RESOURCE CENTER
Alliance Tax Recommends all Clients Create an Individual IRS Online Account
Setting up an IRS online account has many benefits. You can securely access and view your IRS tax information anytime through the individual online account. You have the option to:
- Review Federal estimated payments made during the year or refunds applied as a credit..
- Review Federal amounts owed for past tax years. Payment history. Payment plan details.
- Print digital copies of IRS notices.
- Request Federal tax records/tax transcripts.
- Schedule Federal payments.
To create an IRS online account, each individual taxpayer needs to visit:
https://www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account
The IRS is phasing out paper checks beginning September 30, 2025! Please be prepared to have your refunds Direct Deposited. You will also need to use the options to pay your taxes from your bank account.
2025 Standard Deduction Amounts
For 2025, the standard deduction amount has increased for all filers, and the amounts are as follows:
- $15,750 Single or Married filing separately
- $31,500 Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse
- $23,625 Head of household
Taxpayers who are at least 65 years old or blind can claim an additional 2025 standard deduction of $1,600 ($2,000 if using Single or Head of household filing status) for each taxpayer on a Married filing jointly return, and each taxpayer who is blind.
New for 2025-2028, individuals who are aged 65 and older may claim an additional deduction of $6000. This new deduction is in addition to the current additional standard deduction for seniors under existing law.
• The $6000 senior deduction is per eligible individual (or $12,000 total for a married couple where both spouses qualify).
• Deduction phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers).
• The taxpayer must attain age 65 on or before the last day of the taxable year.
Charitable Donations
For 2025, IRA owners who are age 70 ½ or older had the option to transfer up to $108,000 to a charity tax free by making a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD. QCDs must be made directly by the trustee of the IRA to the charity to qualify for tax-free treatment, and must be made by December 31, so the IRA owner should contact their IRA trustee in time to complete the transaction by the end of the year. All other charitable donations must be claimed as a deduction on Schedule A.
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2025 Standard Mileage Rates
For 2025, the following rates are in effect:
- 70 cents per mile for business use
- 21 cents per mile driven for medical purposes
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
Digital Assets/Virtual Currency/Cryptocurrency
The IRS treats virtual currencies as property, meaning it is taxed in a manner like stocks or real property. The IRS is focusing on cryptocurrency/digital asset tax evasion with virtual currencies, employing data analytics to uncover transactions that crypto users assumed were hidden. Form 1040 asks whether at any time during 2025, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award, or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?
If the answer is Yes, similar to other investments, you must provide a record of all your transactions. This includes how much you paid for the digital asset, if purchased, how long you held the asset, and how much you sold it for. You must have receipts for each transaction. More information may be required to complete your 2025 tax return.
Online sales/payment apps (Form 1099-K)
If you received payments through apps like eBay, Venmo, Etsy, PayPal, or Cash App in 2025, you may receive Form 1099-K in early 2026. For more information:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2025-08.pdf
IRS revises and updates Form 1099-K frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Retirement Savings
For 2025, the annual contribution limit will stay at $7,000 and the catch-up contribution limit will stay at $1,000 for individuals 50 or older. The elective salary deferral limit for employees who contribute to a retirement savings plan like a 401(k) will increase to $23,500 in 2025, with catch-up contribution dollar limit of $7,500 for employees who are age 50 or older.
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Energy Related Credits
Two major residential incentives—the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C) and the Residential Clean Energy Property Credit (25D)—are both set to expire for systems installed after December 31, 2025
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/energy-efficient-home-improvement-credit
Documentation Requirements: Starting in 2025, homeowners will need to include a Qualified Manufacturer Identification Number (QMID) for eligible products on their tax returns. This requirement is part of new IRS regulations aimed at ensuring compliance with the credit claims.
Credits for new clean vehicles purchased in 2023 or after
These Federal tax credits expired on September 30, 2025.
• The vehicle must be placed in service for you to claim the credit. If a vehicle is placed in service after Sept. 30, 2025, you must have acquired the vehicle on or before Sept. 30, 2025, to be eligible for the credit. You can demonstrate acquisition by entering a binding written contract and making a payment on the vehicle on or before Sept. 30, 2025. A vehicle is placed in service when you take possession of the vehicle.
Missouri Standard Deduction Amounts
For 2025, the standard deduction amounts allowed by Missouri match the increased Federal standard deduction amounts:
- $15,750 Single or Married filing separate
- $31,500 Married filing combined or Qualified Widow(er)
- $23,625 Head of household
Additional standard deduction amounts for age 65 or older and blind:
$1,600 for each occurrence on a Married filing jointly, Married filing separately, or Qualifying surviving spouse return: or
$2,000 for Single or Head of household filing statuses.
2025 Missouri Active and Inactive Duty Military Tax Deduction
- 100% of military income for 2025
2025 Missouri Other Changes
• Missouri Working Family Credit, updated in 2024, credit up to 20% of federal earned income credit. This cannot be refunded but can reduce tax owed.
• Retroactive to 1/1/2025, Missouri is no longer taxing Capital Gains.
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NEW! “No Tax on Tips”
• New deduction: Effective for 2025 through 2028, employees and self-employed individuals may deduct qualified tips received in occupations that are listed by the IRS as customarily and regularly receiving tips on or before December 31, 2024, and that are reported on a Form W-2, Form 1099, or other specified statement furnished to the individual or reported directly by the individual on Form 4137.
- “Qualified tips” are voluntary cash or charged tips received from customers or through tip sharing.
- Maximum annual deduction is $25,000; for self-employed, deduction may not exceed individual’s net income (without regard to this deduction) from the trade or business in which the tips were earned.
- Deduction phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $150,000 ($300,000 for joint filers).
• Taxpayer eligibility: Deduction is available for both itemizing and non-itemizing taxpayers.
- Self-employed individuals in a Specified Service Trade or Business (SSTB) under section 199A are not eligible. Employees whose employer is in an SSTB also are not eligible.
Taxpayers must:
- include their Social Security Number on the return and
- file jointly if married, to claim the deduction.
• Reporting: Employers and other payors must file information returns with the IRS (or SSA) and furnish statements to taxpayers showing certain cash tips received and the occupation of the tip recipient.
• Guidance: By October 2, 2025, the IRS must publish a list of occupations that “customarily and regularly” received tips on or before December 31, 2024.
- The IRS will provide transition relief for tax year 2025 for taxpayers claiming deduction and for employers and payors subject to the new reporting requirements.
“No Tax on Overtime”
• New deduction: Effective for 2025 through 2028, individuals who receive qualified overtime compensation may deduct the pay that exceeds their regular rate of pay – such as the “half” portion of “time-and-a-half” compensation -- that is required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and that is reported on a Form W-2, Form 1099, or other specified statement furnished to the individual.
- Maximum annual deduction is $12,500 ($25,000 for joint filers).
- Deduction phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $150,000 ($300,000 for joint filers).
• Taxpayer eligibility: Deduction is available for both itemizing and non-itemizing taxpayers.
Taxpayers must:
- include their Social Security Number on the return and
- file jointly if married, to claim the deduction.
• Reporting: Employers and other payors are required to file information returns with the IRS (or SSA) and furnish statements to taxpayers showing the total amount of qualified overtime compensation paid during the year.
• Guidance: The IRS will provide transition relief for tax year 2025 for taxpayers claiming a deduction and for employers and other payors subject to the new reporting requirements.
*If you are eligible for either deduction, be sure to bring a copy of your final check stub.
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“No Tax on Car Loan Interest”
• New deduction: Effective for 2025 through 2028, individuals may deduct interest paid on a loan used to purchase a qualified vehicle, provided the vehicle is purchased for personal use and meets other eligibility criteria. (Lease payments do not qualify.)
- Maximum annual deduction is $10,000.
- Deduction phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $100,000 ($200,000 for joint filers).
• Qualified interest: To qualify for the deduction, the interest must be paid on a loan that is:
- originated after December 31, 2024,
- used to purchase a vehicle, the original use of which starts with the taxpayer (used vehicles do not qualify),
- for a personal use vehicle (not for business or commercial use) and
- secured by a lien on the vehicle.
If a qualifying vehicle loan is later refinanced, interest paid on the refinanced amount is generally eligible for the deduction.
• Qualified vehicle: A qualified vehicle is a car, minivan, van, SUV, pick-up truck or motorcycle, with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and that has undergone final assembly in the United States.
• Final assembly in the United States: The location of final assembly will be listed on the vehicle information label attached to each vehicle on a dealer's premises. Alternatively, taxpayers may rely on the vehicle’s plant of manufacture as reported in the vehicle identification number (VIN) to determine whether a vehicle has undergone final assembly in the United States.
- The VIN Decoder website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides plant of manufacture information. Taxpayers can follow the instructions on that website to determine if the vehicle’s plant of manufacture was in the United States.
• Taxpayer eligibility: Deduction is available for both itemizing and non-itemizing taxpayers.
- The taxpayer must include the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the qualified vehicle on the tax return for any year in which the deduction is claimed.
• Reporting: Lenders or other recipients of qualified interest must file information returns with the IRS and furnish statements to taxpayers showing the total amount of interest received during the taxable year.
• Guidance: The IRS will provide transition relief for tax year 2025 for interest recipients subject to the new reporting requirements.
Itemized Deductions
OBBBA raised the state and local taxes (SALT) cap from $10,000 to $40,000 from 2025 to 2029. The law also added an income limit starting at $500,000, phasing the deduction to $10,000 for filers with incomes over $600,000. The SALT deduction amount and income limit will increase 1 percent each year through 2029.
Charitable contributions. The TCJA increased the limit on deductions for charitable contributions from 50 percent to 60 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI).
Charitable contributions. The TCJA increased the limit on deductions for charitable contributions from 50 percent to 60 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI).
The OBBBA makes permanent the TCJA’s expanded child tax credit (CTC) per qualifying child, with some adjustments. The CTC was scheduled to revert to its smaller level worth up to $1,000 in 2026 prior to OBBBA, down from $2,000 in 2025. The law increases the maximum CTC amount to $2,200 in 2025 and adjusts the value of the credit for inflation moving forward, while tightening eligibility rules.
One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act: Tax deductions for working Americans and seniors | Internal Revenue Service
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530A Commonly known as “Trump Accounts
The Working Families Tax Cuts provides for establishing a Trump Account on behalf of every eligible child for whom an election is made, generally by a parent or guardian, and who has not turned age 18 before the end of the calendar year in which the election is made. Contributions to Trump Accounts cannot be made before July 4, 2026.
Additionally, the federal government will make a one-time $1,000 pilot program contribution to the Trump Account of each eligible child for whom an election is made, who is a U.S. citizen and who is born on or after Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028.
Certain governmental entities and charities may also make qualified general contributions to Trump Accounts, if given to a qualified class of account beneficiaries. Other people are also able to make contributions up to an aggregate limit of $5,000 per year. Furthermore, an employer may contribute to a Trump Account of the employee or the employee’s dependent up to $2,500 per year (which counts against the $5,000 annual limit) under an employer’s Trump Account contribution program, and the contribution will not count toward the employee’s taxable income. The annual contribution limits are indexed to inflation and will adjust starting after 2027.
The funds in Trump Accounts must be invested in certain mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track the S&P 500 or another index of primarily American equities.
Amounts generally cannot be withdrawn from Trump Accounts before January 1st of the calendar year in which the child turns 18 years old. After that point, the account generally is treated as a traditional IRA and generally is subject to the same rules as other traditional IRAs.