Final 2024 estimated tax payment due Jan. 15
Do you have to file a tax return? Probably

What's new on your 2024 federal tax return?


Even in those few years when Congress mercifully stays out of major messing with the Internal Revenue Code, we taxpayers still encounter some changes at return filing time.

Here are some highlights of what you might find as you file your taxes this year.

Standard deduction amount increased. Around 90 percent of taxpayers claim the standard deduction. The choice was always the favorite, in large part because it’s easy. The numbers are show directly on Form 1040.

But the number of standard deduction claims increased when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 essentially doubled the amounts. They also are adjusted each year to reflect inflation.

Here’s what you’ll see on the 2024 tax year Form 1040:

  • $14,600 for single or married filing separately taxpayers;
  • $29,200 for married filing jointly couples or qualifying surviving spouses; and
  • $21,900 for filers who are head of household.

Form 1099-K changes. Americans have always been an enterprising lot. That tendency became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people made up for lost work hours or completely ended jobs by taking gig work or starting their own businesses.

However, many of these new entrepreneurs were unfamiliar with their also new tax responsibilities. Many, especially those making side income, neglected to report it. To recover this lost income, a 2021 tax law change mandated that third-party settlement organizations (TPSOs) issue 1099-K forms when payments totaled $600 or more.

Following an outcry about the dramatic change — the prior reporting threshold was transactions exceeding 200 and accounting for $20,000 in income annually — the IRS decided to keep the $600 trigger.

That changed in 2024. TPSOs, which include payment card companies, payment apps, and online marketplaces, now must send a Form 1099-K to those who were paid more than $5,000 last year.

Here’s a heads-up for coming 1099-K issuance. This year, the threshold will lower to more than $2,500. In 2026 and later years, the earnings trigger will be the law’s more than $600 amount.

Also this year, if you receive a Form 1099-K that shows payments that were included in error or for personal items sold at a loss, you need to let the IRS know by entering those wrongfully reported amounts in the entry space at the top of Schedule 1 (highlighted excerpt shown below).

Form 1040 Schedule 1 wrong 1099-K amount entry 2024 return
See more tax forms and more about them at Tax Forms 2024 and Tax Forms 2025.
  

Digital assets received as ordinary income. The IRS is continuing its efforts to know about taxpayers digital financial lives.

The agency’s question about whether, “At any time during 2024, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award, or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?” is still on Form 1040.

And this filing season, the IRS says that if you received digital assets as ordinary income, and that income is not reported elsewhere on your return, “you will enter those amounts on Schedule 1, line 8v.”

Schedule 1 digital assets line 2024
See more tax forms and more about them at Tax Forms 2024 and Tax Forms 2025.
  

As the starred form excerpt above shows, the entry is part of a long list of other income, with digital assets now being explicitly cited on Schedule 1, just after wages earned while incarcerated and before the always popular other income.

Reporting an EV dealership credit  transfer. A tax credit of up to $7,500 prompted many car shoppers last year to buy an electric vehicle (EV). Those EV buyers also got to get that tax break up front, instead of waiting to file. They were able to transfer to the expected credit amount to the dealership and have that reduce the vehicle’s total price.

But these owners of more environmentally friendly transportation still have some tax return work to complete. When they file their tax return, they must attach Form 8936, Clean Vehicle Credits, and Schedule A (Form 8936), Clean Vehicle Credit Amount, to report the transfer of the credit and reconcile their eligibility on their return.

There also are several situations where taxpayers are afforded special treatment. As you might suspect, these are for unfortunate situations.

Domestic violence exception to early retirement distribution tax. Beginning in 2024, the exception to the 10 percent additional tax for early distributions from a retirement plan also will apply in cases where the money is used by domestic violence victims for certain emergency personal expenses. More details on this relief can be found on Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts; IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income; and IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).

Also, certain relief payments made in 2024 may not be taxable. This could be the case for those affected by the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and qualified wildfire relief payments. More information on these relief payments and the taxability or not of them can be found at the IRS.gov disaster relief page and in IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts.

You also can find more, and somewhat more arcane, 2024 tax changes in the What’s New section of Form 1040 instructions.

You also might find these items of interest:

 

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