To mentally prepare the upcoming 2025 tax season, practitioners must move beyond survival mode and embrace the complexities of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), according to Mark Gallegos, a partner at Porte Brown.
Gallegos presented at an American Institute for Certified Public Accountants conference November 18. He urged tax professionals to mentally reframe the annual grind as a growth opportunity, reminding them that “our greatness lies on the other side of our challenges,” and to proactively prepare their clients, teams, and technology for the changes ahead.
Notable Provisions
Gallegos highlighted several provisions in the OBBBA that he expects to create the biggest compliance challenges and planning opportunities. He pointed to the changes in IRC § 174 regarding research and experimentation (R&E) costs as a key area. The new law allows small businesses to either amend prior year returns (2022-2024) to write off previously capitalized R&E costs or to make elections for the 2025 and 2026 tax years. He advised practitioners to data-mine their client lists to identify those affected and to prioritize documentation and audit readiness.
The OBBBA also increases the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $40,000 and includes phase-outs for taxpayers with adjusted gross income between $500,000 and $600,000, above which the cap reverts to $10,000. Gallegos stressed the importance of coordinating this deduction with state-level pass-through entity tax elections, warning that many states require elections or prepayments before the end of the year, making timely planning critical.
The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction under IRC § 199A is now made permanent by the new law. But according to Gallegos, many practitioners and their clients still leave a portion of the deduction “on the table” due to the complexities of wage limitations and income thresholds.
Finally, he noted that new individual deductions on Schedule 1-A — for income from tips, overtime, and car loan interest — will require practitioners to carefully clarify eligibility rules for their clients.
Client Communications
Gallegos emphasized that successfully navigating these complex provisions begins with proactive client communication. He urged practitioners to start their outreach before year-end to make clients feel “known and valued.” This is the time, he said, to move beyond simple compliance and demonstrate one’s value as a trusted advisor.
With major legislation often comes confusion, frustration, and anxiety, especially when there is widespread misinformation online. Gallegos advised practitioners to demonstrate they can distill what taxpayers need to know about the new law in layman’s terms. He asserted that the advisor’s role is not to sell certainty, but to provide clarity, turning legislative complexity into confident, actionable advice.
He shared an anecdote about a family who sold their business, which they had started for just $17.52 decades earlier, for $240 million. During the process of the sale, the most important service he provided was not a technical analysis, but simply listening to the owner’s concerns and reassuring him that his family would be okay.
This, Gallegos argued, is the heart of advisory work. He encouraged practitioners not to assume clients are uninterested in planning. “Let them tell you what they want,” he said, “but you got to at least give the ask.”
Team Readiness With Tech
Gallegos advised practitioners to empower their teams and fully leverage technology. He stressed that leadership is about knowing your staff and involving everyone, including administrative roles, in brainstorming operational refinements. When team members feel valued and understand the “why,” they become more efficient and innovative.
Technology, Gallegos said, is the “silent partner” that enables this shift. He recommended using a firm’s full tech stack — including CRM systems to track client communications, workflow automation to handle repetitive tasks, and client portals to streamline document exchange. He specifically highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence, noting that AI should be seen not as a replacement for accountants, but as a tool that frees them to focus on higher-level work.
By using AI for tax research and routine analysis, practitioners can accelerate their work and focus on judgment and strategy. He urged practitioners to let technology handle the routine work, which would empower them to lead more effectively.
State and E-Filing Considerations
Gallegos concluded with a warning about the practical operational hurdles of e-filing and state conformity. Practitioners are often “at the mercy” of external factors like the official opening of e-filing season, the readiness of tax software, and the release of final forms from the IRS and state agencies. These factors can create bottlenecks even for the most prepared firms.
State conformity presents a similar challenge, as states may lag in adopting federal changes or may decouple from certain provisions entirely. This requires practitioners to diligently monitor state-specific guidance and be prepared to update returns as new information becomes available. His advice is to control what you can by preparing returns for straightforward cases early, using technology to track filing statuses and deadlines, and clearly communicating with clients about any potential delays.
By mastering these operational details, firms can build trust and navigate the season with confidence. As put by Gallegos, the “2025 tax season is not about surviving [the OBBBA] – it’s about dominating it!”
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