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Speaker 1: Ruby. Hello to all our favorite grown ups, and welcome

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Speaker 1: back to grown up Stuff How to Adult. I'm Matt

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Speaker 1: Stillo and.

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Speaker 2: I'm Leah paul Mary, your brand new host for season three.

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Speaker 1: That's right. We are so excited to have Leah joining

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Speaker 1: the show. And before we jump into our first episode,

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Speaker 1: a round of applause to Mollie, who not only co

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Speaker 1: hosted the show's first two seasons, but was the show's creator.

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Speaker 1: We love her so much. She's off to bigger and

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Speaker 1: better things, and we wish her all the best of

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Speaker 1: luck and her future endeavors.

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Speaker 2: And I know I'm stepping into big and also very

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Speaker 2: cute shoes here, so I promise I'm going to do

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Speaker 2: my best to make Molly proud with my curiosity and

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Speaker 2: naturally am I humor?

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Speaker 1: Okay, So Leah, why don't you tell us a little

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Speaker 1: bit about yourself?

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Speaker 2: Well, a little bit is that I'm a Gemini.

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Speaker 1: Okay, that's actually a lot of bit. Yeah, what are

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Speaker 1: you Sagittarius? That's right, December.

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Speaker 2: Baby, Yes, okay, I'm a June girl.

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Speaker 1: So well, this is good yin yang. Yeah, it's balancing out.

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Speaker 2: Those two are actually like they're a good pair together.

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Speaker 2: They're the opposites of each other, but they have a

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Speaker 2: lot in common, so they're a good match.

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Speaker 1: Like all melding well for the new season.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is. I'm so excited to be joining

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Speaker 2: the show. I'm so excited to be chatting with you,

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Speaker 2: and I'm mostly so excited to learn. We're going to

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Speaker 2: learn so many new things.

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Speaker 1: We've already learned so much.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true.

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Speaker 1: We really have amazing Well, we're so happy to have

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Speaker 1: you here, grown up stuff, and we have quite an

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Speaker 1: exciting season ahead. We're going to revamp your cars, your mornings,

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Speaker 1: and starting today, your tax returns.

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Speaker 2: That is right, Matt. So coming up, we're going to

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Speaker 2: be talking to Russ Garoffloe, who is the founder of

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Speaker 2: Brass Taxes.

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Speaker 3: Well, Hi, my name is Russ. I founded Brass Taxes

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Speaker 3: in two thousand and eight when the economy slumped. My

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Speaker 3: money job was as a video editor, and so I

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Speaker 3: realized I needed a day job and I just happened

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Speaker 3: to get one with a friend of a friend's parents

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Speaker 3: who is a tax preparer in Brooklyn. And within about

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Speaker 3: three weeks I realized I was doing my own taxes badly.

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Speaker 3: Probably so we're all my friends. I was losing out

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Speaker 3: on money from what I didn't understand. And then I

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Speaker 3: was curious why no one had come and sold me

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Speaker 3: something to tell me this. Why didn't somebody come and say,

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Speaker 3: if you make your taxes more complicated by dealing with

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Speaker 3: this other stuff, it will save you more money than

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Speaker 3: it costs additionally.

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Speaker 1: To do them.

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Speaker 3: And you really have very little experience of doing taxes

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Speaker 3: because you do them once a year. So I feel

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Speaker 3: like it's like a video game you play once.

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Speaker 1: Ye, you forget every time.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so you're terrible.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, every year feels new to me. I'm like, oh,

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Speaker 1: what did I do?

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Speaker 3: I forgot all anything you learned, you'll have forgotten. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: And then really started to focus on those things that

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Speaker 3: I didn't understand of when it makes sense to get

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Speaker 3: tax help and when it does not make sense to

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Speaker 3: get tax help, and do it hopefully in a way

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Speaker 3: that is even keeled enough that you engender enough trust

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Speaker 3: that people believe you. And now we're foy Vote and

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Speaker 3: there's twenty five of us and we have about five

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Speaker 3: thousand clients.

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Speaker 2: You're going to tell us a lot today, Russ, and

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Speaker 2: we're going to feel so much better going into the world.

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Speaker 2: I think just to start, could you give us a

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Speaker 2: small history lesson on taxes, just so we understand what

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Speaker 2: we're even dealing with here, like what our taxes, what

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Speaker 2: do they do? And why are they so complicated?

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Speaker 3: Most of the time we say taxes and we're not

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Speaker 3: defining what we're talking about. Normally, what we're talking about

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Speaker 3: is income taxes. So when they discuss cutting taxes, they're

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Speaker 3: talking about income taxes. There's also other taxes, but generally

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Speaker 3: we're talking about income taxes. They started after the Civil

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Speaker 3: War to try and deal with the debts that everyone incurred,

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Speaker 3: and we created the concept that the federal government was

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Speaker 3: going to help pay for state debts, otherwise each was

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Speaker 3: going to kind of be left on their own. Initially,

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Speaker 3: taxes were only for the very wealthy, and that has

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Speaker 3: slowly become to everyone pays taxes, and that's largely how

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Speaker 3: we fund the government. It's a series of like cheating

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Speaker 3: and then changing the laws so that cheating is not allowed.

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Speaker 3: Most of the illegal stuff is not having the largest impact.

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Speaker 3: It's figuring out how to get around tax rules is

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Speaker 3: its own game, and that's what a lot of lobbying

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Speaker 3: is for. And when you hear Trump paid seven hundred

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Speaker 3: and fifty dollars for taxes for a year. That's why, Like,

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Speaker 3: he didn't do anything illegal, he just helped craft a

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Speaker 3: system that benefited him. So when clients come in and

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Speaker 3: they're like, how do I do that, they're directly questioning

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Speaker 3: income inequality. Those people have lobbied spending five million dollars

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Speaker 3: to save twenty million dollars and you have a different

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Speaker 3: set of rules. But across the world, this is the

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Speaker 3: best way we've come up with. And despite what you hear,

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Speaker 3: it's largely an honor system. And Americans are, on the

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Speaker 3: scale of people in the world, very forthcoming with just

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Speaker 3: paying their taxes and being like, this is my share.

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Speaker 3: I have to deal with it. I remember right a

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Speaker 3: client from Greece who said, we have a saying in

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Speaker 3: Greece that only the stupid pay taxes, meaning everybody else

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Speaker 3: knows how to get around them. And this was like

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Speaker 3: twenty fourteen, and in my head I was like, yeah,

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Speaker 3: but look at Greece.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: And one piece I didn't realize about this before I

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Speaker 3: kind of got learning about it more was that the

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Speaker 3: IRS is a really efficient organization, Like it's kind of demonized,

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Speaker 3: but for every dollar you fund it, it returns over

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Speaker 3: six dollars. So it's really good at utilizing the money

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Speaker 3: you give it. And from a business perspective, that means

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Speaker 3: you should keep giving the IRS money a dollar until

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Speaker 3: it returns ninety nine cents as long as they're keep

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Speaker 3: returning more than they're taking, Like, that's an efficient use

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Speaker 3: of business. But traditionally, when the Republicans come into government,

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Speaker 3: in addition to cutting taxes, they underfund the IRS. And

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Speaker 3: when you underfund the IRS, less people get audited, checked

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Speaker 3: in on, and there's less compliance with just what the

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Speaker 3: rules are. Therefore, the country brings in less money, and

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Speaker 3: then you can say we can't afford all these social programs,

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Speaker 3: so it's kind of a backdoor to being like these

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Speaker 3: are too expensive. But you also undercut the funding by

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Speaker 3: lowering the money that the IRS gets. And most tax people,

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Speaker 3: I know, we like the RS like we want them

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Speaker 3: to be easier to get a hold of.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, speaking of rules too, I know, even during

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Speaker 2: an election, we hear a lot about tax brackets. What

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Speaker 2: are tax brackets and what buckets can people fall into?

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Speaker 3: So picture five buckets from left to right. The bucket

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Speaker 3: on the left most is the zero percent tax bracket.

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Speaker 3: Another word for that is the standard deduction. So the

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Speaker 3: first fourteen thousand dollars of the money you earn go

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Speaker 3: into that bucket, so you pay zero percent income tax

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Speaker 3: on that money, and then the next dollar you get

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Speaker 3: falls in the ten percent bucket, and the next ten

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Speaker 3: thousand or so dollars falls in the ten percent bucket.

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Speaker 3: Once you fill up that bucket, you move to the

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Speaker 3: next one to the right, and the next thirty thousand

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Speaker 3: dollars go in the twelve percent bucket. And then after

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Speaker 3: you fill that bucket, your next dollar goes in the

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Speaker 3: twenty two percent bracket. So you only ever moved to

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Speaker 3: the next tax bracket when you filled the previous bucket.

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Speaker 3: So a question we get that shows the misunderstanding is

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Speaker 3: people are like, I just got a raise at work

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Speaker 3: to fifty thousand dollars, but should I turn it down

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Speaker 3: because It's going to put me in a higher tax

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Speaker 3: bracket and I'm going to end up with less money

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Speaker 3: than I got when I was earning forty five thousand

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Speaker 3: dollars in the lower tax bracket. And the answers, no,

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Speaker 3: you should always take more money because the next money

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Speaker 3: you make only ever goes into the next tax bracket

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Speaker 3: when you filled the previous bucket.

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Speaker 1: So basically, are you saying that, like just for simple numbers,

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Speaker 1: like if you're making forty five thousand dollars and paying

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Speaker 1: ten percent tax, and you go to fifty thousand and

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Speaker 1: you're paying now you're paying fifteen percent tax, it's only

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Speaker 1: that five thousand dollars that's being taxed at the higher rate. Correct. Okay,

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Speaker 1: that's interesting. So now that we've laid this baseline on taxes,

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Speaker 1: for those people who are out there who are like

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Speaker 1: it's March, I got to start, what are the first

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Speaker 1: steps that they should take when trying to file your taxes.

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Speaker 3: I mean, there's a big separation between are you self

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Speaker 3: employed or are you an employee? And part of that

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Speaker 3: is what does self employed even mean? There's a lot

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Speaker 3: of verbiage and monikers under self employed labeling, which is

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Speaker 3: the gig economy, freelancing contractor. The answer is you're self

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Speaker 3: employed anytime someone gives you money for doing something without

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Speaker 3: taxes taken out.

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Speaker 1: That's it.

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Speaker 3: And that's where you enter that gray area of doing

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Speaker 3: your taxes. And then at that point you need to

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Speaker 3: understand that there's separate rules for you as a person

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Speaker 3: versus you as a business. And I think with some caveats,

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Speaker 3: it makes sense to get help on your taxes as

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Speaker 3: long as the person you're working with understand your industry

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Speaker 3: and you feel comfortable talking to them. Otherwise you're collecting

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Speaker 3: a bunch of papers that are sent to you and

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Speaker 3: trying to remember all the things. Very good place to

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Speaker 3: start is look at your last year's taxes and be like,

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Speaker 3: did anything go wrong with this? Did I get any letters?

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Speaker 3: Because people forget like, oh, I have some random stock

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Speaker 3: my grandma gamey. That's always like twenty four dollars.

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Speaker 1: This is me every year. It takes Morgan Stanley into

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Speaker 1: like March eighteenth, and I'm like, oh right, that one thing,

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Speaker 1: God damn it.

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Speaker 3: So essentially it's gathering up all those papers, filling them

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Speaker 3: out either yourself with some anguished hours in front of

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Speaker 3: the computer or paying someone else to do, and then

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Speaker 3: sending them in to the government to be like, yep,

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Speaker 3: that matches what we got.

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Speaker 2: I had to log into ADP this year to get

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Speaker 2: a W two. It just wasn't sent to me in

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Speaker 2: the mail, and it was all of my previous employers

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Speaker 2: were in there, and I was like, oh, this website

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Speaker 2: has all of my everything from like the last fifteen years.

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Speaker 2: So that is a tip for other people too that like,

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Speaker 2: if you didn't get your W two in the mail

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Speaker 2: or something, go to your ADP and look at it

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Speaker 2: there because it might be there.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, there's only a few big payroll processors ADP Gusto,

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Speaker 3: there's probably three, four or five, but yeah, they have

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Speaker 3: all your stuff. They're supposed to send you a W

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Speaker 3: two and they send one to the government to the irs,

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Speaker 3: so they have one on file.

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Speaker 1: Tax day is April fifteenth, right, and you typically get

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Speaker 1: these forms. You're talking about wtwo form if you're employed,

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Speaker 1: maybe ten ninety nine if you're self employed, in January.

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Speaker 1: So like when should we start? Is it better to

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Speaker 1: file earlier? Is it better to file at the last second.

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Speaker 3: The answer to that is going to be largely dependent

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Speaker 3: on what is going to happen at the end of

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Speaker 3: this process and what is it that you want from

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Speaker 3: this process. Some people are just thinking about like is

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Speaker 3: there a best money result? Am I going to get

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Speaker 3: a letter result? And then there's the how long am

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Speaker 3: I going to think about this question? So I think

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Speaker 3: for most people they want to get this over with,

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Speaker 3: and the only reason it goes on longer is because

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Speaker 3: they're not able to bring themselves to do it without

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Speaker 3: an impending deadline. Other people think that they owe money,

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Speaker 3: and so they're delaying that realization. You could do your

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Speaker 3: taxes and not pay them immediately. The irs is actually

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Speaker 3: very considerate. Oh, they just want to not be ignored. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: but like they don't put you in debtor's prison or

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Speaker 3: like take all your money from you. Think of them

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Speaker 3: as like a really nice credit card or an underfunded mafia.

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Speaker 3: That's how they work. So you can do your taxes

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Speaker 3: and then figure out payment separately. But I think for

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Speaker 3: most people they want to get it over with, move

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Speaker 3: on with their lives, not think about this. So yeah,

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Speaker 3: i'd recommend getting started and getting it out of your head.

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Speaker 1: Does that affect like your refund, No, so you wouldn't

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Speaker 1: get it sooner if you filed sooner.

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you would get it sooner. Yeah, not the amount,

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Speaker 3: That's what I meant, like, you'll get the refund soon.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Cause I think that's where I've landed, Like I

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Speaker 1: used to panic about it and wait until last second,

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Speaker 1: and now I'm just like I agree with you, Like

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Speaker 1: I just want to get it over with. And I

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Speaker 1: also think it can be helpful for people to try,

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Speaker 1: like the one thing I always forget ab I'm like,

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Speaker 1: oh I donated so much money. It's all these different

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Speaker 1: causes throughout the year. So I've started keeping a little

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Speaker 1: fulder whenever I make a transaction like that to like

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Speaker 1: make sure that I document what I can deduct from

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Speaker 1: charitable donations and stuff. So that's another thing that's helped

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Speaker 1: me not panic. It's brain that I have a record

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Speaker 1: of stuff.

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Speaker 2: I've done a spreadsheet too, because every year, if you

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Speaker 2: need to be thinking about, well, how much should I

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Speaker 2: spend on my internet this year and things like that,

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Speaker 2: And so I've been trying to be better about listing

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Speaker 2: the things that I'm spending money on that are going

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Speaker 2: towards my work, so that I have them throughout the

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Speaker 2: year and so I'm not just in January like oh God,

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Speaker 2: what do I do. But on top of that too,

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Speaker 2: you know, again we were talking about W two's there's

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Speaker 2: ten ninety nine. There's all these letters and numbers being

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Speaker 2: thrown about. Can you explain a little bit the difference

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Speaker 2: of those when it comes to like W four's W

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Speaker 2: two's ten ninety nine ten forties, like all these different things,

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Speaker 2: what are each of these and what information and documents

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Speaker 2: do we need to have handy and ready to go

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Speaker 2: when we're actually ready for tax time.

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Speaker 3: So a good way to figure out even how you're

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Speaker 3: about to get paid at a job is if they

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Speaker 3: give you a W four. So a W four you

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Speaker 3: fill out and that ends up with you getting a

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Speaker 3: W two later, OK, so that means you're an employee officially.

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Speaker 3: If they give you a W nine, that means they're

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Speaker 3: going to pay you as a contractor without taxes taken out.

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Speaker 3: So suddenly, like the roads have diverged. One, you're going

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Speaker 3: to have all the protections of an employee, minimum wage, unemployment,

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Speaker 3: potentially benefits, and they're going to take taxes out as

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Speaker 3: you get stuff. And the other way is that's your

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Speaker 3: responsibility at the end of the year and you better

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Speaker 3: save that money. There's a bunch of different ten ninety nine's,

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Speaker 3: so we kind of use them colloquially to mean your

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Speaker 3: freelancing money, but those are ten ninety nine miscellaneous or NEECs.

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Speaker 3: But there's also ten ninety nine its for interest, ten

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Speaker 3: ninety nine divs for dividends, ten ninety nine b's for

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Speaker 3: your brokerage ten nine nine R for retirement. Generally, I

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Speaker 3: would say, if you get something with very boring bolds,

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Speaker 3: graphic design and boxes, you probably need that for your taxes.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, good, wait to put it. Yeah. And I feel

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Speaker 1: like I onlyly in the last couple of years started

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Speaker 1: investing in having a four to one K and stuff

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Speaker 1: like that, and so I started getting the ten ninety

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Speaker 1: nine div and I was like, oh God, the boxes

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Speaker 1: and the bold letters. This seems important.

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Speaker 3: Yep.

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Speaker 2: I guess also, if you're getting a lot of those

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Speaker 2: papers with the boring boxes and letters too, is that

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Speaker 2: when you sort of know, okay, I'm probably going to

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Speaker 2: need some professional help. How do you break that down?

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Speaker 2: How do you know, like, I got this, I can

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Speaker 2: do it myself, or when should you say, you know what,

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Speaker 2: let me let a professional come in here and save

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Speaker 2: my ass.

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Speaker 3: I would not say the ubiquity of weird forms means

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Speaker 3: you need to get any help at that point. I

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Speaker 3: think there needs to be a something else. Okay, just

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Speaker 3: getting those forms is still just type them right into

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Speaker 3: the computer. When you get into self employed gig economy, airbnb,

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Speaker 3: getting paid money without taxes, taken out. I think that's

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Speaker 3: when it makes sense to get tax help. The other

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Speaker 3: times that it makes sense to get help is if

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Speaker 3: whatever you want to be happening isn't happening. Like we

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Speaker 3: have people come every year. All they have is two

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Speaker 3: W two's, but every year they owe. They don't know why,

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Speaker 3: no one will explain it, and nobody's incentivized, Like your

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Speaker 3: job can't tell you how to fill out your W

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Speaker 3: four to change the results on your W two. So

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Speaker 3: every year people just live with it. There's no other

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Speaker 3: time in life where you're like, am I going to

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Speaker 3: get back for one thousand dollars? Or am I going

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Speaker 3: to owe ten thousand dollars. It's like the crappiest casino

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Speaker 3: in the world with such variability, and it's like weird

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Speaker 3: that it's normal to us.

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Speaker 1: So I'm a W two and Lee is a ten

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Speaker 1: ninety nine girl. So for the people on the W side,

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Speaker 1: can I change my W FORO it work? Because I

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Speaker 1: feel like the same thing I always lose and I'm like,

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Speaker 1: how do I fix this?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's an important thing to recognize is what

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Speaker 3: you fill out on your W four to get a

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Speaker 3: W two is not legally binding. The goal of the

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Speaker 3: W four is just to get your W two to

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Speaker 3: turn out the way you want it. So for most

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Speaker 3: of my clients, I tell them to choose single or

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Speaker 3: married filing separately. That's usually one selection. And don't claim

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Speaker 3: any of your kids if you have kids. For most

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Speaker 3: of my clients, that's the one that makes sense. Because

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Speaker 3: your spouse is not not working, they're just going to

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Speaker 3: come and throw more money on the pile. So we

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Speaker 3: don't want to account for them being a tax benefit.

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Speaker 3: We just are saying, hey, this money, should pull out

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Speaker 3: taxes for this money and assume no other benefits somewhere else.

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Speaker 3: So even if you're going to file married filing jointly

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Speaker 3: on your W four, you can still select single or

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Speaker 3: married filing separately, And the goal is just to get

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Speaker 3: it to come out the way you want it to

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Speaker 3: at the end. But that whole system is pretty opaque

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Speaker 3: because it just wasn't designed for the way we're using it.

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Speaker 3: Like you weren't supposed to have ten W two jobs.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like do I put a zero? Do I

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Speaker 2: put a one?

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Speaker 1: In?

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Speaker 3: Like?

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Speaker 2: How is this going to change my whole higher life

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Speaker 2: right now? With like one stupid number?

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Speaker 3: Right where you don't really understand what's going on and

359
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Speaker 3: what it's going to mean later. And then it also

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Speaker 3: changed in twenty seventeen with the Trump tax changes.

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Speaker 1: I think this ends with me hiring you rest to help. Yeah, Like,

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Speaker 1: now that you've said that, I like totally forgot, because

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Speaker 1: I basically like, I've been working with this cover for

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Speaker 1: five years and I did the four or five years

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Speaker 1: ago and I don't even remember what I put and

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Speaker 1: it's probably affecting every single year that I'm filing taxes.

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Speaker 2: Well, that brings us to a great point Matt too,

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Speaker 2: which is how do you find a good tax person?

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Speaker 2: How do you know if this guy is going to

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Speaker 2: be good or this lady is going to be good,

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Speaker 2: or they're like not great, or they're going to be

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Speaker 2: a little bit shady, or like no, they're really on

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Speaker 2: top of it and they know the loopholes. You know.

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Speaker 2: I tend to go with if somebody that I know

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Speaker 2: in my life recommends somebody, then at least I have

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Speaker 2: somebody to blame so that I don't have to take

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Speaker 2: full responsibility. But what are some of the things that

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Speaker 2: you should look for in somebody that's going to prepare

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Speaker 2: your taxes for you if you're going to go to

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Speaker 2: the professional route.

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Speaker 3: My mentor Harvey said, take what you're entitled to, but

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Speaker 3: don't be greedy, and I've kind of come to agree

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Speaker 3: with that. I will also point out there's no accreditation

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Speaker 3: necessary to do taxes. That's why the industry feels kind

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Speaker 3: of shady. All you have to do is convince someone

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Speaker 3: to trust you, and then you have to go through

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Speaker 3: the process of being allowed to e file taxes. Not

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Speaker 3: a high bar. On the other end of that, just

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Speaker 3: someone having letters after their name does not indicate they

390
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Speaker 3: will be good at your taxes. So just because somebody

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Speaker 3: is a CPA, I'm an enrolled agent, which is an

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Speaker 3: IRS designation versus CPA is a third party organization, it

393
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Speaker 3: doesn't mean I'm going to be good at your taxes.

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Speaker 3: Brass taxes is good at what we do a lot

395
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Speaker 3: of Just like you wouldn't hire like a real estate

396
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Speaker 3: lawyer if you were on trial for murder. It's like

397
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Speaker 3: just being a lawyer does not mean they will be helpful.

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Speaker 3: And so I tell everybody you need to work with

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Speaker 3: someone who understands your industry and you feel comfortable talking to.

400
00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:58,800
Speaker 3: I put the limit of feel comfortable talking to of

401
00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:01,960
Speaker 3: you would ask them the same question four times. If

402
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,399
Speaker 3: you don't get it, you're like, sorry, still don't get it.

403
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:05,080
Speaker 2: Can we try it again?

404
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:09,280
Speaker 3: That level of comfort and if you can do that,

405
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,600
Speaker 3: they've established themselves as a good repository and a good communicator,

406
00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,280
Speaker 3: which is not inherent to people who choose this job.

407
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:22,720
Speaker 3: And they've also shown you that they're not maximizing their

408
00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,440
Speaker 3: profit by cutting your conversation short. Because the fastest way

409
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Speaker 3: for me to make money is for you to drop

410
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Speaker 3: off your papers and then come take your tax return

411
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Speaker 3: when I'm done with it and pay me money.

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Speaker 1: I could talk to you all day to emphasize your point.

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Speaker 1: I can't believe that I haven't had these conversations with

414
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Speaker 1: my guy. I don't know why I haven't done it.

415
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:42,119
Speaker 1: I should do it.

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Speaker 3: What's fascinating, Matt, is that default interpretation is this is

417
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Speaker 3: gonna suck. This process is gonna suck. I'm going to

418
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Speaker 3: feel terrible at the end of it, a little violated,

419
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,040
Speaker 3: a little like over shared. And my attitude is like,

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Speaker 3: it doesn't need to be that bad. On the back

421
00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,119
Speaker 3: of our business cards, it says taxes shouldn't suck so much.

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Speaker 1: My favorite thing to say, which is so lame, is

423
00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,360
Speaker 1: a knowledge is power. But it really is, like, if

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00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,240
Speaker 1: you know this stuff, you really can change your life,

425
00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:16,320
Speaker 1: even if it's in a small way to help yourself

426
00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:18,520
Speaker 1: out down the road. So you're not confused about it.

427
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Speaker 2: And people feel dumb. They feel dumb like they should

428
00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,080
Speaker 2: know this, but it's like, why would we know this?

429
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Speaker 2: This was actually not a class that I ever had anywhere,

430
00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,199
Speaker 2: and so why would we know this? But like, the

431
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,720
Speaker 2: more you learn about it, the more also confident you

432
00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:37,359
Speaker 2: will feel going into this and understanding it. And even

433
00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,800
Speaker 2: if you're paying, if you sort of understand why you're paying,

434
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Speaker 2: I think you feel slightly better about it rather than

435
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Speaker 2: just I don't even know why I'm doing this and

436
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,040
Speaker 2: here's all this money to the government.

437
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,320
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think that's a great point. There's a huge

438
00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:51,399
Speaker 3: amount of shame around this and nobody talks about it. Yeah,

439
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,639
Speaker 3: it's much more taboo than talking about sex.

440
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, in certain situations, absolutely we talk about that. I

441
00:20:57,840 --> 00:20:58,760
Speaker 1: mean at least somewhat.

442
00:20:59,520 --> 00:20:59,920
Speaker 2: Yeah.

443
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,240
Speaker 3: I went around at dinner table and said there was

444
00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:03,840
Speaker 3: I think twelve or thirteen people and I was like,

445
00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,040
Speaker 3: all right, tell your income or an awkward sex story

446
00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,080
Speaker 3: eleven awkward sex stories.

447
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:15,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll be right back after a quick.

448
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:26,119
Speaker 1: Break and we're back with more grown up stuff. How

449
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:30,800
Speaker 1: do I don't I actually have a few terms that

450
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,199
Speaker 1: I would love for you to define for us. So

451
00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:34,960
Speaker 1: I'm just going to rattle these off and I'd love

452
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:36,439
Speaker 1: for you to give me, like, you know, the bullet

453
00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:38,520
Speaker 1: point on them, just for people to understand a little

454
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,000
Speaker 1: bit of the terminology we're talking the right, So withholding.

455
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,520
Speaker 3: Withholding is money that they take from you before you

456
00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,960
Speaker 3: get your money. So that was designed to passively take

457
00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,119
Speaker 3: taxes from you so you don't spend what you're not

458
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,000
Speaker 3: entitled to. And so when you get a tax refund,

459
00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,720
Speaker 3: this is a good reminder you're getting your own money

460
00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,960
Speaker 3: back that they took from you previously. Most of the time,

461
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:02,080
Speaker 3: not all the time, but most of the time it's

462
00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,480
Speaker 3: just you getting your money back. But that was previous

463
00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:07,680
Speaker 3: you and now present you is like, this is awesome.

464
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,800
Speaker 3: Just got three thousand dollars, not remembering that they took

465
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:12,280
Speaker 3: that incrementally from you.

466
00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:13,520
Speaker 1: You did the work and you were paid for it,

467
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,239
Speaker 1: and that is your money. And that actually gets back

468
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,879
Speaker 1: to W four, right, because you're withholding is determined correct

469
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,240
Speaker 1: by what you claim or right.

470
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:24,880
Speaker 3: What you put on the W four determines what you're

471
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,640
Speaker 3: withholding per paycheck and throughout the course of the year.

472
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:30,600
Speaker 3: So the issue is if you get that wrong by

473
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,320
Speaker 3: fifty bucks and then you get paid twenty six times,

474
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,520
Speaker 3: now you owe thirteen hundred dollars. So it's the repetitive

475
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:41,720
Speaker 3: incremental change where it's like, that's how you end up

476
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:46,199
Speaker 3: with a five thousand dollars refund or owing five thousand dollars.

477
00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,560
Speaker 3: It's not a huge shift one way or the other.

478
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,920
Speaker 3: It's like, oh, one hundred eleven dollars twenty six times

479
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:54,120
Speaker 3: is a lot of money in the end of the year,

480
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,680
Speaker 3: so it's not something you necessarily notice.

481
00:22:58,160 --> 00:22:59,560
Speaker 1: The next one is deductions.

482
00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:04,720
Speaker 3: Deductions Usually the way people use it is things the

483
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 3: government has said if you have these things, you can

484
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,439
Speaker 3: lower the amount of income you pay tax on, so

485
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,399
Speaker 3: you can lower your taxable income with deductions. So common

486
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,760
Speaker 3: deductions are a student loan interest if you put money

487
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,480
Speaker 3: in a traditional IRA, and then the standard deduction is

488
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:26,160
Speaker 3: also a deduction, and that is the first right now

489
00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:28,639
Speaker 3: fourteen thousand dollars that you don't have to pay tax on.

490
00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,159
Speaker 3: These are all things that lower your taxable income that

491
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:32,240
Speaker 3: you pay taxes on.

492
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,080
Speaker 1: So if I earned fifty thousand dollars and I put

493
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,880
Speaker 1: a thousand of it in a retirement account, my taxable

494
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,359
Speaker 1: income is now forty nine thousand dollars. Correct. Cool. So

495
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,119
Speaker 1: the next one is dependence. And I'm kind of curious

496
00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,520
Speaker 1: because I think that they're children. And if they are children,

497
00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:49,119
Speaker 1: then do pets count.

498
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,960
Speaker 3: Pets are not given the regard that we hold for

499
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,760
Speaker 3: them in the US tax system. Rude Dependents are people

500
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,560
Speaker 3: that you take care of. It could be your parents,

501
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,320
Speaker 3: even if they don't live with you. It's basically you

502
00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,400
Speaker 3: pay for more than fifty percent of their lives.

503
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,320
Speaker 1: Interesting, I've never heard the definition before.

504
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,040
Speaker 3: So usually kids, your girlfriend or boyfriend could potentially be

505
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:13,640
Speaker 3: your dependent.

506
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:18,280
Speaker 2: Oh damn, choose wisely some upside to the downside.

507
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay? Interesting? And then what about credits?

508
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,239
Speaker 3: So deductions are like a discount, like we'll give you

509
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,119
Speaker 3: twenty five percent off. Credits are like we'll give you

510
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,720
Speaker 3: a refund of the money you spent. So a deduction

511
00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,360
Speaker 3: is money you don't have to pay tax on, and

512
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,720
Speaker 3: a credit is dollar for dollar giving back of your tax.

513
00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,000
Speaker 3: The major credits are the Earned Income Credit, the child

514
00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,960
Speaker 3: tax credit, The savers credit is a good one that

515
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,600
Speaker 3: people don't know about. If your income is below a

516
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,960
Speaker 3: certain threshold and you save for retirement, the government will

517
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,320
Speaker 3: give you a credit to encourage that behavior. So that's

518
00:24:56,359 --> 00:25:00,359
Speaker 3: a dollar for dollar payback or reduction of tax. So

519
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,720
Speaker 3: if you owe two thousand dollars in taxes and you

520
00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:05,119
Speaker 3: have a thousand dollars tax credit, now you owe one

521
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:07,320
Speaker 3: thousand dollars in taxes because you know.

522
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:09,600
Speaker 1: And then there's three more here, and then we'll move

523
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,199
Speaker 1: on adjusted gross income.

524
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:15,080
Speaker 3: Adjusted gross income or AGI if you want. The verbage

525
00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:19,080
Speaker 3: is a set series of things they say, don't include

526
00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 3: these or include these in your income and how much

527
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,239
Speaker 3: income do you have? So gross income is before they

528
00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,600
Speaker 3: take anything out. This is your adjusted gross income. So

529
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,119
Speaker 3: they've taken some things out but left some things in.

530
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,119
Speaker 3: So often when you're applying for an apartment or a house,

531
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:38,479
Speaker 3: they'll ask for your adjusted gross income.

532
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:43,040
Speaker 1: Got it, And then we'll pair these together. Tax refund

533
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,200
Speaker 1: and tax liability.

534
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,200
Speaker 3: So tax refund is when all that money filters together.

535
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,440
Speaker 3: When we take your W two, your gig economy, whatever

536
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,520
Speaker 3: was left over from your self employed business you made

537
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,879
Speaker 3: this much, you spent this much. This is the profit

538
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:03,040
Speaker 3: or loss leftover. We got your dividends, your interest, your brokerage,

539
00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:07,879
Speaker 3: your stocks, sales, losses and gains. The end result is

540
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,120
Speaker 3: this much money based on that much money, you owe

541
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:11,960
Speaker 3: this much tax?

542
00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:13,200
Speaker 1: How much did you.

543
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:17,280
Speaker 3: Pay so far? If anything from your withholdings or your

544
00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:21,080
Speaker 3: estimated taxes, and then what's left over. So if you

545
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:25,040
Speaker 3: overpaid or there's credits to help buoy up the amount

546
00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,119
Speaker 3: that you did pay, then you get a refund. If

547
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,119
Speaker 3: you didn't pay enough, then you owe and you have

548
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:32,119
Speaker 3: a tax liability.

549
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,000
Speaker 1: Wonderful, Thank you so much.

550
00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,560
Speaker 2: So, Russ. I mean, let's just get to the question

551
00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,080
Speaker 2: that I'm sure is the first thing that people ask you.

552
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:41,879
Speaker 3: But way you need to know I'm single.

553
00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:49,639
Speaker 2: Great, then I'm done. Yeah, okay. The second question they

554
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,480
Speaker 2: ask is how do I just get a bunch of

555
00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 2: money back? So where do you even start with that?

556
00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:56,240
Speaker 1: Yeah?

557
00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,840
Speaker 3: I've had people when they find out I'm doing taxes

558
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,200
Speaker 3: like unprompted and ask them. They're like, I have a

559
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,720
Speaker 3: guy in Long Island who gets me six thousand dollars back,

560
00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:08,880
Speaker 3: and I'm always like cool, yeah, like maybe maybe cool, Yeah,

561
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,119
Speaker 3: maybe you should be getting eight thousand dollars back, or

562
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:14,160
Speaker 3: maybe he's just like making some crap up that you'd

563
00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:14,800
Speaker 3: have to live with.

564
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:16,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe in a couple years fro now you're gonna

565
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,240
Speaker 1: get a letter from the IRS. Actually you ask all.

566
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:22,920
Speaker 3: Of that, and suddenly six thousand bucks doesn't seem worth

567
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,959
Speaker 3: a felon Sadly. That's the tricky part is some of

568
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,760
Speaker 3: these credits are really great, and they're actually giving you

569
00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,960
Speaker 3: money that you didn't already have taken from yourself. But

570
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,880
Speaker 3: for most people, if you get a big refund, you're

571
00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,399
Speaker 3: usually just getting your own money back. So from a

572
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,120
Speaker 3: financial perspective, people are like, you should never do that.

573
00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,200
Speaker 3: You never want a refund. You always want to owe

574
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:47,240
Speaker 3: them a little get a free loan from the RS.

575
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,920
Speaker 3: But I think in the actual experience of being a human,

576
00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,119
Speaker 3: we do like getting refunds. Yeah, so don't discredit that.

577
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,080
Speaker 3: But there's not a magical way or like a simple

578
00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:01,480
Speaker 3: way without a good amount of tax planning to really

579
00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:05,520
Speaker 3: get your taxes down to a level of like Trump

580
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,199
Speaker 3: paid seven hundred and fifty dollars in taxes, right, And

581
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:10,440
Speaker 3: I totally understand the like, how can I pay less?

582
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,920
Speaker 3: Is a valid question, but part of our goal, since

583
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:16,080
Speaker 3: we don't have skin in the game with the results

584
00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:18,879
Speaker 3: that are happening, is we want to take care of

585
00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,040
Speaker 3: present you who wants to pay no taxes, but also

586
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,440
Speaker 3: future you that would have to deal with these things

587
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:26,760
Speaker 3: and may not want to deal with these things. So

588
00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,040
Speaker 3: we try and be the arbiter between those two versions

589
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,240
Speaker 3: of yourself that are going to exist. And yeah, I

590
00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:35,840
Speaker 3: think it falls in the like take what you're entitled to,

591
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,200
Speaker 3: but don't be greedy, right, and kind of draw that

592
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,120
Speaker 3: line where it's like, this is allowed, this is aggressive,

593
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:42,040
Speaker 3: this is illegal.

594
00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, not to be greedy, but also when will I

595
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,520
Speaker 2: get it? Like how long typically does it take for

596
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,280
Speaker 2: it to show up? And if you were to advise

597
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,640
Speaker 2: somebody what they should do with that money, is it

598
00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,840
Speaker 2: run to them all or is it maybe do something

599
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:58,080
Speaker 2: a little bit smarter with it?

600
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean refunds come much faster now. If you

601
00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 3: give people are wary of giving the Irs their bank

602
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:09,640
Speaker 3: info or anything, you're really underestimating the power of the

603
00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,480
Speaker 3: federal government. You'll get your refund within usually one to

604
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:16,560
Speaker 3: three weeks, and sometimes it's just a few days. The

605
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,560
Speaker 3: way people treat that money really varies widely. Some people,

606
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 3: especially for the earned income Credit, are counting on that

607
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,240
Speaker 3: money as part of their yearly budget. So it either

608
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,800
Speaker 3: can get people out of debt or it can just

609
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,160
Speaker 3: become that thing that gets them through the next six months.

610
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,080
Speaker 2: Like maybe tickets to the Cowboy Carter Tour because they

611
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:36,880
Speaker 2: need to see Beyonce.

612
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:38,480
Speaker 3: That's totally vouid Yeah.

613
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:39,840
Speaker 2: Okay, great. Just wanted to make sure.

614
00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:42,640
Speaker 3: It's also a passive way of saving, like if you

615
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 3: had the wherewithal to make estimated taxes since you're freelancing

616
00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,080
Speaker 3: and knowing you're like, I'd rather get this money out

617
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,520
Speaker 3: of my face, which I strongly recommend either put it

618
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:54,520
Speaker 3: in a separate bank account that you don't see at

619
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,480
Speaker 3: the ATM, or go ahead and send it to the

620
00:29:57,520 --> 00:29:59,480
Speaker 3: government and just settle up at the end of the year.

621
00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:02,040
Speaker 3: But you have to make choices like that based on

622
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,680
Speaker 3: like will you be cash poor all year or will.

623
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:05,960
Speaker 2: I go to Beyonce? Yeah?

624
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:08,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, but you're just saving for things. It could be

625
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:10,600
Speaker 3: really valuable to be like I just have two thousand dollars,

626
00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:11,720
Speaker 3: I know what I want to do with this.

627
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:16,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay. Flip side of this too is ugh, what

628
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,840
Speaker 2: if I do have to pay money, you know, and

629
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:20,520
Speaker 2: I'm going to believe you when you tell me that

630
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,920
Speaker 2: the irs is actually really nice. But when do I

631
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 2: have to pay it by? And also like where is

632
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:29,800
Speaker 2: that money even going? What are they doing with it?

633
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:33,880
Speaker 3: Yeah, that money when you're doing your taxes is do

634
00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 3: April fifteenth, whatever that bill is.

635
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:37,320
Speaker 2: Okay, you can.

636
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 3: Get an extension of time to file, but the money

637
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,160
Speaker 3: still do April fifteenth. If you're not able to pay

638
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,800
Speaker 3: that money. This is where the government is much more

639
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,760
Speaker 3: kind than any other person you.

640
00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:51,160
Speaker 2: Have a debt.

641
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,960
Speaker 3: With that said, the states are not as kind as

642
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 3: the federal government.

643
00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:57,080
Speaker 1: Okay, So if.

644
00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 3: You can only afford to pay one, pay your state first.

645
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,959
Speaker 3: The states, by law have to have balanced budgets, so

646
00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,160
Speaker 3: they can't run a deficit every year, whereas the federal

647
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,840
Speaker 3: government does run a deficit every year, and when they

648
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:13,120
Speaker 3: need more money, they print more money. But states can't

649
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,880
Speaker 3: do that. So you pay more interest on your taxes

650
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,280
Speaker 3: to the state than you will to the federal government.

651
00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:23,080
Speaker 3: But if you owe money to either, they have things

652
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:27,000
Speaker 3: like payment plans, and the interest is not exorbitant. It's

653
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:29,840
Speaker 3: not like credit cards where it's like suddenly twenty nine

654
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,520
Speaker 3: percent every year, Like, they don't want to bury you,

655
00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:37,840
Speaker 3: They just want to bleed you, okay slowly, Yeah, Okay,

656
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,440
Speaker 3: as long as you're not ignoring them for months at

657
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,360
Speaker 3: a time. Yeah, they're fine. They don't want to come

658
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,880
Speaker 3: chase you if you do ignore them. The power they

659
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:50,560
Speaker 3: have is really outside of our normal way of thinking,

660
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,600
Speaker 3: Like if you ignore them forever. They are the foundation

661
00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:57,440
Speaker 3: that makes your bank account secure. That's the federal government.

662
00:31:57,720 --> 00:31:59,600
Speaker 3: So if you don't pay them, they will just go

663
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,880
Speaker 3: find your bank account and take their money. And then

664
00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 3: that's when you realize, like the security you feel is

665
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:07,960
Speaker 3: a function of what they provide.

666
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I know we talked a little bit about

667
00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,320
Speaker 2: making sure we fill out our w fours correctly. Is

668
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:18,040
Speaker 2: there anything else to think about or be doing throughout

669
00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 2: the year to prevent having to owe money? If you

670
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:22,640
Speaker 2: just are like I don't want to have to do that.

671
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: Yeah.

672
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,280
Speaker 3: A big part of not owing money is figuring out,

673
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,960
Speaker 3: for self employed people, how to track your expenses. And

674
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,880
Speaker 3: you talked about this, Leah. At the end of the year,

675
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:34,920
Speaker 3: you don't want to be sitting with a digital or

676
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,880
Speaker 3: physical pile of receipts. That's mentally exhausting and you just

677
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:43,800
Speaker 3: won't do it. So when people track receipts, they realize

678
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,440
Speaker 3: they spend a lot more money than they expected. So

679
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:50,240
Speaker 3: I tell anybody there's no perfect system. We have a

680
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:54,040
Speaker 3: couple on our website that you can download for free.

681
00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 3: You need to have a system that you use at

682
00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 3: least monthly or more often that will capture a thing

683
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,680
Speaker 3: three dollars receipt And the reason that's important is because

684
00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,520
Speaker 3: you'll spend three dollars hundreds of times during the year.

685
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,640
Speaker 3: You're going to remember the MacBook Pro you bought. You're

686
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 3: not going to remember that you took this person for

687
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 3: coffee and got website advice. But all those expenses over

688
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,520
Speaker 3: the course of the year lower your profit and you

689
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,840
Speaker 3: only pay tax on the profit. So that's why expenses

690
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,920
Speaker 3: are important. That's the whole game is. I tell people

691
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,360
Speaker 3: track your expenses and know roughly how much you're going

692
00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:31,000
Speaker 3: to owe and have that amount of money. Beyond that,

693
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,880
Speaker 3: you don't really have to understand income tax brackets or

694
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:36,600
Speaker 3: why bonds go up when stocks go down, or whatever.

695
00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:37,880
Speaker 3: You can go back to your life.

696
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:38,400
Speaker 2: Thank you.

697
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:42,200
Speaker 1: Yeah, And you had mentioned about freelancers keeping track of

698
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,280
Speaker 1: their expenses so they know how much tax to expect

699
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:47,960
Speaker 1: to pay. Just as a rule of thumb, like, what

700
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:52,680
Speaker 1: is a good percentage of each paycheck or invoice or

701
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:56,080
Speaker 1: whatever for freelancers to save so that they're prepared come

702
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:56,600
Speaker 1: tax day.

703
00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:00,800
Speaker 3: Yeah, this depends largely based on where you're living, because

704
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,160
Speaker 3: your state in local taxes, and also the amount you're making. Generally,

705
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,560
Speaker 3: I would say there's two main ways of thinking about it.

706
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,240
Speaker 3: You can take a percentage of every check that you're paid,

707
00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 3: or you can have an estimate of your profit and

708
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,160
Speaker 3: take a percentage of that. So if you're taking a

709
00:34:16,200 --> 00:34:18,880
Speaker 3: percentage of every check you get, I would start at

710
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:21,840
Speaker 3: twenty five percent. So if you're paid ten thousand bucks,

711
00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:24,399
Speaker 3: take two thousand, five hundred, put it in a high

712
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:26,880
Speaker 3: yield savings account and get it out of your face,

713
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:29,799
Speaker 3: because that's not your money, you're just holding it for

714
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:33,640
Speaker 3: the government. Or if you have an estimate of your

715
00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:36,560
Speaker 3: income and expenses, you can look at your profit and

716
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,719
Speaker 3: take thirty percent of that number and stick it in

717
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:41,960
Speaker 3: a high yield savings account, get it out of your face,

718
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,480
Speaker 3: or pay it to the government for estimated taxes. But

719
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,520
Speaker 3: the most important thing is just to have that amount

720
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,560
Speaker 3: of money. I really saw how quickly. Those numbers can

721
00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:54,400
Speaker 3: get so large that unless you're prepared for them, you

722
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:56,759
Speaker 3: do not have that amount of money sitting around.

723
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:56,960
Speaker 2: Ready to go.

724
00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 3: They just get far too large, too quickly.

725
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:03,120
Speaker 1: That's great advice. And putting in high yield savings account

726
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,600
Speaker 1: where you're going to get at least five percent back,

727
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,160
Speaker 1: you know, depending on the high yield saving account they choose,

728
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:10,480
Speaker 1: is just great advice because then you're earning some interest

729
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:12,680
Speaker 1: on it and you'll definitely be able to pay it off.

730
00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:15,680
Speaker 1: That's lovely, Okay. So I want to talk about the

731
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:20,440
Speaker 1: a word audit and how we can avoid it. How

732
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:22,040
Speaker 1: do we give the government off our backs?

733
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:25,600
Speaker 3: This comes up often. An audit is just a scary

734
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:28,520
Speaker 3: word for show us how you got these numbers. And

735
00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,400
Speaker 3: just as a reminder for everybody, when you sign a

736
00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:35,280
Speaker 3: tax return, it says, under penalty of perjury, I swear

737
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,239
Speaker 3: everything in here is true to the best. So just

738
00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:41,759
Speaker 3: because you're working with a tax person or you're using software,

739
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:46,040
Speaker 3: that liability is yours. So you should understand what your

740
00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:48,879
Speaker 3: tax person is putting down. I have clients who came

741
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:51,960
Speaker 3: to us because they realized their tax person was putting

742
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:55,520
Speaker 3: a kid on their return and they suddenly realized because

743
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,359
Speaker 3: it showed up in a different place because they change

744
00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:59,000
Speaker 3: the forms, and she's like, I don't have any kids.

745
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,640
Speaker 3: Oh he was just doing it to get her money back,

746
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:05,279
Speaker 3: to make her happy, but it's her liability.

747
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 2: Yikes. Oh my god, that's a big Gikes.

748
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,399
Speaker 3: The tax prepayer would get in trouble for something like that.

749
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,280
Speaker 3: But like it's still you. It's like in the moment,

750
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:15,759
Speaker 3: you're like, I have a guy in Long Island. It

751
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:17,560
Speaker 3: gets me six thousand bucks back. I'm always like.

752
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,560
Speaker 1: Great, maybe, but he's telling the government you've got three kids.

753
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:20,799
Speaker 2: Yeah.

754
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:22,000
Speaker 1: Yeah.

755
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:24,560
Speaker 3: It's like you can put whatever on there. It doesn't

756
00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:26,360
Speaker 3: mean it's a good choice or something you want to

757
00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:28,600
Speaker 3: live with. And I will say, if you get a

758
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,800
Speaker 3: letter and the return address is the Internal Revenue Service,

759
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,440
Speaker 3: it's scary. That doesn't mean you're getting audited. Like we

760
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:40,319
Speaker 3: have these visions of Wesley Snipes and like they have

761
00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:44,680
Speaker 3: high profile cases because they help everybody else be compliant.

762
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 3: But an audit is just a scary word for show

763
00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,680
Speaker 3: us how you got these numbers. And so when we

764
00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:53,080
Speaker 3: work with clients, we try and help them get a

765
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,279
Speaker 3: reasonable level of how much of a pain in the

766
00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,879
Speaker 3: butt would this be if you had to show where

767
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:02,600
Speaker 3: these numbers came from. For example, a credit card statement

768
00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 3: is not sufficient to show where you got these numbers.

769
00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:07,759
Speaker 3: It can't just say Amazon, that is not clear that

770
00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,480
Speaker 3: what you bought was a business thing. It's like they're

771
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:12,839
Speaker 3: allowed to assign you a research paper if you're self

772
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:15,440
Speaker 3: employed and say show me how you got all these numbers.

773
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:18,640
Speaker 3: If you just get a letter and the irs is like, Matt,

774
00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:21,759
Speaker 3: you didn't include this ten ninety nine dive And you're like,

775
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:23,960
Speaker 3: oh yeah, they're like, we think you owe us thirty

776
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,440
Speaker 3: nine dollars and seven cents. You're like, yeah, okay, Like

777
00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:30,839
Speaker 3: that's not an audit. That's just the stupid system of

778
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:32,960
Speaker 3: you writing down everything and send it to us, and

779
00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:35,800
Speaker 3: us looking at everything we already have for you didn't match.

780
00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:38,239
Speaker 3: But yeah, the audit that people are scared of is

781
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:40,200
Speaker 3: like they're going to come to your house and be like,

782
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:42,680
Speaker 3: how'd you pay for this couch that's a mighty big

783
00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:45,359
Speaker 3: TV for your income that you say, you know, like

784
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:49,000
Speaker 3: that is not really what happens. It's just something to

785
00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:51,680
Speaker 3: know as a possibility, But there's a very low percentage

786
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:53,680
Speaker 3: of when that actually happens.

787
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,080
Speaker 1: Something really funny that my tax prepair said to me though,

788
00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,120
Speaker 1: when I was worried about this is he goes to

789
00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:01,560
Speaker 1: be honest, you don't make enough money for them to

790
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:03,919
Speaker 1: care about you. I was like, okay, cool, that hurt

791
00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:06,000
Speaker 1: my feelings a little bit, but it's good to know.

792
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:08,799
Speaker 2: I also just think of the Real Housewives too. When

793
00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:12,920
Speaker 2: heathery're Gay from Salt Lake City was saying receipts, proof screenshots,

794
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:14,560
Speaker 2: she had a right. I mean, you just need to

795
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,440
Speaker 2: make sure that things are documented and that you can

796
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:19,319
Speaker 2: point to them and be able to show the government like, hey, look, no,

797
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:21,640
Speaker 2: this was what I was paying for this, and this

798
00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:23,520
Speaker 2: is what it did for my business and that's why

799
00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:24,080
Speaker 2: I needed it.

800
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I always tell people like, don't prepare for

801
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:30,440
Speaker 3: an audit, but know that it might happen, because like,

802
00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:35,600
Speaker 3: it's not worth you spending that three weeks preemptively. But yeah,

803
00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:37,920
Speaker 3: it's helpful to have a system of organization where if

804
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,319
Speaker 3: you need to unwind that number that you put in

805
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,640
Speaker 3: supplies what's in there? Right, how am I going to

806
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,480
Speaker 3: figure that out? That process should be reasonable and it's

807
00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:48,560
Speaker 3: something that you get better at as you do it.

808
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,880
Speaker 2: Russ I can see our tiny little brains absorbing all

809
00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,040
Speaker 2: of this information that you have presented to us today,

810
00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:58,800
Speaker 2: and we thank you already for making us slightly smarter

811
00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:01,600
Speaker 2: when it comes to taxes. Is there anything that we

812
00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:03,719
Speaker 2: did not cover that you think that people should know

813
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:07,440
Speaker 2: about preparing, or doing, or just even thinking about their taxes?

814
00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:12,279
Speaker 3: For people who are self employed, gig economy, contractors, freelancers,

815
00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:15,959
Speaker 3: the thing that surprises and makes that number get big

816
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:20,719
Speaker 3: fast is self employment tax. So self employment tax is

817
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:25,160
Speaker 3: just another word for Social Security and Medicare, the employer

818
00:39:25,239 --> 00:39:28,480
Speaker 3: side and the employee side. So when you have a

819
00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,200
Speaker 3: W two job, your employer pays half of your Social

820
00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:33,560
Speaker 3: Security and Medicare and you pay half of your SOLI

821
00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:36,200
Speaker 3: Security and Medicare. And that's one of the main reasons

822
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,560
Speaker 3: people don't want you to be an employee is because

823
00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:43,319
Speaker 3: you cost more. But self employment tax is not a

824
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:46,920
Speaker 3: progressive tax. So what we describe with the buckets moving

825
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,160
Speaker 3: up the more you earn, the more you pay, is

826
00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:53,000
Speaker 3: a progressive tax. So self employment tax is a flat tax.

827
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:56,759
Speaker 3: You're going to pay fifteen percent. So, for example, if

828
00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,759
Speaker 3: you earned a profit of ten thousand dollars as a

829
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:03,359
Speaker 3: free answer, you don't know any income tax, because that's

830
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:06,440
Speaker 3: all in the zero percent tax bucket. But you owe

831
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:09,360
Speaker 3: about fifteen hundred dollars in self employment tax.

832
00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:12,360
Speaker 2: They'll get you one way or another.

833
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,920
Speaker 3: That's what's only money we're paying to ourselves later. So

834
00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:18,480
Speaker 3: that's what goes in our sohol sacred focus. Sure if

835
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:19,680
Speaker 3: they're social security.

836
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:21,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, believe it when I see it.

837
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:24,719
Speaker 1: Well, Russ, thank you so much for coming on the

838
00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:26,680
Speaker 1: show today. I knew that it was going to be really,

839
00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:28,920
Speaker 1: really insightful, but I'm like blown away with how much

840
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:30,920
Speaker 1: information you just dropped on us. So thank you so

841
00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:34,840
Speaker 1: much for all of that valuable information. And let people

842
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:36,839
Speaker 1: know where they can go find you if they want to.

843
00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:39,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can find us at Brass Taxes dot com.

844
00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:41,560
Speaker 3: If you have any questions, feel free to throw them

845
00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:43,879
Speaker 3: at info Brass Taxes dot com. I would check out

846
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,480
Speaker 3: our podcast. I think the way to lower the anxiety

847
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,799
Speaker 3: and shame and increase the understanding and education is just

848
00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:53,200
Speaker 3: to hear about a lot more people and the way

849
00:40:53,239 --> 00:40:56,120
Speaker 3: they deal with finance and the way they think about finance,

850
00:40:56,520 --> 00:40:59,279
Speaker 3: because a lot of us just think money is the

851
00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:01,720
Speaker 3: way it is, and we don't realize that that feeling

852
00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:04,520
Speaker 3: can change, and that the anxiety we feel about this

853
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,080
Speaker 3: is not just the way money is, it's the way

854
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:10,400
Speaker 3: we're interacting with it. I'd encourage people don't go for

855
00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:15,320
Speaker 3: perfect with any of this stuff. With understanding money, finances, taxes,

856
00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:20,000
Speaker 3: don't go for perfect, focus on better. It's iterative, Like

857
00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:22,880
Speaker 3: people work with us, and within a couple years you

858
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,120
Speaker 3: see some changes start to take hold. But in a

859
00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:27,799
Speaker 3: couple of years they've only done it twice. It's not

860
00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:31,120
Speaker 3: going to be fast changes, but incrementally it starts to

861
00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:34,200
Speaker 3: like have a lower volume in our lives the stress

862
00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:37,040
Speaker 3: about this stuff. But it takes learning about it, and

863
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,320
Speaker 3: it's not rocket science. You just need somebody who cares

864
00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:44,240
Speaker 3: to explain it. And yeah, our FAQ on Brass Taxes

865
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:48,160
Speaker 3: dot com is completely geared around people who want to

866
00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:52,000
Speaker 3: understand this stuff, and especially freelancers and creatives to just

867
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,720
Speaker 3: get answers that you otherwise can't find anywhere because nobody

868
00:41:55,719 --> 00:41:58,640
Speaker 3: really cares to provide it or is not good at communicating.

869
00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:02,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll just say I can confirm so Russ, thank

870
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:03,720
Speaker 2: you so much. It was great to have you here today.

871
00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:05,719
Speaker 2: Good Luck on the rest of tax season for you,

872
00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:09,839
Speaker 2: and hopefully there's a nice Marguerita waiting for you after

873
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:10,960
Speaker 2: April fifteenth.

874
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:12,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really

875
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:13,840
Speaker 3: appreciate you guys doing this stuff.

876
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:22,200
Speaker 2: Our thanks to Russ for not only all of that

877
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:25,439
Speaker 2: incredible information, but also for changing Matt's life.

878
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:27,480
Speaker 1: I think will see, but I think it is going

879
00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:29,879
Speaker 1: to I've already emailed Russ. I'm like, you're my guy.

880
00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:31,080
Speaker 1: The old guy's out.

881
00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:33,520
Speaker 2: What are you mean going to? I was watching you

882
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:36,000
Speaker 2: absorb all of this information. I was like, he's a

883
00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:36,640
Speaker 2: changed man.

884
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:39,320
Speaker 1: Like the W four thing specifically that he talked about.

885
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:41,840
Speaker 1: I haven't even thought about my W four in years,

886
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:44,279
Speaker 1: and the fact that it's probably what's been messing me

887
00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:45,000
Speaker 1: up all this time.

888
00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:47,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's changed your life, and it's changed the life

889
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:50,040
Speaker 2: of the HR department after God, because you're like, hey,

890
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:51,920
Speaker 2: can I get a look at that form again? And

891
00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:53,040
Speaker 2: they're like, who is this guy?

892
00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:54,800
Speaker 1: And I'm going to send this to every iHeart employee

893
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:57,200
Speaker 1: and be like, hey, change you W four do it now?

894
00:42:57,320 --> 00:42:59,360
Speaker 1: So it might have changed everyone's life at this company

895
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:01,480
Speaker 1: at least, and hopefully the life of our listeners.

896
00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:04,319
Speaker 2: Yep, to start in a revolution, one tax form at

897
00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:06,840
Speaker 2: a time, but we hope everyone learned a little or

898
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,239
Speaker 2: a lot of something from Russ and you can check

899
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:12,719
Speaker 2: out Brasstaxes dot com for any other help and questions.

900
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:14,800
Speaker 2: So happy tax season to everyone.

901
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:19,319
Speaker 1: Oh what tax season isn't over just yet? Leah. We

902
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:21,760
Speaker 1: learned so much from us about doing our taxes ourselves,

903
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:24,200
Speaker 1: but I feel like we've only scratched the surface. So

904
00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:28,120
Speaker 1: we'll actually be back later this week with another episode.

905
00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:30,560
Speaker 1: We'll be joined by a turbo tax business expert who

906
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:32,239
Speaker 1: will break down even more of what we need to

907
00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:35,120
Speaker 1: know when it comes to filing taxes for your small business.

908
00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:37,720
Speaker 1: So if you've got a startup or a side hustle

909
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,760
Speaker 1: or another fund small business, this is the one for you.

910
00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:43,719
Speaker 2: Spoiler aler, but that's me, so I am going to

911
00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:46,760
Speaker 2: need that one until then, good luck being a grownup.

912
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,359
Speaker 1: This is a production of Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. Our

913
00:43:51,360 --> 00:43:52,520
Speaker 1: executive producers are.

914
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:55,960
Speaker 2: Lea Palmary and Matt Stillo. This episode was edited and

915
00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:57,400
Speaker 2: engineered by Sierra Spreen.

916
00:43:57,640 --> 00:43:59,680
Speaker 1: We wanted to thank our teammates at Ruby Studio in

917
00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:04,320
Speaker 1: Sarah you, Ethan Fixel, Racisjan Krasnoff, Amber Smith, Deborah Garrett,

918
00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:05,400
Speaker 1: and Andy Kelly