“No plan ever failed due to good planning.” —Jury Nel
Did you file for an extension back in April, thinking, “I’ll deal with that later?”
Well, as I opened this email with, later has become now: October 15th is the last day to file taxes on extension for your 2024 return.
Which actually does two things at once:
- Closes the door on last year accurately and completely.
- Gives us a clear data set to start planning for next year.
And while the OBBBA didn’t change what you owe for 2024, it did rewrite the playbook for 2025, for better or worse.
So, let’s break down the biggest OBBBA changes we can start planning for once you finish your 2024 tax filing:
The State and Local Taxes (SALT) Deduction Cap
Credit where credit is due. Under OBBBA, the SALT deduction cap jumps from 10K to 40K. So, our big focus would be to evaluate if you’ll benefit from shifting strategy away from the standard deduction you’ve been taking. Our tax projection software already takes this into account.
Unfortunately, it has kept the cap for single taxpayers and married taxpayers the same, so this will definitely help single taxpayers more.
Still, for a lot of you, you will now be able to deduct more of your property taxes, and be able to itemize again if you do not hit the earnings cap.
And, your 2024 numbers help us model whether bunching charitable gifts or accelerating certain deductible payments into 2025 makes sense.
Tip and Overtime Income Deductions
For 2025 forward, up to 25K of tip income and 12.5K (25K for joint filers) of overtime wages can be excluded from federal income tax.
Why does this matter?
- Your 2024 W-2s tell us if you’re likely to hit these thresholds.
- We can adjust your 2025 withholding so you’re not overpaying tax throughout the year.
Deduction for Seniors
Starting in 2025, taxpayers aged 65+ get an additional 6K deduction stacked on existing age-based and standard deductions.
But the deduction phases out above 75K (single) / 150K (joint) MAGI. That’s why planning now is essential:
- We can time income (capital gains, IRA withdrawals) to keep you below the threshold.
- We can run the numbers on Roth conversions to balance long-term tax efficiency with keeping this deduction intact.
Why you should file now
As the tax pro rooting for your success, my best word of advice?
Don’t wait until the last day to file taxes on extension to complete your 2024 return.
You’ll be adding unnecessary stress to the process. AND you’ll rob yourself of valuable time to set yourself up for strategic wins in 2025.
Planning now is how you maximize new deductions, income timing, withholding, the works. And my team and I are here to help with the process:
