If you are thinking about your U.S. and State income tax filings, this may help you.
Before I continue, though, keep in mind two disclaimers:
This may be dry and boring to those who are not numbers and/or business savvy.
Or, if you are trying to figure out “what now?!?!” Hopefully this is of some value.
Neither I nor this online platform are rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If such advice is required, it is strongly recommended that a professional advisor be engaged.
My day job elevator speech is that I help business owners understand the numbers that affect their lives. For example, I help with their accounting, business tax returns, personal tax returns, and tax planning. It is Tax Season again.
Here are some observations that may help you in your income tax preparation and filing journey this year.
Whether you are a do-it-yourself preparer or work with an income tax professional, the purpose of this article is to help think through a few items that may apply to you.
Managing Income Steams
One of the challenges I see is how to help entrepreneurs and business owners manage their income streams. For example, someone may have a full time job with a salary, plus a side hustle (like online publishing perhaps)? If that someone is fortunate enough to monetize their side hustle, he or she has to account for the income and expenses.
Maybe someone is successful enough to have paid subscribers on Substack, if the income crosses a threshold, maybe they receive a Form 1099 that totals the gross income received by paid subscribers. Regarding those Forms, before 2025 the reporting threshold was $600 gross. Now, with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed this past July, the threshold is now over $20,000 in gross payments AND more than 200 transactions. Noteworthy is that even if you do not receive a form from a payer, you are still required to report the income.
Managing Expenses From Income Streams
If you have income from sources other than wages, such as
Monetizing online publishing platforms
Contract / freelance work
You may also deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while earning that income. If this is substantial, you may want to work with a tax professional to determine and classify these expenses. Depending on if you are a sole proprietor, small corporation, or part of a partnership, the revenues and expenses are reported differently, and that is beyond the scope of this brief article.
Making Sure You Have All Your Forms
For wage income, you should receive what’s called a Form W-2, those are due to be delivered to you by January 31. I don’t know if they are required to be sent out by U S Mail if they are available online (such as your employer’s Human Resources online portal), the point being you may have to go online to get it.
Other common forms you will need that you may have to get online if they are not mailing them to you:
Interest from bank accounts (Form 1099-INT (for Interest))
Interest, dividends, other investment activity from brokerage houses (goes by different names, such as “Consolidated 1099)
Distributions from tax-favored health accounts, such as a Health Savings Account (Form 1099-SA (Savings Account)
If you have a home with a mortgage, the mortgage interest (and real estate taxes if paid by escrow) Form 1098 – Mortgage Interest Statement
In summary, check your various online financial accounts to see if your required tax statements are there. Keeping track of your income sources is a key job because the Internal Revenue service is. Financial institutions and others who are required to provide tax forms to you are also required to provide them to the IRS. What can happen if you leave one out, and it is large enough, is that someday you may get a letter from the IRS asking if you may have left out reported income. You have a chance to correct it, and it is not harsh, it is just additional work for you and your tax professional.
Are you a Crypto Bro? (or Sister?)
Notice the photo of the top of the 2025 income tax return, a Digital Assets section. If at any time during 2025, if you received, sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of a “digital asset” or “financial interest in a digital asset,” you have to check the box “yes.” This has been the case for several years, noteworthy is that the question is becoming more prominent (conspicuous) from the start, right after you determine your filing status and before you list your dependents.
Again, this is just a brief overview.
If this is confusing, you may have outgrown the do-it-yourself tax return preparation. If you don’t have a tax professional, first reach out to friends, neighbors, family, and such for a referral, just like you would any other service provider. If that does not work, there is an IRS database. However, this database does not make recommendations, only gives you a list.
To find a tax preparer in your area, use the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers, https://irs.treasury.gov/rpo/rpo.jsf which lets you search by ZIP code and filter by credentials like Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) or Enrolled Agents (EAs), or look for authorized e-file providers.
If you think you qualify for low-income taxpayer help, use the IRS VITA/TCE locators for free help https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc254 then scroll down.
Whoever you engage for tax help, make sure they have a valid and current Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and offer electronic filing (e-filing).
Neither I nor the publisher are rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If such advice is required, it is strongly recommended that a professional advisor be engaged.