KANSAS CITY, MO — The deadline to file your federal tax returns is just days away, and hopefully that process is in your rearview mirror.
But millions of people still have work to be done ahead of April 15th, and I wanted to get some ideas on things to keep in mind.
I spoke to Alison Flores, Director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block here in Kansas City. I wanted to know the five biggest things that tax preparers wish people would do, or do differently, when filing returns.
All five of the tips she shared may seem like common knowledge, but based on our conversation, they represent the biggest areas where people could improve.
Tip 1) Don't wait until the last minute.
"At the last minute, day of, April 15, we do see a spike," Flores told me. "Walk-ins, people calling us, trying to get time on our calendars to help them with their taxes. A lot of the time, this is a person who's tried it themselves, and they got stuck, and they need to file at the last minute."
Yes, if you're reading this and haven't filed, you're already somewhat in this category. But Flores told me that there are many people who don't even start working on their return until April 15.
She said that they ask their clients to have all their documentation in by the end of March. And, for future reference, remember that you can file your return earlier in the year. That way, especially if you owe money, you can budget for exactly what that will be, and then pay in April.
Tip 2) Don't miss out on credits that you qualify to receive.
Obviously, new laws on the books each year may add or remove certain credits, and we do our best to make sure you're aware of those changes.
But Flores told me that one of the big misses every year is the earned income credit.
"With the earned income credit, it's refundable. So you can obtain this credit even if you don't owe taxes," she said. "So, for a typical single adult, if you're very low income, you may not have withholding to get a refund, you may not owe taxes, you may not need to file. But you might be eligible for a refundable credit which is typically $300-$800, which you can get back without paying anything."
Flores told me that roughly 20% of taxpayers don't claim the credits that they qualify to receive.
Tip 3) Accurately reflect major life changes in your tax return.
Flores identified four major life events that can have a big impact on your taxes: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, and a child getting too old to be included on your return.
Divorce can be the most complicated, for a variety of reasons.
"If you are still in the process of becoming divorced, it's not final yet, for taxes, you might find it beneficial to actually go ahead and file jointly before the divorce is final," Flores told me. "And that's incredibly difficult to piece together when you are trying to split up everything. Whereas if you file separately, we call it a married filing separate return. You are eligible for way fewer tax benefits, so there's a lot of restrictions on that status."
Tip 4) Remember to include ALL of your necessary documents.
We live in a digital age, and these days it's much more likely that you're sending all your necessary tax documentation to your preparer electronically. Gone are the days, for most, of keeping a stack of papers on a shelf between January and April.
But don't let digital transfers be the reason you forget a necessary document. Flores told me the big one that she sees every year is Form 1098, which details any interest paid on federal student loans.
I also asked her about cryptocurrency, which more and more people are starting to use as investments.
"So, if you lose money, that's a loss. We can still put it on your taxes, and that helps out your taxes," Flores said. "So many people think, 'Oh, I lost money, I don't need to worry about it.' In reality, that could save us money on your taxes when we report that loss. It's just like an investment loss. If you lost money on stocks, we want to know about it so we can get that loss on your return. Same thing with crypto."
One more tidbit to remember—sports betting. If you made some money doing that in 2025, that's taxable for the year you made the money. Maybe you had a big win or two, and the money is still sitting in your chosen app or account. It's taxable in the year you made the money, not the year that you cash it out, and transfer it to your bank account.
Tip 5) Protect yourself against identity theft.
Another common tip these days, but what does it actually look like in terms of filing tax returns. Flores told me that criminals will use your social security number, but only by plugging random numbers into the IRS system, to file a return as you. That means potentially stealing your refund.
She offered a couple of tips to avoid that.
"Getting, your return filed as soon as you have all your documents is the first step you can take to secure that tax refund for yourself," Flores said. "The second one is getting an identity protection personal identification number, or an IP PIN from the IRS. And that is easy to do, and we can help you get one of those. When you do that, you have a PIN number that you must include on your return for the IRS to accept it."
Hopefully, one of these tips can help you with your return, either this year or in the future.
But Flores stressed that there's still time to reach out to a professional if you need help.
