Basic Tax Prep LLC

02/20/2026

I just discovered some of the years were wrong on the qualification questionnaire of the website. Apologies if someone tried using it and was confused by the years. It's been updated.

Thank you!

02/11/2026

Looking for a simple, convenient, and affordable way to file your taxes? Do everything needed to file from the convenience of your home, cell phone, computer, or whatever device you wish. The goal is to have most returns cost in the range of $150 to $300 (see the website's cost page for more details about this!).

Start by going to the website and clicking the qualification link!

01/26/2026

The IRS began accepting and processing federal individual income tax returns today!!

Skip trying to figure out what software to buy, avoid scheduling and meeting with someone in-person, and do everything you need to do to file your taxes from the comfort of your home by using Basic Tax Prep! See if you qualify at:

All Electronic, Online Only Tax Preparation Services

01/23/2026

OVERTIME DEDUCTION

The IRS issued a fact sheet to help provide information about the new overtime deduction. Here are some requirements and other notes:

- For overtime compensation to qualify for the deduction, the overtime must be required under section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

- For overtime to be required under the FLSA, the overtime must be paid to an individual who is covered by the FLSA.

- Whether an individual is covered by FLSA is a fact-specific determination. Asking your employer could be the quickest way to find out, but here are two websites with examples and helpful information: https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/flsa/screen75.asp and https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/Digital_Reference_Guide_FLSA.pdf.

- Federal employees can check if they are covered by FLSA by reviewing their Standard Form 50 (block 35, “FLSA Category”).

- Individuals eligible for overtime under FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek and at a rate not less than 1.5 times their regular rate of pay.

- Other notes:
- If an individual eligible for overtime under FLSA receives overtime at a rate more than 1.5 times, “qualified” overtime compensation will be limited to the portion of the overtime equal to the 1.5 times calculation. For example, if your employer pays 2 times your regular pay for hours worked over 40, only the 1.5 times portion is “qualified” overtime compensation and can be taken as the overtime deduction on your tax return.
- An individual might receive overtime but since you are a type of employee that isn’t covered by FLSA, you won’t be able to take the overtime deduction on your tax return.
- 2025 W-2s will not report qualified overtime compensation separately from regular pay. Employers can choose to report qualified overtime compensation in box 14. Employees who receive a W-2 without overtime included in box 14 should ask their employer to provide them: 1) your regular hourly pay if you don’t know it, 2) number of overtime hours worked in 2025, and 3) amount of overtime compensation received in 2025. All three pieces of information will be needed to calculate the deduction if your employer doesn’t provide it on the W-2.
- 2026 and later W-2s will report qualified overtime compensation separately from regular pay.

01/20/2026

Ways to provide tax documents or other information to me:
-Take a picture with your phone or device and then upload it to your secure portal account.
- Scan with a copier/printer/scanner the paper tax form or tax document you received. Then upload it to your secure portal account.
- Download from your bank, employer, investment company, etc. the tax form they provided (for example, your Form W-2), save it to your device or computer, and then upload it to your secure portal account.
- ONLY FOR SITUATIONS WHERE DOCUMENTS DO NOT HAVE SENSITIVE INFORMATION (social security number, account numbers, PINs, etc.): Take a picture with your phone or device and text or email it to me. A common example of what could be provided this way is when someone has a handwritten list of something such as income and expenses related to their business. It doesn’t have any sensitive information and could be texted or emailed without uploading to the secure portal account.

Don’t forget!
- Include both sides of tax forms and tax documents when both sides have information.
- Include all pages of a tax document. Unless the page is clearly blank or clearly repetitive instructions, please save yourself future trouble by including all pages.
- Portrait view is preferred unless the picture/image is too small to read.
- Watch out for shadows on pictures!
- Watch out for blurry pictures!

01/13/2026

Each year’s Social Security changes are mostly mechanical, but they still shape how much people receive, how much is taxed, and how work affects benefits.

The headline number is the COLA, but earnings limits and Medicare premiums often matter just as much. Understanding the rules helps set expectations, especially for people still working or planning their claiming strategy.

01/12/2026

Now that we know that tax season starts on January 26, 2026, here's when you can expect your tax refund this year.

This also assumes you're not subject to the PATH Act, which will delay things.

01/08/2026

IRS announced that Monday, January 26, 2026 will be the first day of the filing season.

That doesn't mean you have to wait until January 26th to get the process started of preparing your returns! Feel free to go ahead and complete the qualification questionnaire on the website so I can send you an engagement letter.

Thank you!

01/06/2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) was signed into law 7/4/2025.

Here are some of the notable tax law changes that are effective for tax year 2025:

Senior Deduction
- Can be taken even if standard deduction is taken.
- $6,000 deduction for individuals 65 years and older.
- $12,000 deduction for married couples if both are 65 and older.
- There is a phaseout if AGI is over $75k for single and $150k for married couples.

Child Tax Credit
- $2,200 per child (previously $2,000).
- Phaseout if AGI over $200k for single and $400k for married couples.

529 Qualified Expenses Definition
- For distributions from 529 accounts made after 7/4/2025, qualified higher education expenses definition expanded to include more K-12 expenses (tutoring, educational therapies, books, etc.) and also to include certain post-high school credentialing expenses (testing fees, CPA exam, CPE, etc.).

Vehicle Credits
- Clean vehicle credit expires 10/1/2025.
- Vehicles must be acquired (have a written binding contract in place and payment made) before 10/1/2025.

State and Local Tax (SALT) Cap for Schedule A
- Cap rises from $10,000 to $40,000.
- Phaseout of increased cap begins with AGI over $500k for single and married couples.
- Cap cannot be phased out below $10,000.

Tip Income Deduction
- Exclusion for tip income. Tips must be reported in income in order to be deducted.
- Capped at $25,000 annual deduction.
- Phaseout of deduction begins with AGI over $150k for single and $300k for married couples.
- Fully phased out (aka, zero deduction) at AGI of $400k for single and $550k for married couples.

Overtime Pay Deduction
- Capped at $12,500 annual deduction for single and $25,000 for married couples.
- Phaseout of deduction begins with AGI over $150k for single and $300k for married couples.
- Fully phased out (aka, zero deduction) at AGI of $275k for single and $550k for married couples.

Car Loan Interest Deduction
- Capped at $10,000 annual deduction.
- Taxpayer must provide VIN.
- Loan must have been taken out in 2025 and must be for a new vehicle (used vehicles are ineligible).
- Vehicle must have GVWR less than 14k pounds and it’s final assembly must have taken place in the United States.
- Phaseout of deduction begins with AGI over $100k for single and $200k for married couples.
- Fully phased out (aka, zero deduction) at AGI of $150k for single and $250k for married couples.

1099-K Reporting
- Reporting requirements for 2025 and beyond are now $20,000 in total payments (instead of $600) AND more than 200 transactions.

01/06/2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) was signed into law 7/4/2025.

Here is a brief list of some of the notable tax law changes that are effective for tax year 2026:

- Mortgage insurance premiums deductible again on Schedule A.
- State declared disasters will also count as a personal casualty loss on Schedule A.
- Educator expenses more than the typical above the line deduction will be deductible on Schedule A.
- Overall limit on Schedule A itemized deductions.
- Wagering losses from gambling capped at 90% of taxable winnings (previously 100%).
- Nonitemizers can deduct charitable donations up to $1,000 for single and $2,000 for married couples.
- Itemizers have an AGI limit on how much of their charitable donations are deductible on Schedule A.
- Child and dependent care credit increases.
- Allowable 529 distributions for K-12 expenses increases from $10,000 to $20,000.
- Most clean energy tax breaks end.
- Trump savings accounts may be funded.
- Beginning with 2026 forms sent out in 2027, 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC filing threshold rises from $600 to $2,000.

01/05/2026

Tax season starts today!!

01/05/2026

This post is to provide an example of how to complete the estimate page (step 2 on home page of website) while also providing specific information and guidance about a few of the tax forms or tax situations. Please remember that the estimate is NOT a quote and the goal is to give people a REASONABLE idea of what the cost could be.

The most useful thing to have before you get started would be a copy of your prior year tax returns, which should be for tax year 2024. Don’t forget to factor in new things that happened in 2025 that may not be on your 2024 returns, such as having a kid or starting a business.

Let’s start with the W-2 line as a baseline of how things are designed to be input!
- If you are single with one job, you’ll put a one in the # of Forms column.
- If you are single with two jobs, put two.
- If you are married and each of you have one job, put two. Each job creates a W-2 and the goal is to have the number you input match the number of W-2s you’ll be receiving in the mail.
- This same concept is used for the majority of the tax forms and tax situations listed on the estimate page.

Interest and dividend income from a bank, certificate of deposit, or non-brokerage account
- Each bank account you own should produce its own set of tax forms.
- If you have a savings account with PNC that earns interest, put a one in the # of Forms column.
- It doesn’t matter if the account is a joint account; it’s the fact that the joint account produces one 1099 form that has to be reported. A joint account that produces one 1099 would require you to put a one in the # of Forms column.

Interest, dividend, stock sales reported on a brokerage statement
- A brokerage statement from a place like Fidelity often reports multiple 1099s on one consolidated statement.
- The number I’m looking for you to input in the # of Forms column is the number of consolidated statements you’ll be receiving, not the number of 1099s on that consolidated statement.
- If you have five different Fidelity investment accounts, and each account reports four 1099s, you would put the number 5 on the “interest, dividend, stock sales reported on a brokerage statement” line; don’t put 20, which is the 5 accounts times 4 1099s on each one.

Social security benefits received
- If you’re married and each of you receive social security, put two in the number column.

Gambling income reported on a tax form
- If you’re someone that gambles a lot and wins big enough to receive W-2G tax forms, you might be wondering if you have to put ten in the number column to match each of the forms you’re looking at. Unfortunately, yes, you will need to put ten.
- Just make sure you’re not putting too high of a number. Some casinos might provide a federal copy, state copy, and local copy for the same win. You may have “three” W-2Gs sitting in front of you but it is actually only one.

Standard deduction and itemized deduction lines
- It is important to make sure you correctly mark the standard deduction and itemized deduction lines.
- Each tax return can only do one or the other. You either take the standard deduction or you itemize.
- The estimate has three rows related to standard or itemized deductions. When you are finished inputting the estimate, only one of the three lines should have a number one in it. Two of the three should have a zero.
- If you know you are going to take the standard deduction, put a one for the standard deduction line and leave the two itemized deduction rows zero. You’ll put a one on the standard deduction line even if you are married.
- If you itemize, leave the standard deduction line zero. Itemizers will put a one in one of the itemized deduction lines, but not on both.
- The difference between the two itemized deduction lines is whether or not you donated non-cash items. If you have non-cash donations to Goodwill or a similar charity, and have the proper backup to support it, leave the first itemized deductions line zero and put a one in the second itemized deductions line.
- If you aren’t claiming Goodwill or other non-cash donations, put a one in the first itemized deduction line and leave the second line zero.

Number of individuals claiming as dependents
- This line is where you will put a number equal to the number of kids you have. Don’t include adult children who are out on their own and would not qualify as a dependent.

Dependent care expenses
- This line will NOT necessarily be the same number you put for the number of individuals claiming as dependents line. The number to put on the dependent care expenses line should equal the number of kids that are actually in daycare.

New client
- Every client of Basic Tax Prep will be new for 2025 so this line should say one for everyone.
- Make sure you put, or leave, the existing client line zero.
- It doesn’t matter, either, if you are single or married. The number to put here is one or zero.

Existing client
- Every client of Basic Tax Prep will be new for 2025 so this line should say zero for everyone.

Thank you!