As we approach the holiday season and the calendar rolling into 2026 there are a few items I would like to bring to your attention.

Identity Safety

I probably warn clients about this stuff once a week. They ways hackers and others are trying to get your personal information are incredibly creative at times but diligence is always in order. A few things to keep in mind:

  • IRS and other taxing authorities will always, always, always contact you initially through US Mail. Not telephone, email, text message, social media DM or any other means. Always via US Mail.
  • Even via US Mail there have been scammers that have sent fake “notices” with scannable barcodes. This gets a little tricky because IRS is now using a scannable barcode system on some of it’s notices.
  • When in doubt Be Skeptical and Verify. Call the party seeking information. Google the name or number and see what results turn up.

If your cell phone is anything like mine, something like 90% of the calls I receive are bogus and the text messages aren’t far behind.

Paper Checks/Refunds

Department of Treasury issued a statement last spring that they would no longer accept or issue paper checks as of 9/30/2025 (see above). This includes the IRS. Usually the IRS moves much slower and more deliberately in making changes like this but at this point they have not said they are NOT abiding by that pronouncement.

So, our policy will be to handle all payments and refund receipts for clients electronically. Most clients already elect to do this but for those that don’t we will be abiding by this mandate for 2025 tax filings. In addition to meeting the requirement, our policy will allow us to know exactly when payments are remitted and there are no questions of checks being lost in the mail.

IRS has a pretty easy to navigate tool, IRS Direct Pay, that allows taxpayers to make balance due payments or quarterly remittances. Most states have an equivalent web tool to do the same. You can even set up future quarterly payments so that you don’t forget to make any.

Tax Law Changes

As I previously wrote about, the tax law that passed over the summer will impact many of you. If you would like to catch up on those changes you can read what I wrote in July here: 2025 Tax law Changes 

We will need some input from you, however. The reporting on the auto loan interest deduction, for example, has been deferred for a year. So there will be no official tax document reporting your auto loan interest for tax year 2025. The reporting on taxable tips and overtime is also a little unclear at this point. More to follow on this although I don’t know that a ton of clients will be eligible for these income exemptions.

 

If you have any questions about any of this or wish to discuss a changing tax situation, please reach out to us.