-- The sweeping tax changes signed into law in 2025 reshape how Florida families and businesses are taxed, and Orlando CPA Pauline Ho says the biggest thing they hand ordinary taxpayers is something that rarely makes the headlines: certainty.
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Ho, founder of Laus Consulting Services, LLC in Orlando, said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July 2025 locked in many of the tax rates and deductions that had been due to expire at the end of 2025. Without it, most households would have seen their rates climb and the standard deduction cut by roughly half from 2026 onward.
“People kept asking me whether their taxes were about to go up,” Ho said. “For the majority, the answer is no. The rates they’ve been paying are now permanent, and that alone makes planning far easier.”
The seven federal brackets stay at 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35 and 37 percent, adjusted for inflation each year. The standard deduction holds at its higher level around $16,550 for single filers and $33,100 for married couples filing jointly in 2026 with a temporary extra $1,000 for singles and $2,000 for couples running through 2028.
Business owners get their own dose of certainty. Ho pointed to the 20 percent qualified business income deduction, now made permanent for owners of S corporations, partnerships, LLCs and sole proprietorships. “That deduction was always scheduled to sunset,” she explained. “Now that it’s here to stay, owners can make longer-term decisions about how they pay themselves and how they structure the business.”
Two further business provisions returned in full. Companies can once again write off the entire cost of qualifying equipment in the year they buy it, rather than spreading it over several years, and the Section 179 expense limit has climbed to $2.5 million. Domestic research costs can also be deducted immediately once more. “For a business weighing up a major purchase, the timing question just got a lot simpler,” Ho said.
Orlando’s tourism and hospitality workforce may benefit from two brand-new deductions. Through 2028, workers in tipped occupations can deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips, and hourly employees can deduct part of their overtime pay — up to $12,500 for singles and $25,000 for joint filers. Both phase out at higher incomes. “In a city built on hotels, restaurants and theme parks, that reaches a lot of households here,” Ho noted. She cautioned that employers will now need to track and report tips and overtime separately, which for some will mean adjusting their payroll systems.
She also flagged the state and local tax deduction, where the cap has risen from $10,000 to $40,000 for most filers through 2029, and a new $6,000 deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and over with incomes below $75,000 for singles or $150,000 for couples.
Ho’s advice is to treat 2026 as a year to review rather than assume nothing has changed. Withholding tables are being updated so the cuts show up in take-home pay, which means some people used to a large refund may see a smaller one — not because they paid more, but because less was held back during the year.
“None of this is automatic,” Ho concluded. “The law is generous in places, but the deductions come with income limits, phase-outs and reporting rules. A short conversation now is a great deal cheaper than an amended return later.”
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Contact Info:
Name: Pauline Ho
Email: Send Email
Organization: Laus Consulting Services LLC
Address: 879 Outer Rd B, Orlando, FL 32814
Phone: 407-401-9768
Website: https://lausconsult.com
Release ID: 89201860
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