Tax season opens. How Trump’s tax cuts will affect your return
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The IRS kicked off the 2026 tax season on Monday, and filers will see changes to President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” that could affect their 2025 returns.
About 164 million individual tax returns Taxes are expected to be due before the April 15 deadline, and many could receive larger tax refunds after Trump’s 2025 law, experts say.
“The size of the refunds is an important political issue” as the 2026 midterm elections approach, Andrew Lautz, tax policy director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit think tank, told reporters on a call Thursday.
Typically, a refund or balance due is based on taxes paid the previous year through paycheck withholdings or estimated payments. In 2025, average payback For individual filers, it was $3,052 through Oct. 17, according to the IRS.
“There are a lot of things that are likely to lead to higher reimbursements [during the 2026] “2025 is the filing season that includes tax deductions and withholdings,” Lautz said.
IRS after Trump’s 2025 tax changes did not update withholding tax tables for employers and many workers will see this The impact of this when they file their returns in 2026.
As many Americans continue to struggle with the rising cost of living, the Trump administration has floated a number of policy ideas focused on affordability.
But more than half of Americans don’t know how Changes to Trump’s 2025 tax law This will affect them, according to a new TaxSlayer survey of 2,000 filers in November.
Here’s what taxpayers can expect during the 2026 filing season.
What tax deductions may affect your refund?
The amount of refunds or taxes owed “will vary significantly” depending on individual circumstances, according to a Jan. 15 report Tax Foundation analysis.
Trump’s 2025 tax bill makes the 2017 tax cuts permanent, which “is mostly a continuation of the status quo,” Garrett Watson, director of policy analysis at the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit think tank, told CNBC.
But the legislation also included a larger standard deduction; more generous maximum child tax credit; a higher limit for the state and local tax or SALT deduction; $6,000 tax credit for seniors; and deductions for auto loan interest, tip income, and overtime pay, among others.
Who could see a bigger tax refund in 2026?
The standard deduction for 2025 increases to $15,750 for single filers and $31,500 for married couples filing jointly, from $15,000 and $30,000, respectively.
“This will result in larger refunds for the 85% to 90% of taxpayers who claim the standard deduction each year,” Lautz said.
Another tax cut that could affect many filers is the new $6,000 “bonus” deduction for seniors 65 and over. The full deduction is available up to $75,000 in modified adjusted gross income or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Many families may also see a larger child tax deduction. For 2025, the maximum credit increased from $2,000 to $2,200.
Meanwhile, the SALT deduction and tax deductions for tip or overtime income could provide “much larger” deductions, but fewer filers would qualify, Lautz previously told CNBC.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax bill makes the 2017 tax cuts permanent. A previous version of this story gave an incorrect year.
