{"id":134872,"date":"2026-01-28T12:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134872\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:36:35","slug":"filing-early-and-increased-standard-deductions-to-keep-in-mind-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134872\/","title":{"rendered":"Filing early and increased standard deductions to keep in mind this year"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Tax season is officially underway, and taxpayers have until April 15 to file their returns. <\/p>\n

This year brings important changes, including increased standard deductions for the 2025 tax year.<\/p>\n

Jean Feneis Jr., also known as YR Tax Guy, said the best time to file is right at the start of the season. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe good time to do it is January 26th,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Feneis has been preparing for the rush in his Jaguars-themed office on Edgewood Avenue, where he sees hundreds of clients each year. <\/p>\n

He explained that tax preparer fees usually depend on the complexity of your paperwork. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of tax preparers charge based on the amount of work they are putting into your taxes,\u201d Feneis said.<\/p>\n

RELATED | IRS head announces a shake-up on the eve of the 2026 tax season<\/a><\/p>\n

Under President Donald Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill, standard deductions have increased. <\/p>\n

Single filers, or married filing separately, can deduct $15,750. Married filing jointly or surviving spouses get $31,500, and heads of households have a deduction of $23,625.<\/p>\n

For those who want to file on their own, the IRS offers a webpage listing eight trusted partners for tax preparation. Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $89,000 or less may qualify for a free federal return.<\/p>\n

Tax experts said accuracy is critical when filing. <\/p>\n

\u201cBirthday, social, the address, account, routing number,\u201d Feneis said. \u201cOne simple mistake can delay the tax refunds.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the IRS needs to contact you, it will never do so by email, text, or phone call. Instead, watch for official mail. <\/p>\n

\u201cIRS mail, you do not disregard that. You do not,\u201d Feneis said. \u201cAny mail, open it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taxpayer Constance Crouse owns a condo in Jacksonville and has a simple routine. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just do that simple form and it takes me a few minutes,\u201d she said. \u201cI never get anything back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IRS typically issues federal refunds within 21 days of electronically filing taxes. Paper returns may take longer.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Tax season is officially underway, and taxpayers have until April 15 to file their returns.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117,2159,5436,65117],"class_list":["post-134872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-money","tag-morning-show","tag-tax-season"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}