How To Save On Taxes As A Business Owner

Audio Transcription

In this segment of the Thrivetime Show, business coach Clay Clark will be getting into the details of what you need to know to save on your taxes and lay out the action action steps you need to take.

NOTABLE QUOTABLE – “It’s been said over and over that small business owners are the only people on the planet who are willing to work 80 hours so that no boss can make them work 40 hours per week.” – Clay Clark

NOTABLE QUOTABLE – “In life two things are certain, both death and taxes. You really need to view them both as a cost of doing business. The reason why we have nice roads to travel on and why we have the freedom to pursue our goals is because we have a strong government. Throughout my life I am have traveled around the world and whether you are in Belize, Honduras, Canada, Trinidad or Mexico, our country is the envy of the world because we have the freedom to pursue our goals and the safety to want to pursue our goals. Try starting a mobile entertainment service in Cuba. Try starting a photography service in Brazil. Try starting a search engine optimization service in Venezuela and let me know how that goes.” – Clay Clark

Hire a Pro-Active Accountant / Bookkeeper

a. AMPLE EXAMPLE – www.HoodCPAs.com  

Schedule a Regular Recurring Meeting with the Accountant

a. Put this meeting on your calendar and actually block out the time.

Get ready to enter the thrive time show on talk. Radio 1170 conversation is the thrive time show on your radio and today we’re going to answering a lot of questions from thrivers just like you, but the first four segments we’re going to be obsessing upon answering a question that many people have asked us in his how to save taxes as a business owner. So I have some things I’ve written for you and I’d like to share this with you before we get into this topic, and before we talk about our business conferences coming up but before we do that thrive, nation, have you ever noticed that as a business owner that you tend to pay a lot in texas yet happens right? Look at that big check or whatever, and then you better run understand that? That’s not all yours doesn’t bother you does it make you a irritate you with his at the site of large a large tax bill. Is it bother you, you know, i, don’t know all the details of what the federal government’s doing so. Obviously, there’s some issue there where we would like to have accountability, know our tax dollars are being spent well, but i, don’t mind, I mean i, understand the concept of taxes and we need to have roads and bridges, and things like that. So, yes, obviously I’d like to you, know, see some accountability to that and where it’s actually going, but it is a thing right so here is here, is a mild prepared for the listeners out there and. Should I ever catch any errors, and it’s in my spell-checking then then it’ll be happening on the radio stereo in life. Two things are certain, but death and taxes.

You really need to view both of them as a cost of doing business. The only reason why we have nice roads, somebody might be joking yeah. We don’t want to pursue our goals because we have a strong government. Throughout my life, I have traveled around the world and whether you’re in belize, honduras, canada, trinidad or mexico. Our country is the envy of the world, as we have the freedom to pursue our goals and the safety to want to pursue our goals. I want to make sure we get this part. We have the safety to want to pursue our goals. Try starting a mobile entertainment service in cuba. Try starting a photography service in brazil, try starting a search engine, optimization service in venezuela, and let me know how that goes. Why settle? That is because what you were going to find a lot of time is it people complain so much about the taxes, and, let me tell You i’m not excited about paying taxes, I don’t get past about it, but you have to pay them, but you have to and I see so many business owners that are pulling in $100,000 a year for their business of gross revenue and they get their tax bill and they’re frustrated. They have to pay taxes on it, I mean you do part of life, it is hard and you don’t actually get me people say well. The reason why I should have businesses for the tax write-offs doesn’t make any sense right. What are you writing off? If you don’t have them what’s going on? They just make some money and pay your taxes. You know the reason why you should do this is cuz. It’s a good right off yeah he’s able to write off it’s not a thing anymore, that wasn’t that I was looking last night. So, according to the new irs tax code, under the donald trump tax cuts so shut up, I’m sure you’ve heard of we’ve talked to on the show. The donald trump tax cuts have been pushed through the average consumer, the average employee, the average person. If you look at your check, starting in february you’ll, have more of your check unless deducted for taxes. However, did you know that you can no longer write off a trip for business really, so you can’t write off of entertainment, could have said to you:hey, let’s go to flying t tonight in whack, some golf balls and that way we’ll have a good time and they will also talk some business while we’re there about the show. What else is happening in feb? Our business conferences. But now we can’t do that really, maybe we could go, but we couldn’t write off. Half of it we used to build ice age up I just feel the same way and I’ve never done this right. I should have I guess, because it’s good textron up, let’s go to buffalo wild wings in eat some food bdubs, because you are a potential client and that we can write off at least half of that meal, and you can write it off. But now you can’t do that. Okay, so it doesn’t affect my activity at all. I, don’t decide to take clients out to eat or not take him out to eat, based upon the fact that I can write off half of it right, but there are people that operate that way. I would just say that one is you really really don’t i, wouldn’t advise you to fill up your evening doing activities that you wouldn’t normally do, because you can write it off I just wouldn’t encourage you to do so. The taxes. Yes, we just received a massive tax cut, but we also had a massive increase in many areas. So it’s it’s over. All the corporate tax rate cut a lot and the average person’s going to save a lot, but there are increases in certain areas in certain loopholes that were closed, and so my step one. This is my step, one for the thrive who emailed us how to reduce my taxes, how to save taxes as a business owner.

My step one is higher and accounted now. Paul hood with hood cpas is definitely a sponsor. In so I will disclose. Your I mean I want him to do well because he’s a show sponsor, but also full disclosure before he was a show sponsor. He was actually a client and full disclosure before that he was actually a ak, the accountant of choice for many of my friends and clients. So paul hood and I’d recommend paul paul. It is actually been the cpa of choice for colaw fitness for close to a decade. So you talk about you, know ample examples and in who who? Who we should recommend for I would recommend you higher paul hood with hood cpa. That’s who I would personally use if you’re not satisfied that your accountant is, is being proactive about. You been reducing your taxes, but at the end of the day, you’re going to have to pay a lot of taxes, and one thing you don’t wanna step 1 of hiring accounting. Don’t look at this as a one-time event, you got a higher your accountant and then you actually have to put time in your calendar every week, every other week at some point actually meet with it person and talk to them and strategize and find out where your money is going. What your money is doing, cuz I see it all the time with business owners got me to go to count, and then you don’t pay attention to your money for 10 months, and then it’s not a good deal. You don’t you want to be on top of that so hard that account and step one and then actually take time to meet with that person everyday to make sure that you’re not overdrawn, your checkbook right. So you definitely say step. One hire an accountant that step 1, step 2 inch, step, 2 i. Would recommend everybody schedule a regular meat with your account? That’s a powerful thing. You don’t just have an accountant but schedule schedule a regular meeting to meet with the account that you can’t just get just the act of getting an accountant does not make your tax issues going to be like hiring a personal trainer then never gone to the gym. You know to be fat man that was a personal attack. I feel like an all the people out there that have gym memberships and have never gone to do that. Tell right it happens. If you have jennifer shipping, it’s not getting. My apartment is in order when I prove my bench press and then something happens and I never meet with the accountant. I can never work out exactly that’s a freedom of choice, schedule hot business conferences button for me, because I see this whole time chuck set before he realizes what a broaster dom is.

He was being right there, but when you make your money as a self-employed person, you get to see the whole check right. All right, you get to see it. So let me give example:let’s say that I am paying you the listener this week and I pay you because I’m paying you but you’re self-employed person. Now your friend is listening to the show with you there, an employee, okay and you both make $2,000 a week. Can let me just explain this to them that you’re, making good money you’re talking about you’re in the top five to 10% of the food chain, you’re making $100,000 a year and you the listener I’m paying you I’m, paying you right up front, I’m, paying you all of it. Your friend I just take out the taxes first, so you who you the great listener. I know you have self-discipline. Oh I know you do I’ve, given you all $2,000 that actual can’t I wrote you a check for 2000, but just because I’m a crazy guy. This week, I’ve decided to not write you a check. I decided to just give you $2,000 I’m, giving it to you. You have the $2,000 of cash in your hand, I give it to you in a hundred soup, $2,100 bills. You have in your hand. Your friend, though, has a check in on the check. It shows that it did that they’ve had a taxes are taken out since they have like $1,200. They look at your check in like crap. My taxes went up, but you you have the cash all $21 bills, all of it. So you as a self-employed person, have to have the discipline to not go and spend mm the room and they said I’m not here for a paycheck, but I heard, there’s pie. You should really hang out. If you guys are talking about splitting the pie, uncle sam, getting part of the pie and I’m, not sure who uncle sam is and I’m not really sure I were talking about, but I want the pipe and you’re going all right, I’m going to give you the whole pie, so you go upstairs and get yourself a nice pie out of the refrigerator that you had for a while. You’ve got them cheesecake factory, you never really ate it. Yet you got a couple days ago. It’s still fresh, and you said here you go buddy. What percentage of you would not eat? The whole pie I mean what percentage of you would actually take that pie home and not eat the pie. The whole thing I mean honestly. If you you’re single person, you have an entire cheesecake factory pie. What percentage of you would actually entering into the studio? All there is no would actually not eat. The pot thing is a direct attack on me the other day and then I tried calling me out what percentage of people would not eat. The whole pie by a friend of yours gives you an entire pie. What percentage of people would actually eat, though? It would would you, but you have to at least a piece if it sat there for too long, probably can I tell you what my move is.

What’s your move, whenever people give me desserts, I’ve been known and think I’ve seen me do this, but I’ll be driving home from the riverwalk and I will throw the desert item the cake window. Garden is a lot. You know why I try not to eat sugar. The whole freaking thing to do with taxes, everything right, because somebody, if somebody give your self employed and you have the entire check up front you’re-probably going to spend it now you’re saying:don’t throw your check out the window at the riverwalk you’re saying, throw it somewhere where you’re not going to drive a little bit. If you drive past the riverwalk in jenks a little bit further down the road you go get off at the bridge and you had north little bit and you go there to the river spirit casino that most people do that screw one button at a time when you need me to bring anything but here but here’s. My question was how do I minimize my taxes as a business owner and so I’m, giving you these three examples. But one is if you’re somebody who receives all if you make $100,000 and you get all 2000 up front, it’s up to you to deduct your taxes, you’re, probably not going to do it. Yeah I would highly recommend you have an account to draw a bookkeeper that helps you do that to your friend who has their taxes taken out of front? They probably know how much they’re paying in taxes now and so they’re able to accept it. A little more there may be irritated I got you. Do it 30 gonzales the check? It’s not there, but I see this all the time too pricey small business owners refusing to set aside any money for taxes and then, when the year get them about 6 months into the year, 7 months of the year the accountant says:hey your estimated quarterly taxes are x amount or your estimated taxes for the year x amount and usually people have it saved half of their check for the taxes. So you’ve got to hire an accountant. We come back what I spent a little more time answer the question:how to save taxes as a business owner. If you want to learn more about personal accounting and personal finances and how to grow a successful company I would encourage you to book your tickets to our next in person. Drive time show 2 day business conferences workshop, february, 16th and 17th, and you can buy your is today by going to thrive time, show.Com, what’s going to thrive time, show.Com get ready to enter the thrive time show on talk.

Radio 1170 broadcasting live from the center of my universe, it’s business school without the bs featuring optometrist turned entrepreneur, dr. Robert zoellner with us sba entrepreneur of the year clay clark. Oh yes, it makes you look at back to the conversation. Is the drive time show on the radio in for many of you, for many of you, I know, you’re, self-employed and I know that you deal with the the harsh realities of paying taxes and before I get into the question how to save taxes as a business owner I would like to read yet another note. I wrote two of them chapped and I feel very proud of each of them. Can you read the second one to the first one I read it’s kind of weird when you read your own notable quotable. What idea is the idea? Is you want to answer some stuff off the cup right? But if somebody asks a question, I want to make sure that I have thought through the question and answer it with as much clarity as possible, and so we’ve had a lot of questions from people who have asked us about how to save taxes as a business owner and how to start their own business, and so the first one. It’s been said over and over that small business owners are the only people on the planet who are willing to work 80 hours so that no boss can take them work. 40 hours per week, I’ve seen this all the time so I’ve seen this, where you see on top of your smile, live working for the man. When your wife says you are the man, the struggle is real, because I actually really enjoy work. A lot like I enjoy it. I love it I love what I do but I remember working at applebee’s and target and directv I’m rethinking I work all the time, frick frack. You know that i. Could you work on saturday by three jobs in the whole goal was to make as much money as possible quickly. So I can start my own business and i. Remember thinking out member I member was very vividly. The boss would go my boss by the way, we’ll just say he’s very flamboyant needs to say so quiet time, I just want to see. Is it possible if you could work on the friday shift, because we need somebody applebee’s who can work on the friday we needed somebody who is just as so hungry for hours and i, just I thought of you and I’m like that swag I’m ever going? Okay, you thought of me because I told you we shorten this conversation, yes I’ll be there, but then on saturday. They did call you. You know, i, don’t have a say this, but somebody called in sick and I know. This is your day off and I heard you had a dj show tonight, but if you can work the noon shift like cuz, we openly applebee’s utopia like at 10:10 to 2. Is there any way you can work that shift 2 and then so I guess I’ll, be there smelling like I what I wore yesterday? I have to wear the same thing twice, because it’s it’s only been like why I left my shift at like midnight or 11, and you know it back to work and I smell like I did yesterday, because I had to wear the same shirt, you know, I don’t smoke and we don’t let people who smoke, smoke in our business conferences.

I smoke french fries, my boss, who is my boss, who’s, asked me with no notice at all the cover the next shift. He says. Oh, my gosh, you just got the same shirt you wore yesterday. It is, it is absolutely tragic. Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh, this is sick. Remember thinking like one! You asked me to fill in last minute. It’s your lack of planning is cause this again, but I can’t say anything because you’re my boss-and it just becomes that i, don’t know and I believe all had a good boss or a bad boss. A lot of people here, working twice as much you’re working 80 hours, not 40, so real deal and now you’re getting your check. So you are a contractor. What’s that you install cabinets alright to install cabinets in the customer, pays you $10,000 to finish a cabinet job after supplies, after paying for the actual supplies, you have a total profit of $3,000 she’s been 7,000 on materials and labor. You have 3,000 left chop. You don’t actually get to keep all three thousand the right. That’s right! Do you. See a lot of small business owners that get that part wrong, especially when you’re growing your business, because there’s always that next tool that next vehicle that net upgraded. There’s always so much play this on here. So you now or the cabinet guy building cabinets, and you have driven bottle my finger still that’s a good thing:you’re, a good carpenter until you’ve, driven by your at a about your memorial, we’re all the car dealerships are your kind of 169 and memorial, and you drive by southpoint, and you see a new more talk about a new f. What’s what’s makes at 3:50 is what is f 750, there’s a big boys out there. You know, there’s a lack of knowledge. You just you’re feeling fine you’re listening to you know and I’m proud to be an american where at least I know I’m, free and i. Won’t forget you look to your right and I’ll proudly stand up and you look you’re right and you see and buy that truck excalibur.

You see x-caliber and you got the cash baby mm down today. You could buy that truck for 6 months and you go well by god I’ll, tell you what I’ve been working all weekend been been doing, what I have to do? I’ve been working 80 hours a week, I deserve it. I’ve just heard some a great country, music and i. Don’t know why don’t know how the tax situation worse by miranda off and I’ll take her heard that vehicles over 2,000 pounds or something cuz I’m able to write it off. Cuz I want you get a bigger when I heard some guy cd I heard some clark howard order, something someone save you. If you buy a big old vehicle, you can write it off and I saw a guy with a hummer one time, and I knew he’s right that often all the politicians are right. It often did you go ahead and buy it with your knowledge of how taxation works and your supercharged political world use in your country, music and your kenny chesney cd that you still have in the old truck, because you are listening to I got friends in low, and so you go ahead and you you buy that truck. You can write off the whole truck, and so now he comes time for your estimated quarterly taxes and your accountant says:hey homeskillet, hey I know you skip the first three quarters of the year on your taxes holding so now you brought in a total of $100,000 of gross profit. You paid yourself so I need you to write me to check today for $30,034 30. Yes, like 3, 0,, 0 0 and that’s the whole issue, the one you got to hire an accountant to you got to schedule a regular ongoing meeting chat. We got to schedule a regular recurring meeting with the again. That’s the one time eating right for recurring. I recommend you meet with your account every every quarter. Every quarter does the tax laws change all the time now, chuck I’m sure that all the people listen to today show. They know everything everything in it go by the counting. Therefore they don’t need to meet with her account is on a regular basis. But if you, if you are still have you snuck onto our show today-and you have somehow you’re not a regular listener cuz, you know that all of our regular all of our regular lesson, pan up in taxes are in the know, so they don’t need any help with your tax planning. But if you do need help with your tax planning and retirement planning as a self-employed person and cpas., that’s hood, cpas. Calm and not reactive, about your accounting. Now, if you want to learn more about basic bookkeeping sales, marketing search engine, I know you do buy your ticket tour next in person business conferences workshop by going to thrive time, show.Com buy your tickets today thrivetime show