There's just a month and some change left to file your taxes if you haven't already, but a series of new changes to how you file could make things a bit “bumpier” this year.
Michael Linden, the former executive associate director for President Biden's Office of Management and Budget, says one reason for the bumps is that the IRS has cut its staff dramatically since last year by almost 20%, and that will affect many different things, including customer service and the time it might take to receive your return.
If you used Direct File in years past, you’ll have to find a different way to file.
“Unfortunately, the Trump Administration terminated that program, so that is gone,” Linden said. “Some people can still file for free through those third parties, but you don’t get to do it directly through the IRS.”
There were also numerous changes made to the tax code last year, vis-à-vis the "One Big Beautiful Bill" that passed. These changes will benefit some taxpayers, but not so much others.
“For most people, their taxes won’t change that much,” said Linden. “That was a very large bill with big changes to the tax law, but most of them affected corporations, wealthier people, and then there were some targeted tax cuts that will affect people who earn their living through tips or who have overtime. But those new provisions are pretty specific and they’re pretty narrow.”
During his State of the Union last week, President Trump indicated that he wanted to replace income taxes with more tariffs.
That isn’t something you have to worry about this season.
“It’s not going to happen; the math does not work. The size of the personal income tax, just in terms of its total revenue for the federal government, is much larger than what you could possibly get even from bigger tariffs than what we have now,” said Linden. “And the other really important thing for people to understand is that if we did that, it would be a big tax increase for working people and a big tax cut for rich people.”
Linden also says that when the IRS is underfunded, as it currently is, they audit more low-income families, especially those who claim the earned income tax credit.
To find out if you qualify to have your taxes prepped for free, click here.
