Key things to know about filing your 2025 Tax Return
Text version of video:
Welcome everyone. My name is Dan Moisand. I have with me here today Tommy Lucas and Kevin McDermott, two of our newest shareholders here at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo. Tommy, here is an enrolled agent, which is a license, issued by the IRS itself, for people to give tax advice and represent taxpayers in front of the agency. He’s also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional. Kevin McDermott is a Certified Public Accountant, a CPA, and is our tax manager, runs the entire tax department. We thought we’d have a little chat about taxes because it’s tax filing season once again. So gentlemen, welcome.
One of the things that we provide here that many other firms do not is actual tax advice. So, Kevin, if you just give a couple minutes on the difference between tax advice and tax planning.
Kevin: Tax planning is more general. It can be suggestions. Here’s a list of things to keep in mind. Here’s some deductions to think about. Tax advice is more specific. Tax advice is looking at what you have and saying I think this is the year you need to harvest some gains while you’re at this low rate that will save you taxes in the long run. So it’s the difference between a very general. “Keep this in mind. I want you to think about this” and really taking on the responsibility ourselves of giving you specific advice to save you taxes.
Dan: I did a brief write up and video back in August about this subject, and there is a big, big difference between recommendation and responsibility versus a suggestion, right? We’re very happy to provide that. We’ve got three CPAs on staff and seven Enrolled Agents. So we got plenty of people available to give tax advice to those clients that want it. Let’s get into filing for 2025, the traditional filing dates have always been April 15th, but we haven’t seen an April 15th filing deadline in years. Tommy, can you tell us why we’re back on the traditional date?
Tommy: Like you said, for many years, there’s been something that’s gotten in the way, going all the way back to Covid back in 2020. And since then, here in Florida, we’ve had lots of hurricanes and things come through. I think we’re all very happy that, neither health crises nor hurricanes are coming through, so nothing to delay. The deadline this year is going to be an April 15th . It’s not looking to change. With that, a lot of the tax forms dealing with brokerage accounts, the custodians tend to push out giving those to us. Usually it’s at the end of February. Luckily, we’ll get those forms and we’ll know when those forms are coming in. And so if we’re managing your account, we’ll see that and we’ll be able to work on your return. That being said, you know, to get that April 15th deadline and to ensure a guarantee that we’ll be able to get it done in time, we do want to have those documents in by March 11th – all the other documents that we don’t manage.
And the final thing is with the IRS. They’re notorious for being just a little bit slow. And especially this year, the resources are lower, cutting headcount, things like that. So anything you can do to do things electronically, like direct deposit, making extension payments online, those are definitely things you want to do if you’re getting a paper refund check. IRS actually just came out, said it’s going to take at least ten weeks, if not more to, to get those. So anything you can do to, to make things electronic is beneficial.
Dan: All right. Well, we’ll get back to the extensions in a minute, but, first I wanted to return to. Kevin.] on obtaining information from clients to get their returns done. We’re kind of excited and maybe a little nervous because it’s a new thing, but, the capabilities of the new system we’re using to collect that data, I think, it’s going to be much more user friendly for clients and for the tax preparers. Can you tell us a little bit about that process now?
Kevin: I think this will be really helpful. If you’re doing your personal tax return with us, then you should have already received an email from me saying, hey, you’ll be hearing from Stanford tax. Stanford tax is a new system that we’re using this year. I think to Dan’s point, it’s going to be easier. It gives you this spot where you can read and sign the engagement letter. There’s a questionnaire included, a lot of things making sure we have up to date accurate information and making sure we’re asking the kind of questions that could change your tax return.
And then we also have a list of specific documents for you at the bottom. And I think that’s what’s going to be really helpful. Instead of just saying give us everything, we’re saying here are the specific things we’re expecting from you. I think it’ll be helpful. It’ll be a little easier to upload than it was on the old portal as well. So we’re optimistic about it, and I think it’ll make taxes go a little bit more smoothly for the client and hopefully for us as well.
Dan: And I understand that even though the process to get on the system is pretty easy, it’s just a link, it is still secure.
Kevin: That’s right. It’s very secure. There’s no username or password you need to remember, it links to your email address or email addresses for husband or wife. So if there’s other email addresses you want us to link to your account, we’re happy to do so. If you get help from your adult children or your parents, we’re happy to let them in as needed, but it should be pretty easy to get into.
Dan: Fantastic. Now every year there’s a number of clients that simply cannot possibly get their forms and data and information to you in time for April 15th tax filing deadline. Kevin helped us out with a basic description of that a couple of years ago. You can find it on our site under the title “What You Need to Know About Extensions and New Tax Rules” but, Tommy, if you could just cover the basics about extensions.
Tommy: Absolutely. So, there is this idea of, oh, extensions are the worst thing that’s kind of gone around a little bit. It’s not. You’re not put on some secret list from the IRS that you’re being deceptive or anything like that. Having five children myself, life gets in the way. There’s lots of reasons for extensions. Whatever they may be. Totally okay. And totally normal. And so it gives you an extra six months to file. And so for whatever reason, if we need to file extension, we’ll go ahead and do that beyond the March 11th deadline. All that does is it gives us more time to be able to accurately prepare the return and make sure that we don’t make any mistakes.
We don’t want to rush this process. We only want to file once. Now the big thing is it’s an extension to file. It’s not an extension to pay your tax liability. So, we want to make sure if we need to make what’s known as an extension payment, that we make that by that April 15th deadline. Even if you have some documents, whatever you can send in even beyond March 11th to help us try and figure out what that tax liability may be, closer we can get to that, the better we can dial in that extension payment, and we’ll be conservative on that because we don’t want a late payment penalty. We’ll be coordinating with our clients along the way who are funding extensions to make sure that we’re doing what we can to avoid that.
Dan: Right. My understanding is that the IRS does not charge for an extension. Grants are automatic.
Tommy: They are. You will not get denied if you apply for it. Absolutely very simple process. They couldn’t make it easier.
Dan: Now, if you’re getting a refund, yes. You probably don’t want to wait till October 15th to, to file.
Tommy: Yeah. But at least you ought to worry about the April deadline.
Dan: Exactly. All right. Kevin, any anything else about, taxes, filing taxes for 2025? You want to mention?
Kevin: Yes. You may have seen this in the news, but there’s a lot of scams going on. There’s a lot of people who are reaching out through text, calling your cell phone, saying “I’m the IRS. You owe us money. We’re going to throw you in jail unless you go buy Walmart gift cards.” You know, it sounds silly, but they’re very good at this. They’re very convincing. They will, they can make you scared and think you need to take action.
The IRS does not reach out to you that way. They reach out through the mail. 99% of the time. it’s going to be a letter in the mail. So if you’re getting a text or a call that says I’m the IRS, you owe back taxes, we’re going to throw you in jail. Pause. Talk to us. We’ll let you know if it is real. Don’t worry about it. Block them. We’ll let you know if it does seem like something legitimate that we need to look into, and we can call the IRS and figure it out. So just if those things are coming up, take a breath. Use us as a resource to help you decide if it’s something to truly worry about or not.
…if you’re getting a text or a call that says I’m the IRS, you owe back taxes, we’re going to throw you in jail. Pause. Talk to us.
There’s a senior deduction that is now available through legislation from last year. We’re going to make sure everybody who’s eligible for that gets that. Nothing specific you need to send us for that. We know your date of birth. We’ll be able to make sure you get it if you are eligible for it. And we’ll be looking at all the other changes in the tax law as well.
If we are doing your taxes, we’ll let you know if there’s anything new we need. There’s going to be some changes this year. There’s going to be some additional changes next year related to charitable contributions. So as you go through this 2026 calendar year, hold on to those charitable receipts, even if you did not get a deduction in the past for those. They could become beneficial next year.
Lastly, if you are my age and you’re on Instagram Reels and TikTok and you’re seeing videos about tax advice, and here’s a strategy to put your business name on your car and employ your children and find secret loopholes in the tax code. Most of those are not real. I don’t want you to take those to heart.
Tax planning is really household specific and tax advice that we give is going to be about your situation. If you see one of those things and you think it might apply to you and you want to ask, feel free to ask. I get these questions all the time. I’m happy to walk through that. Yes, this is real, but it only applies in this situation and we can talk to whether that actually applies for you. So just take those with a healthy dose of skepticism and run it by us.
Dan: Yes. And you guys have a different phone line to call the IRS. You still wait on hold for a long period of time but nonetheless, there is a line and you have access to the IRS reps that the public doesn’t.
Kevin: That’s right. If we’re preparing your tax return and you’re getting notices or communications from the IRS, please let us know. We can call that practitioner priority line that you don’t have access to. And to your point, with their staffing and cuts, sometimes it’ll take us a while to get through, but we’ll be able to get there faster than you’ll be able to.
Dan: Yes, hopefully we won’t have half the staff running around the office with their cell phones waiting for the IRS to call them back, as we have in some past years, because things have calmed down, as you point out. Well, gentlemen, thank you very much for spending some time with us to talk about taxes. Its nice to have some tax talk with the tax team. And as Kevin said, if you have questions or anything, please reach out. Contact us. We’d love to hear you. We have three CPAs and seven enrolled agents on staff, all able to give you tax advice should you need it. And thank you for joining us today.
Making News…
We continue to help various media outlets provide sound information to their audiences. (Some links may require a subscription to view.) Dan Moisand,CFP® continues to write for Florida Today and MarketWatch, which are sometimes syndicated to other sites such as MSN & YahooFinance.
Can I leave my 401(k) with my employer when I retire? – MarketWatch
Yes, you can have multiple IRAs — but do you need more than one?-Florida Today
I’m being forced into a Roth 401(k). Is there anything I can do? – MarketWatch
DJ Hunt, CFP® continues to contribute to Rethinking65 , a publication for advisors. In his latest, he outlines our staff development process which we believe is the major driver for our very low employee and client turnover. Unlike most firms, we do not expect new hires to find new clients. Instead, we expect them to grow into being excellent financial planners. Writes DJ, “This process requires time as much as it does money. But it’s worth it.” The results speak for themselves as we have been blessed to amass a strong collection of accolades including seven “Best Place to Work” recognitions since 2019 based on anonymous employee surveys and other factors.
In the News…
Once again MFT Supports the development of the next generation of financial advisors: MFT is proud to continue sponsoring the University of Florida’s. Charlie Fitzgerald, CFP® served as a panelist at the University of Florida Future Advisors Conference. He shared thoughts on professional and career development for people entering the financial planning profession with around 100 students. Later, he and the director of our internship program, Tommy Lucas, CFP®, EA , served as judges for the Student Challenge, where nine teams from five different universities competed. The competition was won by a team from the University of North Texas.
MFT staff attends 2026 financial planning symposium
Several MFT staff attended the 2026 Symposium of the Central Florida chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) . Chapter President, Brad Brescia, CFP® opened the meeting and served as emcee for the two day event in Lake Mary and Charlie Fitzgerald, CFP® gave a briefing on the FPA of Florida’s advocacy efforts. Also in attendance were chapter President-elect Tommy Lucas, CFP®, EA , Dan Moisand,CFP®, DJ Hunt, CFP®, Derrick Chandler, CFP®, Kevin McDermott, CPA, Ryan Osborne, CFP®, Naira Aliyeva, CPA, CFP®, Connor Ryan, CFP®
If you are a member of an organization in need of a personal finance speaker, we are happy to talk with your group’s organizers about helping out at no cost.
Tommy Lucas, CFP®, EA provided financial tips or assisted CNBC reporters on the following topics. These are sometimes syndicated to MSN or other NBC affiliates:
How Trump’s child tax credit changes could impact your refund this season – CNBC
ACA subsidy cliff may mean ‘astronomical tax bills’ for many, CFP says – CNBC The CFP® professional is Tommy Lucas. “I don’t know of anything else that’s as penalizing in the tax code by adding one extra dollar [of income]… You’ve got to be on your game starting now.”
Why the ACA subsidy cliff is a ‘phantom tax’ — and how to avoid it – CNBC
Investors cashing in on gold’s run face higher capital gains taxes: What to know – MSN
Notable
Here’s another example of why you should ignore “expert” market predictions. Every year, Bloomberg provides year-end price return predictions for the S&P 500 Index sourced from a number of equity analysts. The gap between the forecasts and actual index returns were significant. The average absolute difference between prediction and reality for the four years, 2021-2024 by the most accurate forecaster was 18.6% .