Lots of changes were made to the tax law last year, and that can have an impact on your 2025 tax return, potentially putting extra money back into your pocket. Miguel Burgos, CPA and TurboTax expert, highlights some of the tax deductions and credits you could be missing, whether you’re low income, self-employed, own a home, earn tips and more. Watch the video above or read the full transcript below.
Tax deductions and credits you don’t want to miss
Video transcript:
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TRACY BYRNES: So the One Big Beautiful Bill has a lot of little cherries in there that you want to make sure you don’t miss. There’s deductions and credits that are really important to maximizing your refund, if indeed you’re getting one, and getting yourself the money that you deserve. Miguel Burgos, CPA, TurboTax expert is here with us right now to figure this all out.
Look, admittedly, it’s confusing, right? And there’s a lot of stuff out there, but we don’t want people to miss what’s rightfully theirs. So what are some of the deductions and credits that people really need to pay attention to?
MIGUEL BURGOS: Well, as we know, the Internal Revenue Code provides a little bit over 300 deductions and credits that can be claimed. So sometimes they can get a little bit overwhelming and we may miss some of those; but we don’t have to if we start with time, if we ask the proper questions, if we talk to an expert. And I’ll mention some of this, for example, EIC or an income credit.
Also this year we also have itemized deductions. We have some changes in the itemized deductions. And we also have many changes in deductions for business owners that we want to talk about and make sure that they don’t get missed.
TRACY BYRNES: Yeah. And these are three great ones. So, but this earned income tax credit I don’t know why it escapes people so much. If it’s complicated, I guess, there’s a lot of variables, I guess. But why do so many people miss it?
MIGUEL BURGOS: So the IRS has been consistently publishing a statistic throughout the last few years. And it’s that one out of every five taxpayers that could potentially qualify for the credit is missing the credit. And there are multiple rules on the credit. We know that it varies based on the amount of income, the filing status, the age, the amount of dependents.
But once again, it’s about starting early to file your taxes. Ask the proper questions. Talk to an expert and make sure that you gather all the data. For this year 2025, the maximum amount can be up to $8,046. So, given that you need multiple pieces of information, start as early as possible so you don’t miss out on the earned income credit if you do qualify for it.
TRACY BYRNES: And this credit is mainly for low-income families—or lower-income families, I should say, who really could use the money. So more important now than ever, pay attention to this and again, take your time, start early as Miguel has said, to really see if you qualify and of course get as much of the credit as possible.
TRACY BYRNES: The itemized deductions. Schedule A — this is very exciting this year, because in the past, or at least the past few years, many people were just getting the standard because they didn’t have enough credits to take an itemized deduction or to take you Schedule A, right? This year, though, things might be different.
MIGUEL BURGOS: Well, yes, especially since the tax refund in 2017 where we we saw a significant increase in the standard deduction. We noticed a tendency to probably 90/10: 90% of the tax payers claiming the standard deduction, only about 10% of the tax payers claiming the itemized deduction. However, this year it may be a little bit different because we were seeing a significant increase on the state and local taxes itemized deductions.
Up to last year, it had a maximum amount of $10,000 that was increased for 2025 to up to $40,000. So for taxpayers that live in states with high taxes, it is likely that they may be able to now claim up to $40,000 worth of state and local taxes, which include either the higher of of state income tax or sales tax in other state taxes, like, for example, property taxes.
And then if they combine that with any medical expenses, donations, mortgage interest, and other itemized deductions, they’d be now in a better position to say, “Hey, my itemized deductions exceed my standard deduction,” and that may bring extra savings.
Learn more: Deducting state and local property taxes (SALT): Limits, eligibility, and tax planning tips
TRACY BYRNES: Right, so all of you in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, pay attention because you probably will be beneficiaries of this. I love that, Miguel, because it also, I think, helps charities as well. There’s more incentive now for me to make charitable contributions because I’m going to get the deduction on my itemized Schedule A, so I think it’s a win-win for everyone.
As a reminder to people, though, miscellaneous itemized deductions are long gone. Right? Those days are gone.
MIGUEL BURGOS: Yeah, those were one of the one of the deductions that, ended in the tax reform in 2017 and perhaps some expected for them to be added back with what the tax law passed last summer. But that wasn’t the case. But however, we do have other deductions, other credits that still serve as an opportunity to maximize and boost a refund.
TRACY BYRNES: Yeah, 100%, especially for our small business owners. And I love that we are out there trying to help them. So let’s talk about some of the things that business owners should be looking at when they sit down to do their returns this year.
MIGUEL BURGOS: Yes, business owners have many opportunities and a few things that, that are a little bit different. And we want to make sure that they start early to file their taxes, and they understand these elements and make sure that they don’t miss out on them. I’ll give you a few examples: qualified business income deduction. That one was made permanent, this year. So, it could potentially help you to deduct up to 20% of your qualified business income for self-employed individuals.
Also, we have also the, the 100% bonus depreciation for qualified property. So some of your assets, if they meet the criteria you may be able to deduct 100% of that expense in this current year. And another one that is very important is we have heard a lot about the No Tax on Tips Deduction.
Which is true, applies for employees. But, it also has a provision that makes it applicable for self-employed individuals. So if a self-employed individual that works on a trade or business that typically gets tips, which nowadays is very normal with workers in the gig economy that that work as self-employed individuals. They could also claim the no tax on tips deductions with, with one, with an additional rule, which is basically the maximum amount is either $25,000 or their business’ net income.
So they have to factor that in. But those are elements that are important to look into. Start early, ask questions, talk to an expert to make sure that you don’t miss on any of those deductions or credits as well.
TRACY BYRNES: Yeah. So the qualified business income I think is really important. So bring that to the attention of your preparer or make sure if you’re using a software, you answer those questions appropriately. Same with the bonus depreciation in the past, right? I would have to amortize something over—could be 20 years—now I could potentially get it all this year. That’s a huge help to a lot of small business owners because these are great things.
Miguel Burgos, CPA, TurboTax expert. Thank you so much for sharing all this.
MIGUEL BURGOS: Oh, it’s always a pleasure. We are here to help you.
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