CPA and TurboTax expert Miguel Burgos discusses changes to tax credits, inflation adjustments, new deadlines, and ways to maximize your refund.
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00:00So the 2024 tax season is upon us.
00:07I know everyone's like groaning, but you got to get it done.
00:10And the good news is you have a lot of help.
00:13We have with us right now CPA and TurboTax expert Miguel Burgos, and he's going to go
00:17through the important things.
00:18So please, let's start from the top.
00:21When is the deadline?
00:22What do people need to know about this April?
00:26Well Tracy, for this 2024 tax year that we're filing out on 2025, the tax deadline for most
00:32taxpayers is April 15th, 2025.
00:35However, we know that sadly many taxpayers both in California and the south of the country,
00:40Florida, have been going through some natural disasters, wildfire, hurricane.
00:45So for some of them, they might have an additional time to file their taxes and pay their taxes
00:50if they have any balance to.
00:53In the case of the California affected counties and declare as a disaster zone by the federal
00:58government, they have until October 15th, 2025.
01:02For many of those in the south of the country in Florida affected by the hurricanes, they
01:05have until May 1st to file their tax return and pay their taxes.
01:09Now keep an eye on the IRS website so you can confirm if your county is declared as
01:17a disaster zone by the federal government and if you do qualify for that additional
01:20time to file your taxes.
01:22Yeah, and the IRS is really good about keeping their site updated, irs.gov.
01:26So please, please stay on top of that and check it out.
01:28All right, so there's a ton of new stuff this year too as well before we sit down.
01:33What kind of adjustments and things should people be aware of as they start to prepare
01:36their returns?
01:39Every year we expect some sort of change in tax law or our tax situation.
01:44However, we do have to say that for 2024 tax year compared to perhaps what we had during
01:49the pandemic or what we had in the 2017 tax reform, we don't have as many changes as
01:56with it before.
01:57However, we do have the usual inflation adjusted amounts.
02:00For example, the standard deduction, the filing requirements for single taxpayers, it's $14,600.
02:07For head of household, it's $21,900.
02:10And for married filing jointly taxpayers, it's $29,200.
02:14Additional to that, we see the usual increase in tax credits.
02:17One of them is the earned income tax credit for those with at least three qualified children.
02:23It goes up to $7,830.
02:26We also see changes in the Form 1099-K for those that are using, you know, third-party
02:32processing payments.
02:35In the past, the filing requirement was $20,000 and 200 transactions.
02:40That comes down to $5,000.
02:43Once you have over $5,000 receiving payments on either a mobile app, credit, debit card,
02:49it is likely that you will get that Form 1099-K.
02:51And something new this year is that those that use the clean vehicle credit, that purchase
02:57an electric car, in 2024, for the first time, they were able to claim the credit directly
03:03with the dealership, reducing the purchase price of the vehicle.
03:06And now when they file their 2024 return on 2025, they will have to reconciliate that
03:12credit and see if they qualify for the full amount, if they qualify for more, or perhaps
03:16if they have to return a little bit of it.
03:18So let's make sure that we access the tools that we have available.
03:23TurboTax.com, our bilingual experts, so that way you can make sure that you're up to date
03:28with all the changes and see how they apply to you.
03:30Yeah, that's super important.
03:32All right.
03:33So the other thing that people always are worried about is that refund and how do I
03:36make it bigger?
03:37So what are some quick things people could do to maximize their refunds?
03:41Yes, well, we start from simple to complex.
03:45Simple things that make a significant difference.
03:48Start filing your return as soon as possible.
03:51That way you have the time to research, to consult, to see what's the best options for
03:57your taxes.
03:58So from early on, right now, start gathering your income documents, W-2s, 1099, any deductions,
04:05any medical expenses, charitable contributions, any state tax that you made, either property
04:13tax, income tax, sales tax that you pay to the state, and also any information related
04:17to credits, your full names, dates of birth, social security numbers for you, your spouse,
04:24and dependents.
04:25Yeah.
04:26So get yourself organized and start to think about things.
04:29All right.
04:30And finally, I'm a big proponent of filing early, even though sometimes I have to admit
04:34I do come down to the wire, but my kids are pretty much done already.
04:37So I'm trying to instill that.
04:39Why should people file early other than for the obvious reason to get it off your plate?
04:43Well, Tracy, to start, the average refund, it's about the same of what it was last year.
04:48So it's a little bit over $3,000.
04:50For most taxpayers, it's a significant amount of money that they can use for multiple things.
04:58Additional to that, it's also safe in the sense that with so much fraud going on, the
05:03earlier you file, the less likely that somebody will be able to steal your information from
05:07you, your spouse, your dependents, and use that information to file your taxes.
05:11The IRS e-filing system is designed to only allow one tax return, claiming either with
05:18a taxpayer social security number, a spouse, or a dependent.
05:21So the earlier you do it, the more safe you are when it comes to tax fraud.
05:26Additional to that, we have multiple options in TurboTax.
05:31We still have the TurboTax Free Edition.
05:34Those taxpayers that have a simple tax return, by that meaning filing a 1040 with no additional
05:39schedules up to $1,500 on interest and dividend income, they can claim the Earned Income Tax
05:47Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and they can also claim student loan interest deduction.
05:52So for those taxpayers, they can file free.
05:54But additional to that, up to February 18th, if you use the mobile app and you switch to
06:00TurboTax, you can file for free your taxes for individuals regardless of their complexity.
06:07And that's up to February 18th.
06:08So that's another reason to file as soon as possible.
06:11Yeah, and it's a good one.
06:14Thank you so much for sharing all this stuff with us, CPA and TurboTax expert Miguel Burgos.
06:19Thank you again.
06:20Oh, my pleasure.