the obvious reason to get it off your plate?

Miguel Burgos: Well, Tracy, to start, the average refund, it's about the same of what it was last year. So it's a little bit over $3,000. For most taxpayers, it's a significant amount of money that they can use for multiple things.

Additional to that, it's also safe. In the sense that, with so much fraud going on, the earlier you file, the less likely that somebody will be able to steal your information from you, your spouse, your dependents, and use that information to file your taxes. The IRS e-filing system is designed to only allow one tax return, claiming either with a taxpayer Social Security number, a spouse, or a dependent. So the earlier you do it, the more safe you are when it comes to tax fraud.

Additional to that, we have multiple options in TurboTax. We still have the TurboTax free edition. Those taxpayers that have a simple tax return, by that meaning filing a 1040 with no additional schedules up to $1,500 on interest and dividend income, they can claim the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit. And they can also claim student loan interest deduction. So for those taxpayers, they can file free.

But additional to that, up to February 18th, if you use the mobile app and you switch to TurboTax, you can file for free your taxes for individuals, regardless of the complexity. And that's up to February 18th. So that's another reason to file as soon as possible.

Tracy Byrnes: Yeah, and it's a good one. Thank you so much for sharing all this stuff with us. CPA and TurboTax expert Miguel Burgos, thank you again.

Miguel Burgos: Oh, my pleasure.

Editor's Note: The content was reviewed for tax accuracy by a TurboTax CPA expert for the 2024 tax year.