This year, young people across the nation will be filing their taxes for the first time. Before, many simply had help from their parents or were listed as dependents.
That changes for many. Many are also confused as to what they need to know this year.
Jesse Lineberry, an assistant professor of Virginia Tech’s Department of Finance, Insurance and Business Law, said that the main thing people need to remember is to file their taxes sooner rather than later.
“Making sure that you have all of your documents in hand can be really important, and that could be W-2s from your salary or part-time wages,” Lineberry said. “It could be 1099s if you have a savings account, you earned interest, or you have a brokerage account.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration and the One Big Beautiful Bill also made some adjustments to the tax code. While those changes might not apply to college students, they will apply to the majority of Americans.
“We had changes to the SALT limits, the state and local taxes paid, which is an itemized reduction,” Lineberry said. “We also had a charitable deduction and above the line charitable deduction that was added for those claiming the standard deduction, which is a new development that has historically only been available to those who itemize.”
Other changes include the increased standard deduction, which is now permanent, along with an additional standard deduction for seniors.
Lineberry also recommends that if you’re already getting your 2025 taxes done now, you might as well get ready for next tax season.
“Take that momentum and go ahead and make the changes,” Lineberry said. “If you’re sitting here and you’re going, oh my goodness, I didn’t save enough in my 401K this year, or I wish I would have saved more in the health savings account at work or the flexible spending account at works. Take this moment to go ahead and make those adjustments for tax year 2026.”
The final deadline to file your taxes is April 15.