BATON ROUGE - Tax professionals are urging people not to rush to file their income taxes this year, warning that new deductions and reporting changes could affect returns. That's because several new deductions passed under the one big beautiful bill that is being incorporated into tax forms, according to local tax preparers.

The bill also includes a 2.8 percent cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients. For those with Affordable Care Act plans, there may be higher costs. The bill changes the child tax credit and introduces new deductions related to car loans, overtime work, and tip income.

"If you purchased a car in 2025, you can deduct up to $10,000 of interest paid on your car loans this tax year," said Joy Whitfield of J. Whitfield Tax Services.

"If they want to take the deduction, they should submit their VIN and (interest) from the bank, and the year, make, and model of their car," she said.

Tax Professional Falysia Kilbourne from Royalty Consulting Agency says the biggest questions they're getting ahead of filing season involve new deductions for workers. Employees who work overtime can deduct up to $12,500 from their total income, while workers who receive tips can deduct up to $25,000.

She encourages many service workers to wait before filing their W-2, and to make sure they have all the information and documents needed to benefit from the deductions.

"Make sure your W-2 is correct because some employers are going ahead and updating, and others have not ironed out the kinks of what should actually go onto the W-2s this year," she said.

Due to the federal tax changes this year, the IRS requires employers to give out W-2s by early February, instead of the usual January deadline.