LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — With the federal tax filing deadline still more than a month away, tax preparers say there are several new changes taxpayers should keep in mind this year.
One change comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill, which could lead to larger refunds for some Americans, particularly those who earn overtime pay.
Workers are now allowed to deduct the premium portion of overtime pay — essentially the “half” in “time and a half” — from their federal income taxes.
Employers are not required to list that overtime amount on a W-2 form, so tax preparers recommend bringing the final pay stub of the year when filing taxes.
Tax experts say there are also a couple of additional benefits available this year.
“There's also the new credit for seniors. Anyone over the age of 65 they get $6,000 a piece. That does phase out, though. So if you make over $75,000 or $150,000 you're going to see that starting to phase out. So you won't get that whole amount. Tips was the other one. So we've been seeing, you know, some higher refunds due to those things, everything else, pretty much has stayed the same,” says Cheryl Lawson, Lawson Tax & Accounting Services.
Lawson recommends that anyone planning to use a tax preparation service try to submit their documents by April 1.
Doing so gives taxpayers extra time to track down additional forms they may need from banks, lenders or other financial institutions before the filing deadline.
