Tax Season 2026 Opens

Summary

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Podcast Summary: “Tax Season 2026 Opens” – Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger (Jan 26, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jill Schlesinger, CFP®, kicks off the 2026 tax season, highlighting significant changes prompted by last summer’s sweeping tax reform bill. She discusses key new deductions and credits, IRS expectations, tips for maximizing your refund, and actionable guidance for listeners bracing for a more complex filing year. Jill also plays a recent TV segment where she outlines these developments and offers practical advice, always in her direct and jargon-free style.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Tax Season Begins — It’s Not Business as Usual

• The IRS has started accepting returns for the 2025 tax year. Jill notes that this year’s tax season will be notably “challenging” (01:51) due to new legislation passed the previous summer, fundamentally altering credits, deductions, and forms.
• Jill urges listeners to seek guidance early:

  “If something comes up as you are completing your tax returns... get in touch with us before things get too close to the tax filing deadline of April 15.” (02:07)

• Promotion of Jill’s subscription service and upcoming Ed Slott webinar for deeper tax dives.

2. Larger Refunds and Bigger Changes (TV Segment with Adriana Diaz)

• IRS Expects Larger Refunds:
  Adriana Diaz opens with the IRS expectation that “refunds will be larger this year” (04:24) thanks to the “one big beautiful bill” enacted by Congress.
• Major Credits and Deductions Introduced (Jill, 04:44–05:36):
  • Enhanced Deduction for Seniors:

    “If you're over the age of 65... you're getting an enhanced tax deduction.”

  • Tip & Overtime Income Tax-Free:

    “Folks who... receive tip income or overtime income... there will not be tax on that. And I think that's a big difference. It is limited by the amount of income you earn.”

  • Auto Loan Interest Deductible:

    “Auto loan interest, which is now deductible.”

  • New IRS Form:
    Jill notes, “there’s a new form available... you will see that as you begin the tax filing process.”

3. New "Trump Account" for Children (Long-Term Baby Savings)

• Tax-Advantaged Accounts for Newborns (Jill, 05:40–06:21):
  • “If you had a baby last year, you are going to be entitled to… the so-called Trump account. It's a way to save long term for retirement for your baby... the government is going to put $1,000 into an account.”
  • Parents and grandparents can contribute up to $5,000/year in addition.
  • Applies for children born in 2025, 2026, and 2027.
  • Program officially starts in the summer, but “you can actually flag it when you file your returns” now.
• Compound Interest for Kids: Adriana notes potential for growth:

  “And just think about how that might accrue over the 18 years of your child's life and beyond for their retirement.” (06:21)

4. Getting Your Refund Faster

• Best Practices for Speedy Refunds (Jill, 06:44–07:19):
  • File electronically and use direct deposit — “It should be there within 21 days according to the IRS.”
  • Avoid mailing paper returns.
  • Many will see “fatter tax refunds” due to mid-year withholding issues post-tax bill.
  • Jill’s classic admonition:

    “I don't like tax refunds. You just loan money to the government and get zero interest.” (07:16)

5. “Jill’s Big Three” — Smart Uses for Your Tax Refund

• Jill’s time-tested advice (07:32–08:05):
  1. Emergency Reserve Fund:

     “Have an emergency reserve fund that has at least 6 to 12 months of your living expenses. So maybe you use your refund and you put money into that account.”

  2. Pay Down Expensive Debt:

     “There's a lot of people [who] have outstanding credit card debt, an expensive auto loan — pay it down.”

  3. Boost Retirement Savings:

     “Increase your retirement plan contributions as much as possible.”

6. Recap of Key Tax Law Changes

• Jill repeatedly emphasizes four major changes (08:05–08:32):
  • Deduction for seniors (65+)
  • No tax on tips or overtime
  • No tax on car loan interest
  • All these are “income tested” — must be below specific income thresholds
• Refers listeners to her blog for detailed explanations and up-to-date limits and deduction information.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tax Season’s Complexity:

  “Eat your Wheaties. There’s a lot of changes this year.” — Jill, (04:44)

• On Withholding and Refund Surprises:

  “A lot of people didn't adjust their withholding because the tax bill was passed in July. So these people might find you have a big fatter tax refund.” — Jill, (07:10)

• On Preference for No Refunds:

  “I don't like tax refunds. You just loan money to the government and get zero interest.” — Jill, (07:16)

• On Children’s “Trump Account”:

  “The government is going to put $1,000 into an account... you’ll be able to put in $5,000 bucks a year.” — Jill, (05:40–06:21)

• On Organization and Avoiding Paper:

  “People who are clinging to paper returns... man, you are missing the boat.” — Jill, (06:52)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:51 — Tax season intro; “challenging” year flagged, call for listener questions
• 04:24–04:51 — IRS expects larger refunds, overview of tax law changes
• 04:56–05:36 — Four major new credits and deductions explained
• 05:40–06:35 — Details on “Trump Account” for babies (child long-term savings)
• 06:44–07:19 — How to get refunds quickly, pitfalls of paper filing
• 07:32–08:05 — “Jill’s Big Three” for refund use: reserves, debt paydown, retirement
• 08:05–08:32 — Recap of the four headline tax changes/reforms

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Summary & Action Steps for Listeners

• Check for New Deductions & Credits: Seniors, hourly/tipped workers, and auto loan holders should review eligibility.
• Consider the New “Trump Account” if you had a baby; prepare to earmark your return for this if eligible.
• E-file with Direct Deposit to get your refund swiftly.
• Think Beyond the Refund: Use it strategically for reserves, debt relief, or retirement contributions.
• Review Resources: Visit jillonmoney.com for detailed posts and contact forms for questions.

“Eat your Wheaties, gang. It's going to be an exciting tax season.” — Jill Schlesinger (08:32)

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Transcript

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[A]

Free welcome to the Jill on Money Show. It's Monday, January 27th. Welcome to Tax Season. Yes indeed, gang. Yep, today is the day that the IRS is going to start accepting and processing your tax returns for tax year 2025. How exciting, right? All right, maybe you're groaning a little bit, but what is clear is that this is going to be a very challenging tax season for many people. Cause there were a lot of changes that occurred as a result of the big tax law that Congress passed last summer. So what's important here is that you may have many questions. I would like you to get in touch with us before things get too close to the tax filing deadline of April 15. So if something comes up as you are completing your tax returns or even gathering your documents, any question you might have, go to jillonmoney.com, click the contact Us button, write us a note, and if you'd like to join us on the air live, check the box. Now specifically for you folks who are very focused on your tax season. You should also check out our subscription service. It's called Jill on Money Live. That is where you pay $45 to be part of four quarterly webinars for the next 12 months. You, you'll have access to the back catalog of those webinars and there's also bonus audio and video content. Our next webinar will be taking place on Thursday, February 26, a month from now. And it is with Ed Slott. Ed is a cpa. He'll talk about tax season. He's going to talk about some of the nuances of the year. He's also the man who is responsible for convincing me and Mark that the Roth may be the best, best retirement vehicle ever created. Now, if you don't want to spring for the 45 bucks for 12 months and you just want to be able to watch the Ed Slot webinar after it occurs, you can plunk down 15 bucks and you'll get it. So both of those options are available to you. Again, tax season is going to be complicated this year. It really is. So to get your tax season started on the right foot, give you an overview of what to expect. We're going to play a TV segment that I did on Saturday and I think it'll give you a good overview as to what you might expect. The anchor is Adriana Diaz.

[C]

The agency expects refunds to be larger this year. That's good news and you may want to get a head start. There are several new credits and deductions available after Congress passed the so called one big beautiful bill last summer. So to find out what they are, we have CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger here to explain. Slade. Hi, Jill.

[D]

Good morning.

[C]

So do tell. What are these new credits and deductions?

[E]

Woo.

[D]

Eat your Wheaties. There's a lot of changes this year, so let me kind of do the easy stuff. April 15, back to the deadline.

[B]

No changes there.

[D]

Okay. There are a bunch of them. I'm just going to give you four of the biggest ones.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

If you're over the age of 65, you are a senior, you're getting an enhanced tax deduction. There are also folks who are going to see big changes. Why? Because they receive tip income or overtime income. And those are going to be very advantageous for those filers because there will not be tax on that. And I think that's a big difference. It is limited by the amount of income you earn. There are also many other provisions inside of this bill, one especially focused on auto loan interest, which is now deductible so there's so many new parts of the tax code that the IRS has said there's a new form available. And you will see that as you begin the tax filing process.

[C]

There's also a new program, a tax advantage program for people's kids. Tell us about that.

[D]

Well, if you had a baby last year, you are going to be entitled to something called the so called Trump account. Now, it's a way to save long term for retirement for your baby. And this is going to be not just in 25, but it'll be 26 and 27. If you have a baby born in this year, the government is going to put $1,000 into an account. That's incredible. Now, the reason I'm flagging this for tax season is although the program doesn't really start until the summer, you can actually flag it when you file your returns. Like, hey, I had a baby. I'm going to participate. You can also, as a parent and maybe grandparents want to get involved. In addition to what the government puts in, you'll be able to put in 5,000 bucks in a year.

[C]

And just think about how that might accrue over the 18 years of your child's life and beyond for their retirement.

[D]

Although having a baby is actually more expensive than that. Yeah, just a little bit.

[C]

Just a little bit. And this is only for people who have babies this year, in the next few years.

[D]

Yes, exactly right.

[C]

So last year the average tax refund amount was about 30, $100. What is your advice for people getting that refund back quickly?

[D]

Well, first of all, you have to file electronically, use direct deposit. It should be there within 21 days according to the IRS people who are clinging to paper returns. Man, you are missing the boat. You are going to get your return back much faster. And another note about those refunds, that amount is likely to be higher this year because of the change in the tax code. A lot of people didn't adjust their withholding because the tax bill was passed in July. So these people might find you have a big fatter tax refund. You know, I don't like tax refunds. You just loan money to the government and getting zero interest.

[C]

But we like to get them. So if you get a refund, you like it.

[D]

I've never gotten a refund.

[E]

You're so good.

[C]

You're so efficient. Okay, so for those people who are lucky enough to get refunds, what should they do with them? What's your advice?

[D]

Have you heard me talk about Jill's big three?

[C]

Tell me again, Jill okay, the big.

[D]

Three things that I think everyone needs to consider. Number one is you have an emergency reserve fund that has at least 6 to 12 months of your living expenses. So maybe you use your refund and you put money into that account. Number two, you're paying down debt. We know there's a lot of people have outstanding credit card debt, an expensive auto loan, pay it down. Number three, increase your retirement plan contributions as much as possible. What a great way to get that tax refund to work for you.

[A]

Okay, we are going to talk a lot more about tax season and specifically some of the big changes that are occurring. I'm going to keep reminding you about this because again, there's this new Schedule 1A that the IRS is flagging. These four big changes that have occurred because of last year's tax law. And those changes are the deduction for seniors. The ones who are over 65 get an extra deduction. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on car loan interest. These are all income tested, so you have to be below a certain threshold of income. If you go to jillonmoney.com, you'll see my blog post that will outline all these different deductions, the new ones, the limits, the standard deduction, the state and local tax deduction, all the new things that you can expect when you file your tax returns this year. Again, if you've got questions, and I'm sure you will, just go to the website jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button, write us a note. And if you want to join us live, check the box. Mark will do everything else. Oh, eat your Wheaties, gang. It's going to be an exciting tax season. You can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Please, please leave us a rating and review. Wherever you listen and of course, lift someone up. Change your work, change your wealth, change your life. Thank you for listening and we'll talk to you tomorrow.

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