(ABC 6 News) – I believe it was Ben Franklin who said, “in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

And while that may be true, many people are still uncertain about how to file their taxes, especially when tax laws change.

Whether you like it or not, tax season returns once again.

“I think it’s going to be a little bit more painful for me than usual,” said Rochester resident Rod Langevin. “I may have a bigger tax liability than normal and I’m kind of nervous about that. I may have to go to a professional.”

Whether you file your taxes yourself or with a professional here are things you need to know. Make sure to have your all your W-2’s and 1099’s.

“So, you want make sure you have all your documents before you start and also another helpful suggestion is have a copy of last year’s tax return in front of you,” said Chad Bielen a CPA from Byron. “So, then you know typically people are creatures of habit so each year it’s the same pattern more or less.”

But this year there are a few changes.

Those Minnesota rebate checks, also known as Walz checks, will get taxed federally but not by the state. This has some Minnesotans disappointed.

“I’ll just except the fact that that’s the case and do it,” said Langevin.

But if you have kids there’s a Child Tax Credit is available for low-income families giving $1,750 per qualifying child.

“Now they are changing that tax law to make the nonrefundable portion easier for the lower income people to receive the full credit,” said Bielen.

It is expected that the new credit will help significantly reduce childhood poverty.

Another thing to be aware of this time of year is identity theft. The IRS assigns an IP PIN to eligible taxpayers to try and prevent misuse of your information. It’s used along with your social security number when filing your taxes.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is you can be proactive acquire an IRS IP PIN even before your identity is compromised if you want to go down that route,” said Bielen.

Another change in Minnesota, social security for retirees. Some, who meet the qualifications, won’t have to pay state taxes on that money.

Visit the Minnesota Department of Revenue for more information.