9 big takeaways for the 2025 tax season — and beyond

Tax play is officially present and, with it, a full slew of caller taxation rules.

The precocious passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act introduced respective notable provisions, on with imperishable extensions of existing codification successful the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). But galore taxpayers whitethorn not beryllium alert of these nuances, and the caller taxation instrumentality is notoriously complex, experts say.

Before digging successful to record your returns, present are cardinal changes and deadlines to cognize for the 2025 taxation twelvemonth — and what to ticker retired for successful 2026.

Non-itemizers get a invited boost to their deduction. For 2025, the standard deduction is $15,750 for azygous filers and joined couples filing separately, $31,500 for joined couples filing jointly and $23,625 for heads of households, according to the IRS. These amounts volition proceed to summation with ostentation annually — a proviso present codified into law.

The IRS has already released modular deductions for taxation twelvemonth 2026: $16,100 (single filers and joined couples filing separately); $32,200 for joined couples filing jointly; and $24,150 for heads of households.

Meanwhile, the OBBB made imperishable the existing 7 national income taxation brackets from the TCJA, said Anthony Kure, elder portfolio manager with Johnson Investment Counsel successful northeast Ohio.

Taxpayers ages 65 and older tin present assertion an additional $6,000 deduction per idiosyncratic connected apical of the modular deduction. This means joined couples tin deduct up to $12,000 annually from their yearly taxation bill.

"That’s a beauteous large number, looking astatine $44,000 for a senior," said Joel Salas, a taxation adept with JustAnswer and proprietor of Elevated Tax Strategies successful San Antonio.

The payment phases retired starting astatine $150,000 for joined couples filing jointly and $75,000 for azygous filers.

Kure noted this creates important readying opportunities for seniors.
"If you are looking astatine things similar Roth conversions you’ve got to see this, due to the fact that if you signifier yourself retired of this other enhanced deduction, you're efficaciously making that taxation connected the Roth conversion mode higher."

The OBBB temporarily increases the headdress connected authorities and section taxation (SALT) deductions from $10,000 to $40,000 for 2025. However, the payment phases retired astatine a 30% complaint for precocious earners making $500,000 a year. The SALT bounds and income phaseout increases by 1% annually done 2029 earlier returning to $10,000 successful 2030.

Francine J. Lipman, instrumentality prof astatine the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, called it a "gift to higher income folks successful high-cost states."