Honda CR-V SUVs are displayed on a sales lot
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)It’s that dreaded time of year again when we have to start thinking about our tax filing. Tax day is April 15th, but now is when we start collecting all the forms and information. All the stuff needed to fulfill our civic duty and legal obligation as tax-paying residents of our country.
The 1040, W2, 1099 (of which there are multiple versions), is too confusing for me to trust myself to figure out my own taxes. While many people do their own taxes, that’s not my style, too scary and risky.
Whichever way you choose to file, there are many things to know, and now is the time to start. Filing season starts on January 26th, so it’s best to start collecting everything needed. However, our employers have until January 31st to make our W-2 available to us. Once we’ve gathered and organized all of our forms and records, we’re ready to file our tax returns.
IRS New Information for Filing Tax Returns
Something new for the 2025 tax return filing year is the “No Tax on Car Loan Interest” provision. This is good news for many of us who have a car loan.
However, the most important criterion is to determine if your car’s final assembly was completed in the United States. With a quick Google search, I learned that my car’s production was finalized in Greensburg, Indiana.
Other eligibility criteria include that the vehicle is used for personal use, and specifies that there’s a $10,000 deduction limit.
The Internal Revenue Service has a list of tips and recommendations to make filing and, more importantly, receiving your tax refund.
If you don’t have a bank account already, get one. You’ll be able to receive your refund with direct deposit. This is important because the IRS will be phasing out paper tax refund checks to cut down on theft and fraud.
IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano said, “IRS information systems have been updated to incorporate the new laws and are ready to efficiently and effectively process taxpayer returns during the filing season.” This means that we’ll hopefully be getting our refunds sooner.
