If you filed your 2025 return on time, you may now have valuable information that can help you fine-tune your 2026 withholding. A big refund indicates you withheld too much in 2025. If you expect your 2026 income and deductions to be very similar, consider reducing your withholding so that you won’t give the federal government such a large, interest-free loan this year.
Start Planning Now for Next Year’s Tax Return
This year’s tax deadline may have come and gone, but it’s never too early to start planning for next year. With that in mind, here are five things you can do now to make next April 15 easier for everyone.
Small Business Alert: Watch Out for the 100% Penalty
Some tax sins are much worse than others. An example is failing to pay over federal income and employment taxes that have been withheld from employees’ paychecks. In this situation, the IRS can assess the trust fund recovery penalty, also called the 100% penalty, against any responsible person.
Required Withholding for Supplemental Pay
Employers are required to withhold federal tax from supplemental wages paid to employees. These include bonuses, commissions, reimbursements (so long as you don’t have an accountable plan), severance, cash prizes, retroactive raises, and taxable fringe benefits.
How To Get an “Early” Refund, Adjust Your Withholding
If you received a large refund this year, you may want to adjust your withholding. Each year, millions of taxpayers claim an income tax refund. To be sure, receiving a payment from the IRS for a few thousand dollars can be a pleasant influx of cash. But it means you were essentially giving the government an interest-free loan for close to a year, which isn’t the best use of your money.
Tax Withholding for Seasonal and Part-Time Employees
Many businesses hire part-time or full-time workers, especially in the summer. The IRS classifies these employees as seasonal workers, defined as employees performing labor or services on a seasonal basis (i.e., six months or less). Examples of this kind of work include retail workers employed exclusively during holiday seasons, sports events, or during the harvest or commercial fishing season.
Summer Activities That Could Affect Your Tax Situation
Although the tax return filing deadline has come and gone, it’s never too early to start planning for next year’s tax return. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some common summertime situations that could affect your taxes:
Now Is the Time To Check Your Federal Tax Withholding
Now that tax season is over, it’s time to get the new tax year off to a good start by checking your federal income tax withholding. Taxpayers can do this by using the Tax Withholding Estimator on IRS.gov. Let’s take a look at why using this valuable online tool is a good idea: