Turn 2026 tax changes into filing-season answers

One of the hardest questions to shake before filing season is: “What if I miss something major?”

It’s an understandable concern. Tax law changes throughout the year, and guidance often follows later. Proposed rules can change before they become final. By filing season, tax professionals also need to know how those developments translate onto the return and whether their software reflects the latest changes.

Before the first 2026 returns are filed, it’s worth taking one focused look at what changed and what those changes mean now.

NATP’s The Biggest Tax Developments of 2026 webinar brings the year together with a review of the federal tax developments that could affect returns prepared during the 2027 filing season. The live webinar is Dec. 29, making it an opportunity to fit in year-end CPE while getting the latest developments. The program will also be available on demand after the live event.

Move from “What changed?” to “What goes on the return?”

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) brought some of the most significant federal tax changes practitioners have dealt with in recent years. But passage of a major tax law is only the beginning.

Since then, additional guidance has helped fill in pieces tax professionals need for filing season. Questions become more practical as return preparation gets closer. Is the guidance final? And what will you need to know when that provision shows up on a client’s return?

Here’s where the year-end follow-up comes in. Tom O’Saben, EA, will review developments affecting individual and business taxpayers, including qualified tips and overtime deductions, Trump Accounts and qualified opportunity zones. The focus is on what tax professionals need to recognize as 2026 developments begin affecting return preparation and future planning.

Consider a client who sold cryptocurrency during 2026. Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions, is not entirely new this filing season, but one important piece is: brokers generally begin reporting basis for covered digital assets sold in 2026. This changes what may be sitting in the client’s file when you prepare the return and what you will want to compare against the client’s own records.

The year-end timing is perfect. Instead of trying to reconstruct months of developments in the middle of a busy day in February, you can put the pieces together now and head into filing season knowing what deserves another look.

Close out the year before filing season begins

If you want the earlier planning perspective first, NATP’s OBBBA at One Year on-demand webinar looks at the law from the midyear implementation and planning side. The year-end webinar moves that discussion forward to what those decisions mean as return preparation begins.

Use the update to make a short list for yourself or your firm: which client situations should trigger another question, and which developments do you want nearby when returns start coming through?

Don’t think you have to carry every tax change from 2026 around in your head, but you do want to begin filing season knowing what changed and when a client’s facts deserve a closer look.

Join The Biggest Tax Developments of 2026 live on Dec. 29 or watch it on demand and head into the 2027 filing season with 2026’s biggest developments fresh in your mind.