Tim Harty, The Business Times

January is in the books, and most people have their W-2 or 1099 forms in hand, ready to tackle their taxes like any other year.

But a few things are different this year and worth your awareness, according to Chris West, CEO of DWC CPAs and Advisors, 464 Main St. in Grand Junction.

West said President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill “certainly made an impact for both individuals and business owners,” but to go through every piece of legislation change would be “probably overwhelming.”

So, he picked out several key changes he thinks will be most helpful for individuals and businesses.

On the individual side, he singled out three items as fairly sizable.

First, he pointed to “something that’ll be a big benefit for those age 65 and older,” and that’s a new additional standard deduction of up to $6,000 for an individual and $12,000 for a married couple.

“The higher one’s income goes, they potentially lose out on that $6,000 deduction, but a lot of our senior citizens, age 65 and older, will see a benefit from that,” he said.

Next, West mentioned the deduction related to tip income, which is new for 2025 tax returns and will go through 2028.

For taxpayers in the hospitality industry – waiting tables, serving in hotels, “any profession or business where they are receiving tipped income from customers,” – West said up to $25,000 of tipping income can be deducted.

“And again, at the higher income levels, that starts to fade away,” he said, “but at the lower income levels that will be a nice increase or tax benefit.”

West’s third item is the new deduction related to overtime pay, and like the deduction for tipping income, it affects tax returns from 2025 through 2028. Single tax filers can deduct up to $12,500 and joint filers can deduct up to $25,000 of their qualified overtime pay against their taxes.

After those Big 3, West threw in a fourth: The limit of the deduction for state and local taxes, also called the SALT limit, increased from $10,000 to $40,000 in 2025. West said that change is “a big benefit for those that pay a lot in state income taxes.”

West said the four changes he mentioned are relatively straightforward, and a tax filer using a software program at home should be able to handle them without difficulty.

However, for the increased SALT limit, he said higher-income taxpayers who own businesses may be able to implement a strategy that allows a deduction greater than the $40,000 “by utilizing your small business to do what is in essence a workaround of this rule.” West said the workaround is “very legitimate and allowed by most states,” but in his opinion those business owners would benefit from seeking professional help with their tax return.

For businesses, West said the One Big Beautiful Bill brought a couple notable changes, “and kind of the biggest one in my opinion for small businesses is what’s called the 100 percent deduction for qualified property, or what’s called the 100 percent bonus depreciation deduction.”

He said it impacts small businesses that are buying heavy equipment, buying vehicles, spending money within their business on capital improvements.

“And the definition of qualified property, what is qualified gets very technical, so getting professional help is important,” he said. “The help of a CPA or tax professional, in my opinion, would be dollars well paid to get the necessary help to make sure you’re maximizing that deduction.”

West said there also is a deduction that has been around for quite a while, and it was made permanent: the Qualified Business Income deduction.

“It’s a 20 percent deduction for all owners of S Corporations and LLCs, which is how most small businesses are structured,” he said. “And there can be some nuances and complexity to how that 20 percent deduction is calculated and utilized, depending on the type of business that you have. And the way it’s calculated involves some complexity that I believe a tax professional can add a lot of value in helping a taxpayer navigate the QBI deduction.”

Tax Professionals’ Value Goes Beyond Taxes

DWC CPAs and Advisors CEO Chris West said a good CPA and tax professional “should be able to help you navigate not just the tax picture, but your whole financial picture, whether you own a business or not. And so tax planning, estate planning, your financial planning, a good CPA will help their clients navigate all of those elements.

“That’s just an important thing in my opinion. I like to get on a soapbox every now and then and just preach to our people how important it is for us to be more than accountants, but to be well-rounded, money advisors, not just taxes.”