“Last minute people are calling, and a bunch of questions are added to our workload,” said Mehdi, of Mehdi CPA. “The end of the year is quite difficult.”

One change that many will see when it comes to taxes this year is in charitable contributions.

The IRS tweeted: “A special pandemic-related provision helps most people get a deduction of up to $ 600 for cash donations to charity through Dec. 31.”

That’s up to $ 600 for married couples benefiting from the standard deduction and up to $ 300 for individuals.

With regard to other assistance in the event of a pandemic:

“The stimulus money, it wasn’t supposed to be taxable,” Mehdi said. “So I haven’t seen anything in the legislation, at least so far, that makes me believe that it will be taxable on the 2021 returns, in the same way we have distributed stimulus checks to individuals. nationwide in 2020, which was not included in taxable income.

The IRS has information about changes to charitable contributions on its website.

You may be wondering about the child tax credit.

“The child tax credit has been increased to $ 3,600 per child for a qualifying child on the tax return claimed as a dependent,” Mehdi said. “An eligible child is a child under the age of 17. “

That’s up to $ 3,600 per child. Qualifying families who have not received the monthly payments can still claim the credit on their tax return.

The Better Business Bureau serving eastern North Carolina has a few tips for avoiding scammers this tax season, such as:

• File early before a scammer can use your information.

• Watch out for red flags. For example, if you receive a written notice from the IRS about a duplicate return or other notices that do not apply to you, contact them immediately.

• And protect your social security number. You can get an identity protection PIN code if you are a victim of identity theft.

“The median loss for tax collection scams in 2020 was $ 3,200,” said Nick Hill, of BBB serving eastern North Carolina. “So, to eliminate any unnecessary frustration or financial loss, it will be very important that you stay alert for potential scams this tax season.”

The BBB serving eastern North Carolina has more online advice.