← Earn Your Leisure
Earn Your Leisure
🚨THE TAX CODE WAS BUILT TO HELP YOU AVOID TAXES! | 100% CAR WRITE-OFF, LLC SECRETS & $40K DEDUCTION
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- [00:00]
Ms. Business
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human earners.
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Host 1
What's up?
- [00:05]
Sponsor Voice (Empower/Lyft)
Look, building wealth isn't just about making money. It's about knowing where your money is working for you. That's why we partner with Empower. Empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little. Their free Empower Personal Dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place. Track your net worth, monitor your budget and analyze your investments, set retirement goals and more. You've worked hard for your money, now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower Personal dashboard or visit empower.com not an empower client, paid or sponsored.
- [00:42]
Sponsor Voice (ChatGPT for Business)
Today's episode is brought to you by ChatGPT for business. As a listener of this podcast, you're looking for ways to help teams move faster, make sharper decisions, and turn scattered context into work they can use. ChatGPT for Business can help. ChatGPT for Business gives teams a shared workspace with admin controls, permissions and access to work and codecs. In ChatGPT, this means your business can move from question to answer and code to rollout quicker. Join over 10 million business and enterprise users worldwide already using ChatGPT for work. Download the ChatGPT desktop app or contact sales to learn more.
- [01:20]
Sponsor Voice (TextNow)
They don't realize smart people use smartphones, huh? Seeing through BS they thought was gonna slide. Download text now cause it cuts out clownery you can literally activated from your couch nationwide 5G with the same towers the other companies use. Pay what you want or not at all you're in control. Show these ridiculous carriers we ain't paying for stupid because we're way too smart
- [01:42]
Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
to pay dumb Free app based talking
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Ms. Business
text via the text now app requires wi fi or data connection data plan sold separately 5G where available when traveling
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Sponsor Voice (Empower/Lyft)
for events or festivals throughout the country, every dollar matters. We compare flights, prices, hotel rates and restaurant options. So why wouldn't we compare rides? Personally, I always check Lyft before booking a ride. Prices can change throughout the day depending on traffic, weather, and what's happening in the city. If you're headed to a concert, out to dinner, or catching up with your friends on a Friday night, taking a few seconds to check Lyft could leave you with more money to enjoy the experience. Save money.
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Ms. Business
Check Lyft tax code is made up of 77,000 pages. One percent is telling us how to pay taxes, the other 99% is saying hey, if you follow this, you don't have to pay taxes.
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Host 1
What's the Biggest mistake that business owners are making when it comes to taxes,
- [02:32]
Ms. Business
Waiting until the next year to file their taxes. Your first steps needs to be, okay, how can I get on the right side of the tax code so therefore I can save on taxes?
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Host 2
You talk to a lot of entrepreneurs. What's the biggest misconception or lie that. That they think is true when it comes to taxes?
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Ms. Business
That the tax code was put in place to make them pay taxes. The tax code is a wealth map. Everything that you need to generate wealth is a tax deduction.
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Host 1
What's some advice for real estate owners?
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Ms. Business
If you want to live tax free, you have to real estate. Because when it comes to the tax code, the government's like, listen, we can't house everyone. You do us this solid, we'll allow you to keep your money. Warren Buffett said, thanks to the many loopholes put in place by the irs, I pay a lower tax rate than my secretary. If you have an LLC and you're trading in that llc, that doesn't automatically make it business income. You have to be doing it full time.
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Host 2
So is there qualifications that make you full time?
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Ms. Business
It's a thousand hours. That's probably like three hours a day. The tax code does not incentivize you for working more. They incentivize you for generating income as passively as possible.
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Host 1
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. We have a friend of the show, friend of the program.
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Host 2
She has been on the show more than anybody.
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Host 1
For sure.
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Ms. Business
I have.
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Host 2
Yes.
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Ms. Business
I didn't know that.
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Host 2
Yes. You've been on multiple platforms.
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Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
I have.
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Ms. Business
I have.
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Host 2
You were our first guest and our most returning guest.
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Ms. Business
I love that.
- [03:54]
Host 1
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ms. Business, somebody. That's Vendor Marketplace sponsor. When you think of the vendor marketplace, she had the best booth for so many years that she actually just took over the vendor, took over the whole thing and Invest Fest, and rightfully so.
- [04:11]
Ms. Business
It was. It was only right.
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Host 2
You changed the look of what the vendor marketplace was, so rightfully so.
- [04:16]
Host 1
Yeah. You spoke at Invest Fest every year, so. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I don't think we have to introduce you. Everybody already knows who you are. If they watch her in your legion, they obviously know Ms. Business. So how you been?
- [04:27]
Ms. Business
I've been great. Under a lot of pressure. I gotta make sure that Invest Fest is, you know, is great. Gotta make sure that the people are feeling me. That's my main objective when I'm there.
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Host 1
Invest Fest. It's nothing like it. There's nothing like it.
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Host 2
Yeah. I think what's beautiful is that 2019 we first meet.
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Ms. Business
Yes.
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Host 2
A lot has changed since then. Our business has grown. I mean, your business has grown. I feel like you're everywhere. I feel like I need to be on some of these retreats that are happening. Talk to us about the growth over the past year or so.
- [05:02]
Ms. Business
Over the past year. Oh, my God. Okay. So I really just transition my market. So marketing has always been at the forefront of everything that I've done, but I feel that it was more important for me to really get to the people and really get them to understand that business can really be their pathway to wealth. I think that a lot of times our mindset is business is our pathway to. To paying our bills or leaving our job, but not really thinking about, like, wow, if I stop overpaying in taxes, if I take this money and I invest it, that. That's my pathway. And so just doing that, I've just been trying to figure out different ways to touch people. So, like, you know, invest fest, miss business for the people. Just really making sure that I'm touching people and then creating more moments where I can be in person. So I'm doing retreats. You know, I'm on a webinar. Cons. I just feel like I have to touch people. I can't just. It just. It can be a distance between me and the people.
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Host 2
Yeah.
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Ms. Business
Support. Yeah.
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Host 1
So let's get right to it. You know, this is always going to be informational session whenever we sit down with you. So what's the biggest mistake that business owners are making when it comes to taxes?
- [06:20]
Ms. Business
Ooh, waiting until the next year to file their taxes. I think that right now, in 2026, I think most people know that there are tax deductions available. They know that there are strategies that they can implement. But most people, business owners and individuals, they're waiting until, let's say in our case, right. Right now, they're waiting until 2026, when they shouldn't wait to 2026. They have to focus on tax strategy in 2025. And more importantly than just not focusing on tax planning, what they're also missing is paying attention to who's in office, not being emotional about it. Because the reality is every single president has someone that they have to literally please, whether it be themselves.
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Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
Right.
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Ms. Business
Or whether it be someone that contributed to their campaign. Everyone has a. Have someone that they have to please. And so with looking at that, it's very important that when you're a business owner or even if you're an individual. So let's start with an Individual, Right. If Your individual have W2 income, your first steps needs to be, okay, how can I get on the right side of the tax code? So therefore I can save on taxes. Okay. Once you do that, you now have to make a decision, am I going to invest or am I going to start a business? And it really is just that I tell people all the time, like, listen, if you're looking for a strategy for W2 employees, they're very slim. It's just not there. And so really focusing on and making a decision to say, okay, you know what? I'm going to start a business, whether big or small, or I'm going to start to invest. Then after that, you have to say, you know what? I'm going to look at my income throughout the year and make a decision on how much I want to pay the irs. We don't treat the IRS as though it's a decision. We treat it as though it's something we have to pay. Right. Because we were never really taught. We were taught, go to school, get a job, make money, get a promotion, make more money, buy that house, pay, you know, and so with that, what happens? We start making more money, we start paying more taxes. But if we're never really focused on any sort of strategy and implementation, then we end up in a really bad place.
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Host 2
So what are the things? Right. Like we have conversations all the time and again, paying attention to what's happening in the tax code. I remember we had a conversation about the SALT tax. Like all the things.
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Ms. Business
Yes.
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Host 2
What are the things that people should be considering before we get to December 31st of each year? Right. Because we gotta plan this thing out.
- [08:55]
Ms. Business
Absolutely. If you are a business owner, your entity structure, so you have to start at your foundation, L.L.C. s Corp. C Corp. Nonprofit trust. How do you need to actually structure your entities? What is important to you? I think a lot of business owners don't think about that. So they're not really considering and saying, hey, you know what, I want to go for funding, I want to apply for a house, I want to do certain things. You have the leverage to make all of those decisions. So you have to understand where you're going. You need to make sure that your structure is correct and then you need to actually tap into the tax code. So now, based on the big beautiful bill, there's been so many changes that has been at the benefit of taxpayers. Granted, guys, Trump is taking them when he leave in 2028, but they are here. So some of them being the. Which actually parents can start contributing to their Trump account. Right? They have the Trump account. And so that's really important because a lot of people, one, there's a lot of misconception around that. So I do want to just take a moment to explain that, because when it comes to the Trump account, most people think when you filed your taxes, you were supposed to fill out Form 4547 to say, Hey, I want my child to actually get this 4547. 4547. Yes. Yes. You know Trump.
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Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
Yes.
- [10:17]
Ms. Business
So you, you know, so crazy. I never even picked up on that. But I know how your mind works, so, yes. So, yeah, you had to complete Form 4547 to say, Hey, I want my child to actually be able to receive this thousand dollars contribution, retirement contribution. Most people did not do that. Now most people are like, oh, my God, I missed my opportunity. You didn't miss your opportunity. You can still download the app, sign your child up, and then you can complete the 4547 form online. And so that's really important. They do contribute $1,000 to it for children that were born January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2028. So it's not something that's ongoing. So if you've had a child within that, within that timeframe, then make sure that you go ahead and get that for your child. Now, the big thing here is that what most people don't know is that you also can make contributions to. You can make personal contributions. It's not a tax deduction, but still an actual benefit to your child. So that's one that I definitely want
- [11:21]
Host 2
everyone capped, I think. Is it capped at like 5,000?
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Ms. Business
Yeah, it's capped at 5,000, yeah. In terms of the personal contribution, I know you've been.
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Host 2
I got no kids right. At that age, but, you know, trying to help people.
- [11:31]
Ms. Business
Yes. But, yes, it is 6,000. Well, 5,000 additional that you can contribute. So that's. That's a good one. And I want everyone to take advantage of it. I think the big thing, sometimes people like, oh, I'm not going to do it. Oh, I have to do some additional work. No, if it's there, if it's available, take advantage of it. So that's one that I think is current, that we really need to focus on the other now when we really start getting into the tax deductions. Right. I love the fact that they brung bonus depreciation back. Right. That is amazing. You've used bonus depreciation with your g Wagon, right? And so I think that is so important for us to really tap into bonus appreciation, because we were losing it. We were losing it. We were down to only being able to take 40% of the value of your asset.
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Host 1
Just explain. Explain what that is.
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Ms. Business
So bonus. So, so basically, when you have an asset, the IRS says, listen, you have an asset, you cannot just in all cases take the full value, right? It's not an actual expense.
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Host 1
The asset. We talk specifically about, cars, it can be equipment.
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Ms. Business
It doesn't necessarily just have to be cars. It can be any asset. But a vehicle, in the case of a business is considered an asset. So if you have any asset in your business, the IRS typically says, listen, you can depreciate the value of that. That asset over a specific period of time. So that's standard depreciation, right? Vehicle is five years. A home is 27 and a half years. Every asset has a different life. They call it a useful life. But bonus depreciation says, listen, we're going to allow you to accelerate some of that. We'll allow you, depending on the asset, to take 100% of the value of the vehicle or the value of the machine, the machinery, whatever it is, whatever asset that you purchase. And so that is key, right? That's key because I use that for business clients, I use it for real estate clients, and I am wiping out hundreds of thousands of dollars, right? Because the tax code says. So the tax code says that we can do it. And so bonus depreciation is a really, really, really good strategy that I'm always encouraging. Like, you know, I've. I got you.
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Host 2
This is this full transfer. We had this phone call in 2024 when it was getting down to 40%, and we're like, we might lose this, but just wait on getting the car because potentially it could come back. And here it is coming back.
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Ms. Business
It's coming back.
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Host 2
Now we have another conversation about potentially investing in your business, but also maybe using another business, right, where there's multiple partners, where there might be two partners. So it changes the amount of depreciation that goes to you as an individual. We really be on the phone.
- [14:15]
Ms. Business
We be on the phone, we be talking. We be talking because guess what? When you're making money, I don't. And I tell people, I don't care how much money you make. Most people think, okay, you know what? I'm going to make more money, and I'm just going to focus on making money. No, when you make more money, the first step is making more money. The second is keeping it, the second is keeping it. And so I know you guys are always like, listen, do I have to pay that? What is this? What is the tax deductions? Let's make sure that I'm doing these things. And that's how it should be. But the reality is most business owners don't have a CPA that they can consistently communicate with. They're filing their taxes with like tax preparers. And they're there January through April and then they're out after that. And so that's important as well.
- [14:57]
Host 2
My brother actually called me recently. He was doing his taxes and he was talking about the SALT deduction, which actually changed. You want to just give the people the info on that?
- [15:07]
Ms. Business
Yes. I love that the SALT deduction increased because back in 2018, the SALT deduction was decreased to $10,000, which means. The SALT deduction just means your state and local taxes. So you get a deduction for all of the tax, the state and local taxes that you pay. And it was, it was a, it was a hard tax season for us that year because a lot of homeowners were being impacted because the. Under the salt, you have your state taxes, your local taxes. You also have your property taxes. So if you are making a certain amount of money, let's say you make a hundred thousand dollars, let's say you live in New York, New York City, between state and local, you're already at that 10,000. So that means you are used to getting a bigger refund because your real estate taxes were going to also be added to that, but they were capping it at $10,000. So that was, that was a very hard tax season, a hard pill to swallow. But they've now increased it to $40,000. And it has been a game changer. Everyone's happy this year because they are seeing larger refunds, which is really good. But yeah, so I defin think that paying attention to the tax code is so important because of little things like that. Some people don't even know why they're getting a larger refund. And you must know why you're getting a larger refund.
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Host 1
What do you, what do you. What's some advice for business owners? Not business owners, real estate owners and real estate investors.
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Ms. Business
Oh, yeah, real estate. So one thing I want to say, real estate, come, come, come to me. I need you all to understand that real estate is great for cash flow. Yes, real estate is great for appreciation, obviously, if it's purchased. Right. But real estate, great for tax purposes. And that is really the secret weapon that most people don't acknowledge. And they're most so like, oh my God, invest in real estate because it, you know, it could produce cash flow. Invest in real estate because you know it's going to appreciate and you can leave it and all of those things and can be true. But what most people don't talk about is that real estate is the ultimate tax asset and it is the way to help you live tax free. So if you want to live tax free, you have to have real estate. And, and why is because when it comes to the tax code, the government's like, listen, we need you guys, we need you guys to be landlords. We can't house everyone. You do us this solid, we'll allow you to keep your money, right? You house these people and we'll allow you to keep your money. And you do that through depreciation. So I was just talking to you about, about bonus depreciation. I implement that in a, in cost segregation. So just how, how it works with real estate is instead of going in when you have real estate, if you have real estate, which, and I'm going to say this because while it is a requirement, most people aren doing it, you must depreciate your home if you are investing in real estate, not your primary residence. So if you're investing in real estate, you must depreciate your home every year. But that's 27 and a half years. So obviously, you know, you dividing something by 27 and a half years, that's a big number. So while you do get some depreciation expense, it's not the largest. So what you should do is you should perform a cost segregation study. And what a cost segregation study does is it dissects the property. When you have a building, your building is made up of the building, land improvements, a roof, H vac, it has so many different compartments. It's not just a building. And so me as a tax strategist, I'm like, well, let's dissect that building. Because the IRS says land improvements can be depreciated over 15 years. And they say, okay, well, personal property can be depreciated over five years. So how about I dissect the property versus making my client just only divide it over 27 and a half years. So that has to be done through a cost segregation analysis. You dissect the property and then what happens there is then bonus depreciation comes into play. So bonus depreciation says, okay, well, you have these assets. Let's accelerate some of that depreciation let's take 100% of it. Now just to be clear, you cannot take 100% of the value of a building, but you can take 100% of the value of, of let's say personal property or land improvements. So on average, what happens when I do a cost segregation study? Most clients are looking at about 25 to 30% of the value of the real estate property. So therefore now they're able to deduct that. And the great thing is there's so many different strategies that's like probably a whole nother episode, but there's so many different strategies to make sure that you can use those losses from your real estate to wipe out your real estate income, your business income, your, even your W2 income. So therefore now it puts you in a position where you're getting larger refunds and lowering your taxes.
- [20:05]
Host 2
So we talk about investing a lot and a lot of people have made substantial gains.
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Ms. Business
I've seen. Don't you guys have like the thousand
- [20:13]
Host 2
thousand percent club shout out to the green jacket community? Right. So these people have made hopefully long term capital gains which is going to be, you know, taxed at a different rate. It feels like. Is real estate the next move to offset some of those gains or depending on obviously how much they've made. Like when we ask about mistakes, the first thing is like, yes, we have the money. It's exciting and wow. I've never had this much in your mind. You know, that part of this is going to the government. The person who's doing it is not thinking that because of any excitement. Is that the next phase or are there other things that we should be looking at to offset some of this so we can keep more?
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Ms. Business
Yes. So to my green jacket community and those approaching, one thing to note is that you. There are different buckets of income. Some buckets. So you. I just mentioned how you can use real estate losses to offset business losses. If you have capital gains, long term capital gains, you can't take that and offset your business or you, you know, it, it won't be added to your business. It is going to be in a separate bucket and it's going to be taxed. So the. That can offset a long term capital gain is a short term capital gain. Right. So you have to have it in that bucket now. Right. Because again the. And I want to just stay on this actually before I go into, before I go a little further in terms of talking about how you can navigate that and all those things. One thing I want everyone that invests to know is that Warren Buffett said, thanks to the many loopholes put in place by the irs, I pay a lower tax rate than my secretary. And I want you guys to really lean into that and understand what that means. That means that Warren Buffett, one of the most wealthy people in the world, the highest tax rate he will ever pay is 20% on any gains that he makes while his secretary. The highest that he will. And again, I'm only talking federal, I'm not talking state, local, Social Security tax, Medicare tax. Right. The most that she will pay is 37%. So we first have to understand, okay, well, maybe if you are, you do have that earned income, that could be at 37%. Maybe a strategy is to shift some of that income into trading. So therefore, now those gains are only going to be taxed at 20%. That's a 17% reduction in the taxes that you would pay. All right, so that's the first thing. Now for all my green jacket people, I know you guys are probably like, listen, I'm about to be out of here. I'm about to do this full time. For those people, you can become what's called trader status. You can elect for trader status. Trader status says that the IRS is looking at your business, looking at your trading like a business, because what happens now is when you trade, your fees aren't deductible, your education isn't deductible. None of those things are deductible. But when you become trader status, the government says, okay, we're going to actually look at this as a business. And now your, your income, instead of, instead of it being looked at as capital gains or income, it just looked at as income. And now you can deduct your vehicle, your education, the fees that you're paying, all of those things. So now that is a strategy that can also help.
- [23:28]
Host 1
But it'd be higher income, it'd be higher tax rate, but it depends and
- [23:32]
Ms. Business
it would be a higher tax rate. And that's why tax planning and tax strategy is so important. Because now you have to understand and say, okay, well, do I have enough expenses? Or how can I plan and position myself?
- [23:43]
Sponsor Voice (ChatGPT for Business)
Quick one, before you jump back in, you're listening for ways to help teams move faster, make sharper decisions, and turn scattered context into work. They can use use. ChatGPT for Business can help. ChatGPT for Business gives teams a shared workspace with admin controls, permissions and access to work and codecs. In ChatGPT, this means your business can move from question to answer. And code to rollout quicker. Join over 10 million business and enterprise users worldwide already using ChatGPT for work. Download the ChatGPT desktop app or contact sales to learn more.
- [24:16]
Sponsor Voice (Empower/Lyft)
More earners what's up? Look, building wealth isn't just about making money. It's about knowing where your money is working for you. That's why we partner with Empower. Empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little. Their free Empower Personal Dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place. Track your net worth, monitor your budget, analyze your investments, set retirement goals and more. You've worked hard for your money, now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower Personal dashboard or visit empower.com not an empower client, paid or sponsored. We talk a lot about ownership, and one of the most important assets you can own is your digital real estate. Too many entrepreneurs rely on social media platforms they don't control. Your website should be the center of your business. Framer helps you build a professional website without all the friction. It's more than a website builder. It's a complete website platform. Your entire team can collaborate in real time, make changes instantly, and publish updates in minutes instead of days. Framer's AI agents work alongside your team to create content, refine pages, manage your cms, and optimize your SEO all in one place. And because everything stays editable on the same canvas, you maintain complete control over what goes live live. That's why everyone from startups to Fortune 500 companies and brands like Perplexity and Miro trust Framer to power their websites. Learn how you can get more out of your site from Framer specialists or get started building for free@Framer.com earn for 30% off a Framer Pro annual plan. That's Framer.com earn for 30 percent off Framer.com earn rules and restrictions may apply.
- [26:02]
Sponsor Voice (TextNow)
They don't realize smart people use smartphones, huh? Seeing through BS they thought was gonna slide, download, load text now cause it cuts out clownery. You can literally activate it from your couch nationwide 5G with the same towers the other companies use. Pay what you want or not at all. You're in control. Show these ridiculous carriers we ain't paying for stupid because we're way too smart
- [26:25]
Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
to pay dumb Free app based talking
- [26:28]
Ms. Business
text via the text now app requires wi fi or data connection data plan sold separately 5G where available. 2 Because let's just say that scenario I may say to you okay well if you're investing in stocks. We don't want to just leave it as just business income and have the expenses. Depending on how much profit you have, we may now also need to go out and purchase some real estate. Or you may need to go and purchase a brand new computer system. Right. You. You have the ability to then say, okay, what do I need to do? But what happens when you just have trading income? It's kind of stuck at whatever that rate is.
- [27:02]
Host 2
So in that example, Warren Buffett is trading. Well, they're trading stocks, but they're doing. Under Berkshire Hathaway, the individual. Should they have it in their individual brokerage or should that brokerage now be an llc?
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Ms. Business
Oh, so happy that you asked that question. It is not about if you're, if you have an llc. If you have an LLC and you're trading in that llc, that doesn't automatically make it business income. Income. It will still be capped at, I mean, taxed at capital gains rates. When it's added to your taxes, you have to be doing it full time. That's all the government really wants. Right. Whether it's real estate or whether it is trading, they want to understand that you're doing this full time. And if so, then you get the benefits.
- [27:49]
Host 2
Okay, gotcha. So is there qualifications that make you full time? Is it amount of trades? Is it amount of hours? Is it income level? Like, how do they.
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Ms. Business
Hours.
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Host 2
Hours.
- [27:57]
Ms. Business
Yeah, so it's hours. So it's a thousand hours. Which, if you do the math, that's probably like three hours a day.
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Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
Right.
- [28:04]
Ms. Business
And I always tell people the tax code does not incentivize you for working more.
- [28:08]
Host 1
Right.
- [28:09]
Ms. Business
They incentivize you for generating income. Pass as passively as possible. Yeah, Right. So it doesn't have to be. It's not an income amount. And then you also can't have W2 income. You have to be doing this full time.
- [28:24]
Host 2
I mean, that makes sense. If you think about a lot of people that are in the community, they're in front of the computers doing this three hours a day. A lot of them, I don't know how many are entrepreneurs, but I mean, it's good information to know.
- [28:34]
Ms. Business
Yeah, yeah. And again, these are strategies. I have a client, she literally. Her husband works. Her husband works. He has W2 income and she quit her job. She's like. Because it benefited her to be able to have that status. So therefore, they can benefit from the tax code. To take advantage of the tax code, you have to make some decisions. You can't just stay the Same. And then want to reap the benefits. You're going to have to make some decisions.
- [29:04]
Host 1
What's the best advice for people as far as if they have a family, like, is it married to file jointly or head of household, the child tax credit, should you file as individual, single, like, what's. Break that down.
- [29:22]
Ms. Business
So if you are, it really depends on where you are. So let's just start with married filing joint versus married filing separate. There's a few different things it's going to benefit taxpayers to file, marry, file and joint. However, sometimes, and this happens a lot, lot, one spouse just be wilding. So one spouse, they may go exempt for the entire year, or they are just really bad with finances. And there's usually one spouse who's really good with finances and they're like, I don't want any parts of that. Right. Or they may be going through, let's say like child support or, you know, like, there may be different reasons why people will decide that, hey, I'm going to file separate. But if you have the opportunity, I would suggest that you file married, filing joint, because you are going to receive a lot of benefits. What a lot of people don't know is that you're pretty much penalized for filing married, filing separate. If you invest in real estate, you can't take losses if you file marry, file and separate. And so, you know, it's different. You are taxed as a single person, so which means your standard deduction is lower. You certain child tax credits you don't get. And so again, it's a decision. Some people are willing to take it because they're like, no, this person is wiling. They're not taking my entire refund because that's what it comes down to. They're like, they're not gonna take my ENT refund because you want to go exempt the entire year. You don't understand the arguments that I'm a part of. It's crazy.
- [30:53]
Host 1
What about the child's tax credit?
- [30:54]
Sponsor Voice (TextNow)
Yeah.
- [30:55]
Ms. Business
So in terms of filing like married filing joint, or just to be make
- [31:00]
Host 1
people aware of that, a lot of people don't even know about that.
- [31:02]
Ms. Business
Yes, absolutely. So you have the child tax credit and the child tax credit actually increased this year as well, which I'm, I was very happy about. So the child tax credit increased for, but it, it doesn't differ. Right. MARY fallon JOINT it really is an income limit threshold. So it depends on how much you're making that will determine if you're able to take the child tax credit. But yes. If you have a child and if you're filing them on your taxes, you should definitely be getting your child tax credit 100%.
- [31:35]
Host 2
I wonder, as, I mean, you talk to a lot of entrepreneurs in the past seven years, for sure, hundreds of thousands. What's the biggest misconception or lie that they think is true when it comes to taxes?
- [31:52]
Ms. Business
The biggest misconception. I would say that the biggest misconception is that the tax code was put in place to make them pay taxes. I think that's the biggest misconception because if we really look at the tax code, the tax code is a wealth map. Everything that you need to generate wealth is a tax deduction. Contributing to your retirement, starting a business to generate more cash flow, investing in assets, all of these things. Investing into the stock market, all of these things that you need to build wealth, to be financially free, free to live the life that you want are all tax deductions. But, you know, it's not our fault. Right.
- [32:38]
Host 2
We were taught that's a mindset shift.
- [32:41]
Ms. Business
Yeah, it is a mindset shift. Because if we think about it. Right. What happens April 15th? What's April 15th?
- [32:46]
Host 2
It's tax day.
- [32:47]
Ms. Business
Tax day. Right. But realistically, April 15th is just the deadline to pay the IRS if you owe them. So if we think about it, we've been conditioned to just think about taxes only when it comes to paying taxes. And so realistically, they're saying, hey, April 15th is coming. File your taxes. But I can file your taxes in May. I can file your taxes in October. It's the deadline to pay taxes if we really want to. Like when I was in corporate, what we did, we focus on taxes all year round. Why? Because if we're going to make a change for 2026, we need to make it in 2026. We can't wait to 2027. February. February to say, oh, man, it's tax season. Now let me gather my documents. Let me now start thinking about it. It's already too late. So I think that's the biggest misconception that they have. And I think that if we lean more into the tax code and not. The tax code is made up of 77,000 pages. One percent is telling us how to pay taxes. The other 99% is saying, hey, if you follow this, you don't have to pay taxes. And that's, I think, the biggest misconception.
- [34:01]
Host 1
Okay, let's talk about Invest fest.
- [34:03]
Ms. Business
Okay.
- [34:03]
Host 1
Obviously you play a major part. So you, you have the vendor marketplace.
- [34:07]
Sponsor Voice (TextNow)
Yes.
- [34:07]
Host 1
You're sponsoring that. You're gonna be speaking, but you. You have a workshop.
- [34:11]
Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
Yes.
- [34:12]
Host 1
Right, let's talk about that.
- [34:14]
Ms. Business
Yeah. So the Entrepreneur's Boardroom. I actually did the Entrepreneur's Boardroom last year, and it was received really well. My goal with the Entrepreneurs Boardroom is just to have a place where business owners can have a holistic conversation. Because a lot of times they're having a conversation about growing a business, saving on taxes, how to get access to capital, how to actually have this business help them build wealth. But it's very difficult for them to piece it all together because they're not having the conversation all at once. And so me and my friends, friends, we come out.
- [34:48]
Host 2
I was up there, I seen it.
- [34:49]
Sponsor Voice (Empower/Lyft)
That was it.
- [34:50]
Ms. Business
We come out and just put it all together. Because, as I mentioned, the tax code is a roadmap. And so, yes, I can talk about taxes all day, but it would be super incomplete if I didn't talk about, you know, the cash flow aspect of it or if I didn't talk about how you need to properly position your business so therefore you can access capital. Because if we're really going to talk about getting ahead and closing the wealth gap, we have to understand how to responsibly utilize other people. People's money. So realistically, the Entrepreneur's Boardroom is just a workshop where I am going to really have a. Be able to have a conversation holistically with entrepreneurs to help them really understand, okay, what do I need to do? So therefore I can have this business serve me versus me, just always serving everyone else. And so that's.
- [35:40]
Host 1
And what are some. What are some tips? What are some tips to do that?
- [35:43]
Ms. Business
To have your business serve you? You have. Okay, so the first thing is you have to be clear on what you want from your business, right? Do you. Is it a money grab? And that's okay, right? Is it a money grab? Do you plan to sell your business? What is your vision for your business? Because all of those things matter. So be becoming very clear on the path that you want for your business. Do you want to start a business or do you want to buy a business? For me, I started two, three businesses. I haven't started no more businesses. I'm ready to buy businesses. Right? So do you want to buy businesses? So really just figuring out how you want to enter business or how do you want to grow in business? Also really focusing on how can you keep more money? You've already worked so hard for this money. Most people, if they need more money, they're like, okay, let me Go out and make more money. Let me go get another job. Let me start another business. But the reality is, they're sitting there giving 50% of their money away and not even mindful of it. And it's like, you already work so hard for that. So I think just becoming clear, focusing on your structure, your. Your taxes, really, really taking time. And I know most people are afraid of the irs. The IRS is nothing to be afraid of, okay?
- [36:55]
Sponsor Voice (ChatGPT for Business)
The.
- [36:55]
Ms. Business
The tax code is there. We're just ignoring it. It's there. And wealthy people will use it. Right. Unapologetically. While we're like, oh, man, I don't want to get audited. If you get audited and you spent the money and it's in the tax code, you won, you know? And so I think that fear is keeping a lot of entrepreneurs away from just really taking the time to understand the irs. But thanks to you guys, you know, people get it. They get it. They get it. I hear it all the time. They're like, I see you at eyl. No, I gotta save all my taxes.
- [37:35]
Host 2
I can't.
- [37:35]
Ms. Business
I can't. I can't keep giving my money away. I'm like, yes, you get it.
- [37:38]
Host 2
Yes.
- [37:39]
Ms. Business
But, yeah, I think just really focusing on, just allowing and really understanding that you come first in their business. And that's more of a mindset thing. But I think most people are just like, I'm serving, I'm serving. I'm serving. I just want to serve. But who's serving you? 95%. We are in a retirement crisis. 95% of people are not even prepared for retirement. I ask this question all the time. Who's prepared for retirement? Like, right now, do you really feel like you're prepared for retirement? Most people are like, no, no, no. Whether they have W2 income or not, Not. But the reality is, you could use that business to start also contributing to your retirement. But most people won't look. They'll just be like, oh, I have W2 income. I'm just gonna, you know, let my job contribute. Or they're business owners, and no one's doing it for them. So they keep telling themselves, okay, next time, next year, next year. And I'm seeing so many people retire, and they are like, I'm retired, but I now have to work, and I now have to try to figure it out because I'm not prepared. And. And it is a tax deduction. So just being clear and really focusing
- [38:44]
Host 2
on you, I want you to talk to that person who just bought their ticket to invest fest I was in the room last year. I was, I mean, incredible blown away. What can they expect from the boardroom this year?
- [38:57]
Ms. Business
The boardroom this year. Okay, so the boardroom this year for everyone. Make sure that you guys come to my workshop. It's gonna be on Friday. Make sure that you guys come to my workshop. This workshop is for every entrepreneur, whether you're new, whether you're existing. It is positioned to help you not only think about your business from a structure perspective and how it serves you, but also how can you position it in the mindset that you need to think through to make sure that you're positioning yourself for funding. How do you access that capital? How do you get where you're going much faster? How do you utilize. Utilize the tax deductions to keep more money in your pocket. And so, you know, how do you then take that and then build wealth? And so the entrepreneurs boardroom is. It is a great workshop. I'm actually very proud of it.
- [39:51]
Host 2
Y' all tore it down last year.
- [39:52]
Ms. Business
I am very proud of. Was kind of put together and shout out to you guys for approving it very last minute. Because I had a whole different plan. I was like, no, this, this, it has to go like this. And so shout out to you guys. But yeah, so if you're go, if you're at Invest Fest, you need to be in an entrepreneur's boardroom. It is the one workshop where you'll be able to have all the pieces connected together for you.
- [40:17]
Host 2
You gave some dates. April 15th, in our world is more than April 15th. Yes. This September 15th, right? This December 31st. Talk about making a plan for the year, not just on a one time basis, but a quarterly situation. Because I think entrepreneurs miss that part, right? If you do this thing quarterly, it lessens the burden of having a one time thing.
- [40:41]
Ms. Business
It's actually a requirement. It's not even like an option. The IRS is like, listen, if you owe me a thousand dollars or more, you're required to pay me quarterly. They're like, we don't want you holding our money the entire year. Send us our money. But to your point, right, Some people don't consider their taxes on a quarterly basis. And then what happens is the end of the year comes and you know how it is being an entrepreneur. You like, that's the profit. Well, where the money, it's not in the account. And so most people, obviously, you know, they're spending money. They operate in a business, which makes sense. But you do have to consistently take a look at your taxes on A quarterly basis and also do tax planning. Right? You should be able to say, okay, well, based on these strategies that I've implemented, I know that this is the amount of money that I need to. To actually send to the IRS on that quarterly basis. If, for whatever reason, you happen to send them more, don't worry, you get a refund, they will send it back to you. Okay? I think most people are like, oh, my God, the irs, they will send it back to you, right? You can get a refund. So I just. I do think that when it comes to just throughout the year, we have to focus on, okay, what is our business doing? And I think that also just goes to the thing of we have to focus on us. We are important too, not just our clients and the people we serve, because we have to think about how are we protecting our money? Are we. Are we in compliance? That's a big thing. A lot of times we're not in compliance. Are you in compliance? Are you filing your taxes quarterly? Are you scheduling those meetings with your CPA to say, hey, I need to sit down to evaluate where my income is, because I may need to make some things shake, right? I may need to make some things happen. So therefore, I am able to pay less in taxes. So I do encourage every single person to focus on their taxes throughout the year.
- [42:39]
Host 1
Vitally important. Before we leave, last words about the vendor marketplace.
- [42:43]
Ms. Business
Oh, my baby.
- [42:44]
Host 2
Yeah, indeed, baby, indeed.
- [42:47]
Ms. Business
Vendor marketplace. Okay, So I am. I am. I am the queen of the marketplace. So actually started out with a 10 by 10 booth. And then the next year, we. We had to take it up a notch. I was like, guys, I think we should build it. And I would never forget called me. You were like, are you building a house? I was like, I mean, some not a house, but I am building some things. You're like, cause there's people, like, on the ceiling and people building in this
- [43:18]
Host 2
wood, complete with TVs.
- [43:20]
Ms. Business
It had TVs and everything. And so I really just wanted to have a space where people can experience. And that was my biggest thing. I was like, I want to create an experience. And then the next year, I took it up a notch. I had my game show show. So, yeah, that was crazy. My game show, which I'm bringing back this year, by the way. So make sure that you guys stop by the booth and play the game show. But yes, I had my game show the next year, and it was like a huge hit. Like, it was amazing. Like, everybody was interacting, and it was exactly what I envisioned. And so Every year, I've just been consistently trying to think about, like, how can I, you know, make this better and better? And so last year, I was like, like, if not me, then who sponsors the marketplace? Like, if not me, then who? And so I shifted my focus last year to focus on the vendors. And my campaign last year was Ms. Business for the People. And it was really just surrounded around me saying, listen, I've done this. I know how to do this. I have not only done this, but I've been profitable at this. And I think most people feel like, okay, if I come to Invest Fest, and because they have people, I'm automatically going to make money. It doesn't work. You have to really think about every single interaction. You have to think about, you know, what you're selling, what your back end looks like. And so because of that, I was like, you know what? I want to really pour into the vendors and show them how they should be doing this. And so we did that last year.
- [44:52]
Host 2
And Beyonce would be proud.
- [44:54]
Ms. Business
Beyonce would be proud. You inspire me. Nothing but greatness. But, yes, so I did that last year and really just poured into the vendors. We were going around, we were helping them. We were giving them popcorn and water and just, you know, helping them if they needed to go to the bathroom. It's like little things that people don't think about. Like, wow, I flew all the way down here by myself. I'm at this booth by myself. How do I leave all my merch here? So we were there. Had a hundred. I had about maybe last year, I had about 75 volunteers. We're trying to up that this year, probably 100, 150, because we really need to serve the people. But we were checking, just being there and being supportive for them and helping them think about things that they didn't think through.
- [45:35]
Host 2
And to add to it, because I want to thank you. We've thanked you before, but thank you here as well. Prior to even getting to Invest Fest, there were zoom calls.
- [45:43]
Ms. Business
Yes.
- [45:44]
Host 2
About how they should be showing up, how they should prepare themselves for the actual moment, which I think helped as well.
- [45:49]
Ms. Business
Absolutely. There were so many people that came up to me like, oh, my God, thank you. I didn't think about those things. I didn't consider that. And because I've implemented those things, I was able to get more leads, I was able to make more money. And so I'm bringing the same concept back this year as well, because, again, I want to touch the people. I want to help them. It's not about me. It's not about me. So same concept. But this year we're going to take it up a notch. It's going to really be Ms. Business for the people. Every single person that attended in Best Fest. You can't, I can't tell, I can't tell you guys the theme, but it's theme.
- [46:25]
Host 2
It was no album this year, so we got to see.
- [46:27]
Ms. Business
It was no album. It was hard trying to find this theme. I'm like, Beyonce, where's my inspiration?
- [46:33]
Host 2
I mean, you were star in that movie. You were in it.
- [46:36]
Ms. Business
I was, I was in her trailer, guys. If you didn't see it, it was like a three second clip. But I was in there.
- [46:41]
Host 2
She said, featuring Ms. Bizzy.
- [46:42]
Ms. Business
Yes.
- [46:42]
Host 2
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [46:43]
Ms. Business
But, but yeah. So this year what my, what my goal is is to not only just pour into the vendors, continue to do that, continue to help them just become bigger and better and just, you know, helping them in that way. But also I want to be able to continue the conversation with all of the Invest Fest attendees. So I want to do like a three day workshop, like a free three day workshop with them that allow just continue the conversation and really help them implement because, you know, we have information, we go to conferences, we're inspired, we're pumped, we're like, wow, all of these things are magical. But then we don't have a way to actually implement it. So I said, you know what, I need to help these people implement it. And what better way to do that than as soon as we get back from Invest Fest, we're gonna do like a free three day workshop. I don't, guys, I don't know how I'm gonna do it. See, this is the Beyonce part of me. You guys seen when Beyonce said when I'm working on I don't eat right, I don't know how I'm going to get through Invest Fest and then come and then have a three day workshop the following week. But I'm going to do that and it's going to be free.
- [47:45]
Host 2
Yeah.
- [47:46]
Ms. Business
I don't know. And if you guys could hop on
- [47:48]
Host 2
something, you know, Invest Fest week weekend and obviously the lead up is big for us. I spoke to you last year. I'm like, this is becoming pretty heavy for you. The boardroom, the marketplace, and you have one of the best pre Invest Fest events. Yes. I mean it's a lot. And we thank you.
- [48:04]
Ms. Business
You're welcome. Thank you guys for allowing me to just, you know, just shine and do all these things. But yeah, so I'm excited about Invest Fest. I'm excited to just pour into everyone and and just bring that energy to the marketplace. Like it, it's needed.
- [48:23]
Host 1
It's needed, it's needed. Well, how can people follow you?
- [48:26]
Ms. Business
You can follow me on all social platforms on Ms. Business 101. You can also, if you need, tax Some people are like, oh my God, my accountant did not tell me any of this. It's okay. Fire them. We're here for you. You can Go to Bricks alliance yes, you can go to Bricks alliance www.bricksalliance.com or you can find us on social media on Bricks Alliance.
- [48:49]
Host 1
There you have it. Peace.
- [48:50]
Sponsor Voice (ChatGPT for Business)
See you before you sign off. You tuned in for ways to help teams move faster, make sharper decisions, and turn scattered context into work. They can use ChatGPT for business can help. ChatGPT for business gives teams a shared workspace with admin controls, permissions, and access to work and codecs. In ChatGPT, this means your business can move from question to answer and code to rollout quicker. Join over 10 million business and enterprise users worldwide already using ChatGPT for work. Download the ChatGPT desktop app or contact sales to learn more Earnest what's up?
- [49:27]
Sponsor Voice (Empower/Lyft)
Look, building wealth isn't just about making money. It's about knowing where your money is working for you.
- [49:32]
Host 1
You.
- [49:32]
Sponsor Voice (Empower/Lyft)
That's why we partner with Empower. Empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little. Their free Empower Personal Dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place. Track your net worth, monitor your budget, analyze your investments, set retirement goals and more. You've worked hard for your money, now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower Personal Dashboard or visit Empower Dash. Not an empowered client, paid or sponsored when traveling for events or festivals throughout the country, every dollar matters. We compare flights, prices, hotel rates and restaurant options, so why wouldn't we compare rides? Personally, I always check Lyft before booking a ride. Prices can change throughout the day depending on traffic, weather, and what's happening in the city. If you're headed to a concert, out to dinner, or catching up with your friends on a Friday, Friday night, taking a few seconds to check lift could leave you with more money to enjoy the experience. Save money.
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Sponsor Voice (Birdie)
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- [51:27]
Ms. Business
is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.