Americans are heading into tax season with more income streams and more confusion over changing tax rules than ever before, according to new data from online expert platform JustAnswer. An analysis of nearly 23,000 tax-related questions received on JustAnswer to date this year – the first filing season since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – revealed some noteworthy trends in taxpayer concerns, including:

• Americans are earning income from more diverse sources including gig work and freelance and struggling with how to report it.
• Confusion around eligibility for the standard deduction and overtime-related rules is accelerating.
• Retirement and crypto remain steady areas of interest but are no longer the primary growth drivers.

In addition, the overall volume of questions from last year is trending upward by nearly 10% YOY for the same time period in 2025, signaling one of the most engaged and uncertain early filing seasons in recent years.

Side Hustle and Digital Income Reporting Drives the Largest Growth

The single biggest driver of growth in JustAnswer's tax category this year is income reporting, particularly related to freelance work, 1099 income and digital payments. Questions tied to income sources more than doubled from last year (+118% YOY), making it the dominant theme by a wide margin. Much of the confusion traces back to years of shifting IRS rules around digital payment reporting, thresholds that changed, were delayed, then reversed — leaving many taxpayers genuinely unsure what to expect when money moves through apps like Venmo. Taxpayers are increasingly asking how to report:

• Income received via Venmo and other digital platforms
• Mixed W-2 and 1099 earnings
• Self-employed and contractor income
• Tip income and "overtime" pay in nontraditional arrangements

"The big shift here isn't that taxes got harder this year; it's that more Americans have a paycheck and a side hustle, with money flowing through different applications and second businesses. That's where reporting mistakes happen," said JustAnswer Tax Expert Joel Salas, noting that nearly 40% of Americans today have a side hustle or rely on supplemental income from freelance earnings. "Most of the questions we're seeing really just come down to: 'What is taxable, what should I do, and where do I report it?'"

Standard Deduction and New Rules Fuel Deduction Confusion

Deduction-related questions are also climbing sharply, particularly around the standard deduction and newer rule changes.

• Standard Deduction questions: +154%
• Questions referencing new laws/changes: +155% (highest relative growth)
• Overtime pay deduction questions: +45%
• Childcare credit questions: +65%
• Car loan interest deduction questions: +43%

Heavy interest is emerging around so-called "no tax on overtime" provisions, with many taxpayers asking how overtime income is treated and whether contractors qualify under updated rules. The confusion is compounded by a transitional reporting gap: for 2025, employers were not required to separately identify overtime on W-2 forms, meaning eligible workers must reconstruct their own qualified overtime figures using pay stubs or payroll records, a calculation most have never done before. To claim this and other new deductions, including no tax on tips and a car loan interest deduction, taxpayers must file a brand-new Schedule 1-A form that didn't exist in prior filing seasons.

Familiar Topics Hold Steady as New Rules Dominate: Retirement & Cryptocurrency

Retirement-related questions, including IRA contributions, 401(k) limits, Roth vs. traditional strategies and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), continue to generate strong volume and remain among the top five tax topics in early 2026. Cryptocurrency remains consistent but showed flat-to-slightly negative growth (-3%) compared to early 2025, and questions about new tax brackets declined (-25%).

Deadline Crunch Historically Triggers 2–3X Volume Surge

Historical patterns on JustAnswer suggest even higher engagement is still ahead. In both 2024 and 2025, the final two weeks before the IRS filing deadline (April 1–15) generated dramatically higher tax question volume than early season baseline (January 15–31):

• 2024: +228% increase (more than 3x higher)
• 2025: +143% increase (nearly 2.5x higher)

If historical patterns hold, JustAnswer expects a significant spike in taxpayer questions as the April deadline approaches.