Maybe filing your Form 1040 or 1040-NR is as simple as reporting your W-2 wages and claiming the standard deduction. Or perhaps it’s more complicated because you sold a rental property, and have large investment gains and losses? Or you're self-employed and file Schedule C. No matter how simple or complex your return is, if you’re like many filers, you’d rather pay to have someone else prepare your return.
You also need to remember that there are lots of tax changes for 2025, thanks in part to last July's "One Big Beautiful Bill" ("OBBB"). They include a new $6,000 senior deduction for filers age 65 and older ($12,000 on joint returns), tax deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation, a deduction for interest paid on automobile loans, a higher cap on deducting state and local taxes and much more.
So it might benefit you more than ever to find a paid tax preparer to help you file your tax return. If you don't have someone you regularly use, you will want to find a tax professional who is qualified and knows the income tax laws, so you don't miss out on any current tax breaks that you are entitled to. At the same time, you will also want to weed out those unreliable preparers that the IRS and the Better Business Bureau are always warning about.
