Elizabeth Ayoola

I did not want to face another penalty.

I filed my taxes.

Did you?

Have you?

So you do it yourself then?

I will give advice based on whatever it is that my tax person does.

So there we go.

And I'm Elizabeth Ayola.

Today, we're going to go deep into tax season 2026, which is for filing your 2025 taxes, by the way.

We're going to be talking about what's new, common mistakes that people make when filing, and also how you can keep your finances safe and yourself sane over the next month or so.

Well, Tom, taxes can be confusing, as you said earlier.

And in the bid to encourage people to do it themselves, what are some best practices that people can keep in mind so that they can make filing their taxes a bit less stressful and also prevent mistakes?

I think all of this just brings to mind the importance of being organized during tax season.

And as you said, Tom, there is something to be said about looking back at last year, maybe creating a checklist.

So that includes having your Social Security number in place, knowing your logins for all those important accounts, having your documents, whether they're digital or physical, in place to minimize that stress.

Tom, now let's talk about how to file.

I know many people will opt to use the same tax filing software they used last year or the same CPA that they hired in the past.

Can you talk a little bit about when someone might want to use a different tool or hire a different tax professional than when they've used in the past?

What should people be looking for then, since you don't necessarily need a degree in order to prepare taxes?

I remember using someone from high school once, and then I had an IRS agent knocking on my door because of how they prepared my taxes.