I want to turn things around a little bit this week here. I spend time early in tax season talking about the dangers of procrastination, but some of the same tactics can keep you from filing too early.

Filing too early?

Yes, it could actually occur.  This may largely happen with people who are going about tax season alone, but if your main concern is to just get your return taken care of so you don’t have to think about it anymore, you may end up submitting it before getting all the deductions for which you qualify onto the return.

But if you give yourself a little time, you have the opportunity to make sure everything is in order and get the best possible answer at the end of a return.

I also want to take a moment to highlight the importance of making sure your information is correct on your tax return and with your tax preparer. Have you moved? Did you get married? Did you change your name? Did you have any children?

​So many of these things can seem mundane – heck, some of them could now just be your life and have happened over a year ago – but making sure it’s all correct on your tax return will keep things moving through the pipeline correctly and avoid any issues in getting your return approved. 

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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The passage of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill has certainly changed some things up here this tax season. Anytime there are new tax rules, there is a little bit of trepidation as we wait to see how it will all play out when it comes time to handle actual forms and returns. The recent bill’s passage, though, seems to have captured the public’s fancy a little more than usual.

I imagine that some of this has to do with the headlines of tips and overtime not being subject to taxes. This covers enough people that there are a significant number expecting to see a little bigger tax return this year. And for many – this will even come true.

At the same time, this seems to have given rise to a general idea that there are more deductions out there to be claimed and thus more people thinking they may be able to itemize deductions and not just take the standard one.

Granted, this is surely always possible. So give yourself time to get those receipts and forms together to build that deduction number as high as possible. But also remember, the standard deduction starts high, so it can be difficult for many people to eclipse:

• $15,750 for single or married filing separately
• $31,500 for married couples filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse
• $23,625 for head of household

But if you can claim more than that, you definitely should. So move quickly if you think you are in this situation, the more you can document, the more you can potentially get back in those bigger refunds that many are envisioning.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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Now that we are reaching the middle of February, I know there is only so much harping I can do about how beneficial it is to get a jumpstart on your taxes. At some point, the people who will listen have listened and there are no more gains to be made.

But before completely giving up, here is a final plea. This is not just a general plea, but goes out to certain people who may have been affected by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.

• Workers who receive tips. This was one of the big headlines when the legislation was passed, so there probably aren’t many unaware of it. But this could put more than $1,000 in someone’s pocket. A little extra time now can ensure this is correct in your payroll paperwork and flows through correctly to your tax return to save you this money.
• Workers with overtime hours. This also was loud in the reporting around the bill, but these changes were big and new across the board, so you want to be sure all is in order to get any money that may be owed to you.
• Car Buyers. If you bought a new US-assembled car in the past year, there is a deduction of up to $10,000 that you could qualify for (and note, this will run through 2028 if you are thinking of purchasing a vehicle.)

Even in these specific circumstances, what this comes down to is having enough time to get the proper information together to be sure you are getting all the tax breaks you qualify for. There are going to be people who will not get all that they deserve this tax year because they did not give themselves the time they needed to do so. Here is a final call to try to ensure you don’t end up being one of those people.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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When it comes to talking about tax returns, it never takes too long to come around to the concept of procrastination. It may be odd to speak of it this early in the season, but I think that these early days may be a big part of why it happens.

The seed of not wanting to deal with taxes sometimes can come from a feeling of being overwhelmed. Between just two spouses, never mind any children they may also have, a pair can easily get to 20 tax forms received in January. This doesn’t seem so bad when it comes to the first few, but if they’re just going into a pile, that mass ends up looking like it is going to take some time to conquer by the end of the month.

This is when having someone else handle your filing can be very helpful. You don’t need to have received everything to do your part, and you don’t need to understand exactly what every form says. Instead, just be sure that you are starting to do something with them instead of letting them sit on the counter.

For our clients, we have opened tax season on TaxDome, which is a portal that allows you to save your information as it comes in. We won’t begin the process of getting your tax return prepared until you let us know that everything is in and things are ready to go, but passing any forms along gets you that much further down the road.

The key to defeating procrastination is to not be defeated by it, the more time goes on when you have done nothing, the more difficult it is to get started. While the weight of getting something done for your taxes is low now, that means it’s the best time to get started. So yes, you have received a lot of forms in the last month, it can look like a lot, but we promise that if you start on them soon, it won’t feel as bad as you fear and will only help as we move through the tax season.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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