Start Planning Now: Top Tips to Prepare for the 2025 Tax Season and Protect Against Fraud
December 11, 2024
With the new year just three weeks away, start planning now for the 2025 tax season! Getting organized before tax season begins can save you time and money when you’re ready to file.
Remember, fighting fraud remains the SCDOR’s highest priority. According to the IRS, Americans lost approximately $5.5 billion to tax fraud in 2023. So when processing your return, the SCDOR takes every step possible to make sure your return is accurate and coming from you—not someone pretending to be you.
The SCDOR offers these 10 tips to help both tax professionals and individuals prepare for tax season:
No matter your role, remember the extended due date
1. Returns are due May 1 – Due to relief granted in the wake of Hurricane Helene, both state and federal Individual Income Tax returns are due May 1, 2025 for South Carolina filers.
However, if you or your client needs to file a return in another state, check to see if that state’s return is due on the traditional April 15 due date.
Tips for individuals
2. Organization is key – Collect any document that will affect your return before you start the filing process and store them in one place, including:
- W-2 and 1099 forms
- Receipts
- Medical bills
- Past year returns (Remember, these are now accessible on MyDORWAY)
- Any other document that will affect your return
3. Don’t file using a year-end pay stub – Your pay stub may not match what’s reported on your W-2, which could slow down processing and delay your refund. Wait until you receive your W-2 before you file.
4. Choose the online filing method that’s right for you – Filing electronically is faster, easier, and more secure than filing a paper return. Plus, your electronic filing provider keeps a record of your state and federal returns. Learn more about your options at dor.sc.gov/iit-filing.
5. Expect to owe a balance? Get to know MyDORWAY – After you file, you can pay your balance without creating an account at dor.sc.gov/pay. Find tutorials that walk you through every step at dor.sc.gov/MyDORWAY.
6. Update your address – This is crucial even if you will receive a direct deposit refund. If the SCDOR needs to contact you about your return, we will mail you a notice to the address we have on file. Customers with a MyDORWAY account should log in, click the More tab, and select Manage Names & Addresses. Those without a MyDORWAY account can use the SC8822I.
Tips for tax professionals
7. Renew your IRS-issued Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) – If you plan to serve as a tax preparer in 2025, you are required to obtain your PTIN by December 31, 2024. Both renewals and new applications usually take about 15 minutes and cost $19.75. Get started at irs.gov/PTIN.
8. Revoke power of attorney or third-party authorization forms for former clients – This helps safeguard taxpayer records.
9. Help your clients choose the SCDOR’s direct deposit refund option – We strongly recommend that taxpayers choose direct deposit for their refund. As a tax preparer, make sure your clients have the option to choose direct deposit before you submit their returns.
And one more tip for everyone…
10. Visit the SCDOR’s YouTube channel and Tax Tips articles for 24/7 assistance – More than 100,000 customers have visited dor.sc.gov/YouTube and watched one of our helpful explainer videos this year alone. Our channel features over a dozen videos just for tax season, most of them less than 3 minutes long, designed to help you file your return.
If YouTube isn’t for you, don’t forget about dor.sc.gov/tax-tips, where we publish helpful advice throughout the year.
Head to Instagram for more tax season tips!
We’re providing filing tips all season long at @theSCDOR. Plus, our Instagram account is a fun way to learn more about job openings at our agency, upcoming Taxpayer Education events, and more.
