Your Tax Pro

Workplace Educational Assistance Programs and Student Loans

The IRS recently issued a reminder that employers may continue to use workplace educational assistance programs to help employees repay student loans through December 31, 2025. In general, employers may provide up to $5,250 of assistance per year to employees for qualifying education expenses, without those funds counting as taxable wages. In other words, employees may exclude the assistance from their reported gross income.

Traditionally, workplace educational assistance programs only cover current education expenses, such as tuition, books, and certain other required fees and course materials. However, a temporary provision currently in effect allows the programs to also cover repayment of qualifying student loans. This special provision will expire at the end of 2025, so those who wish to use tax-free educational assistance to repay loans should do so before January 1.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates New Tax Deductions – Did You Know? (3/3)

As a result of Congress enacting the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, many people will have the opportunity to claim new tax deductions over the next several years. These deductions will be available both to those who itemize deductions and those who use a standard deduction. One of the new deductions is offered exclusively to seniors, while another relates to interest on auto loans.

For tax years 2025 through 2028, eligible people of age 65 or older may claim a general deduction of up to $6,000 per year (up to $12,000 for joint filers). Note that you may claim this new deduction in addition to the enhanced standard deduction already available to seniors. However, seniors with modified adjusted gross incomes (MAGIs) above $75,000 (or $150,000 for joint filers) may not qualify for the deduction, or may receive a reduced deduction amount.

The car loan interest deduction will apply to auto loans initiated after December 31, 2024, along with certain auto loans refinanced after that date. In order to qualify for the deduction, the loan must be used to finance the purchase of a qualifying new (not used) vehicle. The maximum deduction amount is $10,000 per year, with the deduction phasing out for people with MAGIs above $100,000 (or $200,000 for joint filers).

The IRS will provide additional guidance on these deductions later this fall.

IRS Impersonation Scams - Did You Know?

The IRS recently issued new warnings about ongoing IRS impersonation scams designed to steal people's money, identities or both. The first thing to know about these scams is that the IRS almost always initiates contact with a person by sending a letter through the mail on official letterhead. If you receive an IRS letter and have created an IRS online account, you can log in to your account to check whether the letter is authentic. Otherwise, if you have doubts about a letter you receive, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for more information.

The IRS does not initiate contact through email or social media messages, and only sends text messages with the recipient's permission, for instance because the person signed up for notifications. If you receive a message supposedly from the IRS promoting mysterious stimulus payments or tax credits, it is almost certainly a scam. Delete the message and do not click any links, as the links typically lead to fake IRS websites created to steal people's tax refunds or personal information.

Finally, when reaching out by phone, IRS employees do not leave aggressive messages threatening people with arrest. They also never demand payment in a specific format, such as prepaid gift cards. If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a phone call supposedly from the IRS, hang up and call an official IRS customer service number for more information.