Personal Finance
2025 capital gains tax brackets
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Federal tax brackets for 2025
Federal income tax brackets show how much you owe on each part of your “taxable income,” which you calculate by subtracting the greater of the standard or itemized deductions from your adjusted gross income.
- 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $626,350 ($751,600 for married couples filing jointly)
- 35% for incomes over $250,525 ($501,050 for married couples filing jointly)
- 32% for incomes over $197,300 ($394,600 for married couples filing jointly)
- 24% for incomes over $103,350 ($206,700 for married couples filing jointly)
- 22% for incomes over $48,475 ($96,950 for married couples filing jointly)
- 12% for incomes over $11,925 ($23,850 for married couples filing jointly)
- 10% for incomes of $11,925 or less ($23,850 or less for married couples filing jointly)
After 2025, lower taxes enacted by former President Donald Trump will sunset without action from Congress. If the provision expires, the tax brackets will revert to 2017 levels, shifting to 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35% and 39.6%.
Higher standard deduction
The standard deduction will also increase in 2025, rising to $30,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $29,200 in 2024. Starting in 2025, single filers can claim $15,000, a bump from $14,600.
Trump’s tax cuts also included higher standard deductions, which will sunset after 2025 if Congress doesn’t extend that tax break.
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Most tax preparers don’t have credentials
Despite the talent shortage, vetting is important because “pretty much anyone can call themselves a tax preparer,” Young said.
The IRS receives more than 160 million federal tax returns every year and most come from paid preparers, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2024 Purple Book of legislative recommendations.
There are no federal licensing or competency requirements, and some paid preparers have no training or experience, the report noted. Under current law, the minimum requirement for paid professionals is an IRS-issued preparer tax identification number, or PTIN.
However, certified public accountants, enrolled agents and attorneys — professionals with unlimited representation rights before the IRS — generally pass competency tests and have continuing education requirements.
Free preparation options like Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, and Tax Counseling for the Elderly, or TCE, also have competency standards.
How to vet your tax preparer
Unlike big box preparers, many tax professionals don’t accept walk-in traffic and operate mainly by referral, according to Tom O’Saben, an enrolled agent and director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals.
“Talk to your friends and associates who have had a good experience with their [tax] professional,” he said. “Reach out to them now to see if they’re taking new clients.”
You should also weigh fee structure and availability outside the traditional tax season, which you may need if issues arise, Young said. “Cost is a big factor, but it shouldn’t be the only basis for your decision.”
The IRS keeps a database of credentialed preparers, including those who participate in the agency’s Annual Filing Season Program, which includes yearly refresher tests and continuing education.
You can check CPA and attorney licenses through state boards. Since the IRS oversees enrolled agents, you can email the agency to check licenses.
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