The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service announced the formal start date of the 2026 tax season will be January 26th. Seventeen days and counting1…
🧾 The deets…clean and quick – WHAT are some of the tax preparation tips announced during the past week?2
New deductions and credits to potentially reduce taxable income, courtesy of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Valid Social Security numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers issued on or before the due date of tax returns are required of a taxpayer (and spouse if filling jointly) to receive certain credits for dependents.
The IRS is “urging” (their words) taxpayers to learn about accessing their Individual Online Account. This is important information to become aware of.
Do you know what the current state of your own tax record is? The first step to find out: Create an id.me account.
Have you always received your tax refund by paper check? And waited for delivery in the mail? Well, in accordance with Executive Order 14247 issued last March, that option is being phased out.
Direct deposit into an account with a financial institution will soon be your only option. This doesn’t mean checks are being eliminated (yet)…but that will end, sooner than later.
If this is you, or anyone that you know, understand expected delivery time for checks via U.S. Mail will take at least six weeks after the government processes the refund.
🧾 Taking a deeper tax dive…
This time of year, we’re all in assessment mode. As far as government entities are concerned, it comes down to you and your money…personal income, business revenue. All of it. Especially in the age of the side hustle.
Online sales (e-commerce) volume in the United States is bigger than ever. On December 18, the U.S. Census published the Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales for 3rd Quarter (3Q) 2025, which shows the e-commerce estimate increased 5.1 percent (±1.2%) from 3Q 2024 while total retail sales increased 4.1 percent (±0.4%) in the same period. E-commerce sales in 3Q 2025 accounted for 16.4 percent of total sales3.
If you are an online merchant (i.e., sell your merchandise or deliver your swag to customers through a portal like Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, etc.), you’re likely to receive IRS Form 1099-K4. Form 1099-K is a report of payments you received for goods or services during the year from:
Credit, debit or stored value cards such as gift cards (payment cards)
Payment apps or online marketplaces, also called third party settlement organizations (TPSO)
These organizations are required to fill out Form 1099-K and send copies to the IRS and to you5. Your online customers may make payments can be made through any:
Payment app
Online community marketplace
Craft or maker marketplace
Auction site
Car sharing or ride-hailing platform
Ticket exchange or resale site
Crowdfunding platform
Freelance marketplace
Payment settlement entities (PSEs) are required by law to file the form for payments made in settlement of reportable payment transactions for each calendar year. If you haven’t seen it before, Form 1099-K has boxes that track your revenue by the month. If you accept payments on different platforms, you could get more than one Form 1099-K.
💵 WHY does this matter now?
Back in mid-November, the IRS published a frequently asked questions (FAQ) fact sheet on Form 1099-K, because the OBBBA changed the thresholds for payees back to the pre-Covid gross amount of $20,000 and greater than 200 transactions. The idea is that use of this form will help taxpayers with “voluntary tax compliance”. Quoting the fact sheet6, “Third party information reporting for certain payments is required by law and has been shown to increase voluntary tax compliance, improve tax collections and assessments within the IRS.” Saying the quiet part out loud, this portends a probable uptick in tax enforcement going forward as the IRS using more sophisticated tools through AI and data analytics.
There’s the scoop, everyone! Thanks for taking time to check out the exclusive subscriber edition of the Tax Clarity Newsletter on beehiiv.
Thank you so much!
References (6)
1 IR-2026-02, IRS announces first day of 2026 filing season; online tools and resources help with tax filing (January 8, 2026), last accessed on January 8, 2026.
2 IR-2026-01, Prepare to file in 2026: Get Ready for tax season with key updates, essential tips (January 6, 2026), last accessed on January 8, 2026.
3 U.S. Census Bureau News, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, 3rd Quarter 2025, December 18, 2025, last accessed on January 9, 2026.
4 IRS Form 1099-K, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099k.pdf, last accessed on January 9, 2026.
5 Understanding Your Form 1099-K, last accessed on January 9, 2026.
6 FS-2025-08, https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2025-08.pdf, last accessed on January 9, 2026.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this newsletter is derived from public information, provided for education purposes. It is not provided as a financial advisory service and should not be relied upon as such. For advice on a specific tax matter, please consult a tax professional.