DES MOINES, Iowa -- Change can bring intimidation for the simplest of subjects, but has anybody ever thought that taxes were simple?
Tax experts say there is nothing to be intimidated by when filing your taxes this year, despite some changes to tax laws that went into effect at the start of the new year.
WHO Channel 13 reports a key difference will be the size of your 1040 tax form. It's now been reduced to the size of a postcard, but it will still have six pages of information you must fill out.
There's other changes: For married couples who file jointly, the deduction amount is now $24,000.
For those who are single or married but filing separately, its $12,000.
"The Heritage Foundation estimated that 86 percent of people will now take the standard deduction. What that means is those people prior to the changes would get to deduct interest on their house, real estate taxes and state income taxes paid," says Kendall Roberts, a certified public accountant based out of Clive.
Roberts adds that new tax laws could impact those who work from home too. The reimbursed employee expenses section on the federal tax return was removed.
"That section was eliminated all together. That impacts a lot of people that had expenses associated with their company's work and now they can't deduct it," says Roberts.