Filing Season
Former IRS Chiefs Urge Treasury to Drop a Work-Status Question From the 2026 Form 1040
If the question survives, expect one more box to answer on your 2026 return. We’ll let you know when the final form is out.
The draft 2026 Form 1040 would ask every filer, and a spouse on a joint return, whether they are a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or a noncitizen legally authorized to work in the U.S. Treasury and the IRS say the question helps keep refundable credits going only to eligible people. In a comment letter dated October 26, former IRS Commissioners John Koskinen and Danny Werfel, former National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, and two policy groups asked that it be removed before the form is finalized.
Their concern is that people will skip filing out of fear their information will reach immigration authorities, pointing to a 2025 IRS–ICE data-sharing agreement that federal courts have since blocked. One outside estimate cited in the letter puts the cost of lost compliance at roughly $300 billion over ten years. The letter also notes that people claiming the Earned Income or Child Tax Credit already certify their eligibility under penalty of perjury. No final decision has been announced.
Source: Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting News
Year-End Planning
The Bigger SALT Cap Means More Hoosiers May Itemize — but Timing Matters
Indiana’s state and county income taxes count toward the SALT cap. Before you mail that January estimate, ask us whether paying it in December helps.
Under last year’s tax law, the deduction for state and local taxes is capped at $40,400 for 2026, up from $10,000 before the law. The cap phases down for people with modified AGI above $505,000, but never below $10,000. In an October 30 interview, a Plante Moran tax partner said that change is pushing many more people in income-tax states over the standard deduction. Nearly every new deduction, though, has its own income phaseout starting at a different level, which makes planning harder.
His year-end ideas include paying the fourth-quarter state estimate before December 31 instead of on its January 15 due date if you’re still under the cap, and grouping two years of charitable gifts into one through a donor-advised fund. If you have room in the 0% capital gains bracket, you can sell an investment at a gain and buy it right back to reset your cost basis. Starting in 2026, people who don’t itemize can also deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to charity ($2,000 on a joint return).
Source: Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting News
IRS
IRS Report Card: Bigger Refunds, a Record $5.6 Trillion Collected, and 70 Million Trump Accounts
Filing electronically with direct deposit is still the fastest way to get a refund. If you have a child born since 2025, make sure the $1,000 seed money has been claimed.
In its fiscal 2026 wrap-up on October 29, the IRS said it collected a record $5.6 trillion, up nearly 5% from the year before. Total refunds claimed were up 17% from last year and the average refund rose 11%. About 90% of e-filers got their refund in under 21 days. Use of the online account grew 34% to about 37.6 million users, and payments made through it rose 57% to more than $133.6 billion.
The IRS also said nearly 70 million Trump accounts are open for children and 27 million have been funded. Each child born from 2025 through 2028 gets a $1,000 government seed contribution. A new Report Fraud button on the IRS.gov homepage, also reachable at IRS.gov/submitatip, now lets taxpayers flag suspected scams directly.
Source: IRS Newsroom (IR-2026-129)
Indiana
Indiana’s Gas Tax Holiday Is Set to End Wednesday
Fuel retailers and farm operations should be ready for state tax to resume November 5, and keep fuel records split by period for GT-103 and MF-360 reporting.
Governor Braun’s September 30 order kept Indiana’s gasoline excise tax and gasoline use tax suspended through November 4. Together the two taxes add roughly 61 cents a gallon, so prices at the pump could jump quickly once they come back. The Department of Revenue says retailers shouldn’t collect gas use tax on sales from April 8 through November 4. Indiana’s diesel tax was never suspended.
State law limits how many times the governor can renew an emergency without the legislature, and whether he will act again was still unclear at press time. The separate state waiver that lets farmers and timber harvesters run dyed diesel on Indiana roads is tied to the same energy emergency, so it could end on the same timeline. Federal relief for on-road dyed diesel runs through December 31.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle