From organizing documents, to scheduling a meeting, to stressing over whether you will be owing money or claiming a refund, filing annual taxes can be draining for many individuals and business owners.
But the 2025 tax season can also be easier and a lot less stressful with some simple steps and approaches.
“The subject of taxes is bothersome to most people, but it doesn’t have to be,” Charles Ford, a certified public accountant (CPA) in Greenville, South Carolina, told The Epoch Times.
“Whether you are a new filer or someone who has been filing for decades, there are a number of ways and considerations that can save you money and avoid mistakes.”
If you haven’t already filed your taxes, here are items to consider, both now and going forward:
Basics
While tax laws are subject to change each year, these five preliminary steps in the filing process remain the same:
Determine If You Need to File. The IRS has different conditions for who needs to file. You must file if you are single, under the age of 65, and earned $14,600 or more in gross annual income; married and filing jointly with $29,000 or more in income; or enrolled in a Healthcare Insurance Marketplace plan.
For all requirements and exemptions, check with your local IRS office or visit the IRS website.
Choose a Reliable Preparer. According to a report by Taxpayer Advocate, an organization within the IRS, more than 54 percent of all individual income tax returns were prepared in 2023 by paid return preparers.
Ford advised using either someone local to you or a reputable firm that has been handling taxes for years, such as H&R Block.
“You hear a lot on advertisements about these tax-savings organizations who say they’re going to save you hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.
“We’ve seen a lot of fly-by-night people come up with those amounts, whether it’s right or not, and they’re gone after they get their money. So it’s important to have a CPA who can cut through all the gains and losses and represent what’s really happening.”
If cost is an issue, one solution for people earning a household income of less than $60,000 per year is to use the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, a free service provided by the United Way.
