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DON’T MISS THESE TAX DEDUCTIONS & CREDITS (6:57) Lots of changes were made to the tax law last year, and that can have an impact on your 2025 tax return, potentially putting extra money back into your pocket. Miguel Burgos, CPA and TurboTax expert, highlights some of the tax deductions and credits you could be missing, whether you’re low income, self-employed, own a home, earn tips and more. Watch the video above or read the full transcript below. Tax deductions and credits you don’t want to missVideo transcript: [MUSIC PLAYING]TRACY BYRNES: So the One Big Beautiful Bill has a lot of little cherries in there that you want to make sure you don’t miss. There’s deductions and credits that are really important to maximizing your refund, if indeed you’re getting one, and getting yourself the money that you deserve. Miguel Burgos, CPA, TurboTax expert is here with us right now to figure this all out.Look, admittedly, it’s confusing, right? And there’s a lot of stuff out there, but we don’t want people to miss what’s rightfully theirs. So what are some of the deductions and credits that people really need to pay attention to?MIGUEL BURGOS: Well, as we know, the Internal Revenue Code provides a little bit over 300 deductions and credits that can be claimed. So sometimes they can get a little bit overwhelming and we may miss some of those; but we don’t have to if we start with time, if we ask the proper questions, if we talk to an expert. And I’ll mention some of this, for example, EIC or an income credit.Also this year we also have itemized deductions. We have some changes in the itemized deductions. And we also have many changes in deductions for business owners that we want to talk about and make sure that they don’t get missed.TRACY BYRNES: Yeah. And these are three great ones. So, but this earned income tax credit I don’t know why it escapes people so much. If it’s complicated, I guess, there’s a lot of variables, I guess. But why do so many people miss it?MIGUEL BURGOS: So the IRS has been consistently publishing a statistic throughout the last few years. And it’s that one out of every five taxpayers that could potentially qualify for the credit is missing the credit. And there are multiple rules on the credit. We know that it varies based on the amount of income, the filing status, the age, the amount of dependents.But once again, it’s about starting early to file your taxes. Ask the proper questions. Talk to an expert and make sure that you gather all the data. For this year 2025, the maximum amount can be up to $8,046. So, given that you need multiple pieces of information, start as early as possible so you don’t miss out on the earned income credit if you do qualify for it.TRACY BYRNES: And this credit is mainly for low-income families—or lower-income families, I should say, who really could use the money. So more important now than ever, pay attention to this and again, take your time, start early as Miguel has said, to really see if you qualify and of course get as much of the credit as possible.TRACY BYRNES: The itemized deductions. Schedule A — this is very exciting this year, because in the past, or at least the past few years, many people were just getting the standard because they didn’t have enough credits to take an itemized deduction or to take you Schedule A, right? This year, though, things might be different.MIGUEL BURGOS: Well, yes, especially since the tax refund in 2017 where we we saw a significant increase in the standard deduction. We noticed a tendency to probably 90/10: 90% of the tax payers claiming the standard deduction, only about 10% of the tax payers claiming the itemized deduction. However, this year it may be a little bit different because we were seeing a significant increase on the state and local taxes itemized deductions. Up to last year, it had a maximum amount of $10,000 that was increased for 2025 to up to $40,000. So for taxpayers that live in states with high taxes, it is likely that they may be able to now claim up to $40,000 worth of state and local taxes, which include either the higher of of state income tax or sales tax in other state taxes, like, for example, property taxes.And then if they combine that with any medical expenses, donations, mortgage interest, and other itemized deductions, they’d be now in a better position to say, “Hey, my itemized deductions exceed my standard deduction,” and that may bring extra savings.Learn more: Deducting state and local property taxes (SALT): Limits, eligibility, and tax planning tipsTRACY BYRNES: Right, so all of you in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, pay attention because you probably will be beneficiaries of this. I love that, Miguel, because it also, I think, helps charities as well. There’s more incentive now for me to make charitable contributions because I’m going to get the deduction on my itemized Schedule A, so I think it’s a win-win for everyone.As a reminder to people, though, miscellaneous itemized deductions are long gone. Right? Those days are gone.MIGUEL BURGOS: Yeah, those were one of the one of the deductions that, ended in the tax reform in 2017 and perhaps some expected for them to be added back with what the tax law passed last summer. But that wasn’t the case. But however, we do have other deductions, other credits that still serve as an opportunity to maximize and boost a refund.TRACY BYRNES: Yeah, 100%, especially for our small business owners. And I love that we are out there trying to help them. So let’s talk about some of the things that business owners should be looking at when they sit down to do their returns this year.MIGUEL BURGOS: Yes, business owners have many opportunities and a few things that, that are a little bit different. And we want to make sure that they start early to file their taxes, and they understand these elements and make sure that they don’t miss out on them. I’ll give you a few examples: qualified business income deduction. That one was made permanent, this year. So, it could potentially help you to deduct up to 20% of your qualified business income for self-employed individuals.Also, we have also the, the 100% bonus depreciation for qualified property. So some of your assets, if they meet the criteria you may be able to deduct 100% of that expense in this current year. And another one that is very important is we have heard a lot about the No Tax on Tips Deduction.Which is true, applies for employees. But, it also has a provision that makes it applicable for self-employed individuals. So if a self-employed individual that works on a trade or business that typically gets tips, which nowadays is very normal with workers in the gig economy that that work as self-employed individuals. They could also claim the no tax on tips deductions with, with one, with an additional rule, which is basically the maximum amount is either $25,000 or their business’ net income.So they have to factor that in. But those are elements that are important to look into. Start early, ask questions, talk to an expert to make sure that you don’t miss on any of those deductions or credits as well.TRACY BYRNES: Yeah. So the qualified business income I think is really important. So bring that to the attention of your preparer or make sure if you’re using a software, you answer those questions appropriately. Same with the bonus depreciation in the past, right? I would have to amortize something over—could be 20 years—now I could potentially get it all this year. That’s a huge help to a lot of small business owners because these are great things. Miguel Burgos, CPA, TurboTax expert. Thank you so much for sharing all this.MIGUEL BURGOS: Oh, it’s always a pleasure. We are here to help you.[MUSIC PLAYING]Related: Read next:

Paul Conyngham is not a doctor. He has no background in biology or oncology. What he does have is 17 years of machine learning experience and a rescue dog named Rosie he was not willing to give up on.When conventional treatment failed to stop the aggressive mast cell cancer spreading through Rosie’s hind leg in 2024, Conyngham did what any data engineer would do. He opened ChatGPT and started asking questions.What followed became a world first. Working with researchers at two Australian universities, Conyngham designed a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine for Rosie using AI tools available to anyone. The tumor on her leg shrank by 75%. Scientists who helped make it happen say they were stunned.Pet dog Rosie’s cancer diagnosis left few optionsRosie is an eight-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier-Shar Pei cross Conyngham adopted from a Sydney shelter in 2019. In 2024, large tumors began appearing on one of her back legs.The diagnosis was mast cell cancer, the most common skin cancer in dogs. Vets gave her between one and six months to live. Conyngham spent tens of thousands of dollars on chemotherapy and multiple surgeries. The tumors slowed but refused to retreat.”No worries, I’m a data analyst and I’ll figure this out with the help of ChatGPT,” Conyngham told the U.K.’s International Business Times. And he meant it.How data engineer Conyngham used AI to map the cancerConyngham used ChatGPT as a research assistant, not a replacement for scientists. The chatbot pointed him toward genomic sequencing and suggested he contact the Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics at the University of New South Wales.He paid $3,000 AUD to have Rosie’s DNA sequenced, comparing her healthy cells to her tumor cells to pinpoint exactly where mutations had taken hold. He then ran that data through Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold, the protein structure prediction tool that won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024, to model the three-dimensional shapes of the proteins produced by those mutations.More Medicare/MedicaidAARP raises a red flag on Social Security, MedicareIf your Medicare plan was canceled, do this nowAARP explains huge new Medicare change coming soonFrom those models, he identified the neoantigens most likely to trigger a meaningful immune response. Months of analysis were condensed into half a page of formulas.Associate Professor Martin Smith, director of the Ramaciotti Centre, watched the process with growing disbelief. “Paul was relentless,” Smith said, according to Türkiye Today. “He called and told me he had analyzed the data, found mutations of interest, used AlphaFold to find the mutated proteins, identified potential targets. I’m like, ‘Woah, that’s crazy!'”The mRNA cancer vaccine is a world firstProfessor Páll Thordarson, director of the UNSW RNA Institute, took Conyngham’s half-page formula and built the mRNA vaccine. It was the first personalized cancer vaccine ever made for a dog.Conyngham drove 10 hours to Gatton, Queensland, in December 2025 for Rosie’s first injection. He returned for a booster in January 2026. One week after the first shot, the tumor began visibly shrinking.By January, Rosie had regained enough energy to jump a fence at the dog park chasing a rabbit. In December, she had barely been able to move.What the AI tools each contributed to the vaccineChatGPT: Research planning, treatment strategy, and iterating on vaccine design throughout the process.AlphaFold: Modeled the 3D structures of proteins encoded by Rosie’s tumor mutations to identify viable targets.Custom machine learning: Conyngham’s own algorithms for neoantigen selection, identifying which mutated proteins would most likely trigger an immune response.UNSW RNA Institute: Professor Thordarson’s team synthesized the actual mRNA vaccine from Conyngham’s analysis.University of Queensland: Professor Rachel Allavena administered the vaccine under existing ethics approval for experimental canine treatments.

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Scientists are excited about dog cancer vaccine but urge caution”It was like holy crap, it worked,” Smith said. “It raises the question, if we can do this for a dog, why aren’t we rolling this out to all humans with cancer?”Thordarson was equally candid about what the case demonstrates. “What Rosie is teaching us is that personalized medicine can be very effective and done in a time-sensitive manner with mRNA technology,” he said, as Awesome Agents reported.But researchers are careful to note that this is one dog, one tumor, with no controlled trial. Mast cell tumors can sometimes shrink spontaneously. Human trials would require years of regulatory work and hundreds of millions of dollars in testing. Conyngham himself is clear-eyed about the limits.”I’m under no illusion that this is a cure,” he said. “But I do believe this treatment has bought Rosie significantly more time and quality of life.”The implications of mRNA vaccines for human cancer treatment are realCompanies including Moderna are already working on personalized mRNA cancer vaccines for humans. What Rosie’s case demonstrates is that the pipeline — sequence the tumor, model the mutations, design a targeted mRNA vaccine — can be compressed from years into months using AI tools that are freely available today.Thordarson believes the approach could be democratized in Australia without relying on foreign pharmaceutical companies. He also sees potential applications beyond cancer, including neurological diseases.Conyngham is already designing a second vaccine for a tumor that did not respond to the first treatment. He is also working with everyone involved to explore how other dog owners might access the same process.One rescue dog and a freely available chatbot may have just quietly changed what is possible in cancer medicine.Related: OpenAI plans major change on how you use ChatGPT