Dear Client:
It’s time to prepare for another tax season! There are many things to be aware of as you gather your
documents.
Child Tax Credit: The Child Tax Credit continues to be $2,000 per child under age 17. You must
have earned income of at least $2500 to qualify for the refundable part of the credit.
Child Care Credit: Please bring the statement from your daycare provider that includes the
provider’s name, address, phone number, and Tax ID number. If possible, ask them to itemize
the amounts for each of your children. The maximum credit is $600 per child for the first two.
Proof of Residence: The IRS requires tax professionals to verify the address of each child listed
on the tax return. Please bring documents that verify the children that live with you. Acceptable
documents must have the child’s name and address and may include: daycare statements,
child’s savings account statements from a bank, or school documents. Older children may use
college statements or W-2’s.
Head of Household: If you qualify for the Head of Household status, we will be asking you
several questions to verify that you are providing more than half the support for your family.
Required Minimum Distributions: Be sure to take yours prior to the end of 2024 if you are 73 or
older. If you chose to make a Qualified Charitable Contribution from your IRA, please point that
out to us so it can be properly reported to the IRS.
Virtual Currency: If you have sold or traded any virtual currency, it must be disclosed on the tax
return. Depending on the amount, we may have to file an additional form with the IRS. Please
tell us if you have any virtual currency investments. There are Apps available to purchase that
will help you determine cost-basis of the investment. Those are more cost-effective than having
us calculate the basis.
Self-Employed mileage deduction: The self-employed mileage reimbursement rate for 2024 was
67 cents. The 2025 rate will be 70 cents. The IRS is looking closely at mileage deductions. They
require details of where you went, the business purpose, beginning and ending mileage. There
are several good phone apps available that help track mileage. We have mileage books
available if you prefer to keep your logs manually. The other thing the IRS is now requiring in
the event of an audit is third party verification of the odometer reading. Oil change receipts or
other maintenance receipts that show the odometer reading is sufficient.
1099-K: These will be issued to you if you have Venmo/PayPal/Zelle type of transactions in
excess of $5,000. These will not be mailed, you will need to download it from your account.
Please bring this in with you and inform us which transactions should be classified as personal
and which ones would count as Taxable Income.
Teacher Deduction: This deduction for educators remains $300 for unreimbursed expenses for
the classroom. Eligible educators are K-12 teachers, counselors, principals, or an aide that works
900 or more hours per year.
529 Plans: Contributions to 529 plans are tax deductible on the Iowa tax return. You can deduct
contributions up to $5,500 per beneficiary. Funds may be used to pay for K-12 private school
tuition up to $15,000 per student per year. Excess funds in the account may be eligible to roll to
a Roth IRA.
Charitable Donations: Please provide all receipts for donations given in 2024.
Energy Credits: There are energy credits available for furnace, air conditioner, insulation,
windows and exterior doors, heat pumps, solar panels, and GeoThermal. Please provide
receipts showing the energy efficiency of these items. There is also a $7500 credit for
purchasing a qualified electric car. Bring the purchase documents including the VIN for us to
properly calculate the credit.
General Office Information:
If you would like to have a tax organizer, please let us know and we can send that to you.
This year we are again adding Tax Protection Plus to all individual tax returns. Benefits include:
$1,000,000 Tax Audit Defense
Identity Theft Restoration
$2500 Tax Preparation Guarantee
If you are unable to pay your tax preparation fees at the time your taxes are prepared, please let us
know. We have partnered with a third-party processor that can take the preparation fees from your
refund. There is an additional fee for this service which is also deducted from your refund.
Our extended tax season hours will begin January 27. The office will be closed every Wednesday from
12:00 – 2:00 for staff development during the tax season. The outside box is available for anything that
needs to be dropped off during that time.
We are excited to introduce our newest staff member Hailey Schutte. She was our tax intern in 2020-
21 and in 2022 while she attended Simpson College earning her MBA in Accounting with a focus on
tax. She worked full time at CLA in West Des Moines preparing taxes in 2023 until September 2024.
Hailey is currently working on her CPA exams. She will be meeting with clients for tax returns this
year. If you prefer to drop off rather than have an appointment, bring the documents in as soon as you
have everything gathered. Please also fill out the enclosed Drop-Off Form and bring with your
documentation.
We look forward to working with you again this year!