Meeting with a CPA Early: Your Best Move Under the New “Big Beautiful Bill”

The new “Big Beautiful Bill” ushers in a wave of tax law changes that will affect brackets, deductions, credits, and how different types of income are treated. Even if the headlines sound positive, the real question is simple: how do these changes affect you and your specific situation. That is where getting in front of a trusted CPA early becomes critical.

Why “Waiting and Seeing” Is Risky

Many taxpayers plan to “wait and see” what their tax prep software says in March or April. By then, most of the planning opportunities are gone.

• Start the year by checking in with your CPA so you can adjust your withholding, estimated payments, or retirement contributions for the new tax year now, rather than getting hit with an unexpected balance due next filing season.

• Provisions in large tax bills often phase in or phase out over several years, which means your situation this year may not look like next year’s, and only a professional walking through your numbers can map that out clearly.

What to Ask Your CPA

Going into your meeting with a focused list of questions makes the time more valuable and keeps the conversation practical.

• “How do the new brackets and standard deduction affect my expected refund or balance due?”

• “Given my mortgage, property taxes, and charitable giving, will I still benefit from itemizing, or should I plan around the standard deduction?”

• “Are there new or expanded credits or deductions I should plan for with my family, business, or investments?”

• “Do any of the changes increase my risk of underpayment penalties or AMT, and what can we do now to avoid that?”

Key Areas Your Ciaccia CPA Will Review

Ciaccia CPA will translate the bill into real-dollar impact on your life instead of abstract rules.

• Income mix: salary, bonuses, stock compensation, rental income, side hustles, or small business income can each be affected differently by new rules, phaseouts, and thresholds.

• Deductions and credits: homeownership, kids, education costs, medical expenses, and charitable giving all interact differently with a new bill, which can change whether you bunch deductions, shift timing of expenses, or restructure giving.

• Business and side gig activity: new reporting thresholds and enforcement priorities make clean books, strong documentation, and correct entity choice more important than ever.

Why Timing Matters So Much

The earlier you meet, the more options you both have.

Your CPA can run projections under both “old habits” and “new bill reality” to show you the difference and help you choose actions that keep you out of surprise-tax territory.

How to Prepare for the Meeting

Showing up organized helps move quickly from “what changed” to “what should we do.”

• Bring last year’s return, year-to-date pay stubs, and any 1099 or business income records so your CPA can see your full income picture at a glance.

• List major life changes (new job, move, marriage/divorce, new child, new home, business launch, major medical costs) so your CPA can flag where the new law interacts with those events.

• Ask your CPA to help you create a simple one-page action plan: what to change now, what to monitor during the year, and when to check in again.

Contact Ciaccia CPA and see how they can help you. https://ciacciacpa.com/