One year after the statute, the guidance has arrived. New final regulations on tipped occupations, a gift tax safe harbor, automatic penalty relief, a rare mid-year mileage change, and the IRS's first word on artificial intelligence in tax practice.

A substantial amount of professional knowledge acquired during the 2025 filing season has quietly become obsolete. A preparer who learned the approximation methods for calculating an overtime premium — and learned them well — now needs to know those methods apply to 2025 returns and that employer-reported figures govern 2026.

This is a specific kind of professional risk. It is not the risk of not knowing something. It is the risk of confidently knowing something true last year.