Dr. Friday Radio Show – November 16, 2024

The Dr. Friday Radio Show
The Dr. Friday Radio Show
Dr. Friday Radio Show - November 16, 2024
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Welcome to the Dr. Friday Show from November 16, 2024! Dr. Friday, an enrolled agent and tax consultant, dives into timely financial tips and tax strategies to help you navigate the end-of-year tax planning season. Whether you’re preparing for changes in tax law, exploring charitable giving options, or tackling IRS debt, Dr. Friday has you covered.

Topics Covered

  • End-of-Year Tax Planning:
    • Review tax situations before year’s end to make smart financial decisions.
    • Consider Roth conversions, stock sales, and tax estimates.
  • Accelerated Depreciation:
    • Current depreciation rate is 60% for 2024, impacting major asset purchases.
  • Charitable Contributions & Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs):
    • Maximize giving while lowering taxable income through QCDs.
    • Understand standard deduction limits for single and married taxpayers.
  • Estate Planning & Trusts:
    • Importance of wills and trusts to avoid probate and protect assets.
    • Planning for special needs or addiction issues within families.
  • IRS Debt Solutions:
    • Options include non-collectible status, payment plans, and offers in compromise.
    • Bankruptcy as a potential last-resort strategy.
  • Business Owners Information Act (BOI):
    • New filing requirements for 2024 to avoid steep penalties.
  • Maximizing Standard Deductions:
    • Sales tax, property tax, and mortgage interest strategies.
  • Unique Holiday Gifting Idea:
    • Highlighting Lolita Roasters’ custom coffee blends for client gifts.

Transcript

00:00-00:07
No, no, no. She’s not a medical doctor, but she can sure cure your tax problems or your financial woes.
00:08-00:11
She’s the how-to girl. It’s the Dr. Friday Show.
00:14-00:22
If you have a question for Dr. Friday, call her now. 737-WWTN. That’s 737-9986.
00:23-00:27
So here’s your host, financial counselor and tax consultant, Dr. Friday.
00:27-00:34
G’day, I’m Dr. Friday and the doctor is in the house.
00:35-00:40
And we’re going to be here talking for the next hour about my favorite subject, which is taxes.
00:41-00:56
And seeing if there’s anything new we need to be covering as far as at the moment, nothing has obviously changed due to the president coming into the White House or will be coming in in January.
00:56-01:12
That’s not going to change anything at this moment. So we’re just waiting to see what will come if you’ll extend the current tax changes. But at the moment, what we’re looking at is just what we know, which means the current tax laws will change at the end of 2025.
01:12-01:32
This year, right now, accelerated depreciation is at 60%, which is important to know because at 60% means if you go buy, and a lot of people like to go buy new trucks or buy a new dozer or a piece of equipment, and you’re looking at being able to write the entire thing off, you will not be able to do this.
01:32-01:36
You couldn’t do it last year, but it’s also less this year than what you had.
01:36-01:41
So we’ll be one of those deals where you’re like, OK, got it. No big deal.
01:41-01:47
But I just want to make sure that we’re all on the same page and that we’re able to make sure we’re estimating our taxes.
01:47-01:57
Now is the time to have those conversations. Right. Because we don’t have anything that we can count on other than what we know.
01:57-02:00
And if we want to make a change, met with a couple the other day.
02:00-02:08
And the biggest reason you have someone that helps you with taxes, or one of the biggest, one is to make sure the information is correct going to the IRS.
02:08-02:18
But the other part is to make sure you have someone that you can bounce ideas off of and make sure that you’re actually getting some sort of service that helps you figure out your taxes.
02:18-02:24
Now, it’s not always going to save you tax dollars. Sometimes it’s really about how much am I going to owe at the end of the year.
02:24-02:33
So that way, when taxes are being done in the midst of the crazy time, you know, you don’t want to be trying to figure out a lot of other tax situations at that time.
02:33-02:41
You really would rather be able to, you know, figure out, OK, now, October, November, December, am I going to do a conversion?
02:41-02:45
How’s that conversion going to affect changes in the stock market now?
02:45-02:48
Am I going to be selling off some stocks?
02:48-02:54
So is my financial planner or am I going to be doing a rebalancing so that we have something on that side of things?
02:55-02:56
Never know, right?
02:56-03:05
It’s just one of those deals where you’re just working your way through the system trying to figure out what we have and what we need to do with making all of that make sense.
03:05-03:09
So it’s up to you to try to figure out what’s going to be best for you.
03:09-03:10
And everyone’s taxes are different.
03:10-03:16
So even on the show, I can’t just say, well, everyone needs to go do this or everyone needs to go do that.
03:16-03:22
There’s no such thing in tax law that everybody is going to have the exact same tax effect on something.
03:22-03:32
So it’s important to you to be able to take a look at your information, figure out what you have going and then be able to maximize whatever you may have.
03:32-03:37
It’s possible that you’ve had a drop in income or you’ve had an influx of income.
03:38-03:42
Maybe you’ve inherited something. Maybe you’ve had a change that’s going to come into effect.
03:42-03:56
then you just need to make sure that you’re looking at to the best of our ability. Because again, maybe you’ve changed jobs, and maybe you normally get a bigger bonus, or maybe you’ve gotten a large bonus this year. And you’re like, Oh, I paid a ton of taxes, so I should be fine.
03:57-05:14
But that’s not always the case. Because sometimes those bonuses kick you actually into a higher tax bracket. And if that’s the case, then you end up with that kind of situation where you’re actually looking more at one of those scenarios that you have to deal with and make sure that you have, you know, enough money paid in because last thing you want to go do is go spend that budget, or that, that increase of income, that bonus, and then find out that you did not pay enough money in. And I will tell you, being on the other side, having to tell a client, yes, but I took and put all that money in, why didn’t they take enough out? And then sometimes people think if they take money out for like a 1099R or a retirement pension, something along those lines, they sit there and they’re like, well, I paid the taxes, but they don’t realize that’s just an estimated payment, right? So when it comes time to filing your taxes, that’s when you’re going to go and put those on your taxes and see if you actually estimated it properly. So everything always ends up back on your taxes. Very important to understand because if it’s not on your taxes, you’re going to get a sweet little love letter from the IRS and it’s going to turn around and they’re going to say something like, you know, we’ve changed or we’re suggesting a change, whatever on your tax return.
05:15-05:17
Here’s what we’re thinking about.
05:17-05:25
And normally that’s because people have forgotten to report stock before, you know, something that’s changed normally, you know, inheritance, whatever.
05:25-05:29
And it is taxable and sometimes tax dollars have come out.
05:29-05:31
So it’s not such a big deal.
05:31-05:46
But if that dollar amount that came out wasn’t high enough to offset the tax, then, you know, you’re in trouble. Or if when you filed your taxes, you have a bigger refund than you may have expected because you had more money come out of something.
05:46-05:55
And then you turn around and find out that it’s not really going to be one of those situations where you can actually really do a good job in estimating your information.
05:55-06:01
So just, you know, taking time and doing that as far as what we have going on and where we’re at.
06:02-06:08
So if you want to join the show, you can. I’m trying to get the stream open. Sorry, I’ve had a little technical issue.
06:08-08:02
nothing to do with my engineer. This is all Friday’s fault. But if you want to join the show, you can at 615-737-9986, 615-737-9986. As soon as my stream thing comes up, I will be more than glad to get you guys into the show. Meanwhile, we’re going to keep moving forward talking about, right now is also the time to be thinking about contributions, right? A lot of times people come up and deal with things that we have on that. And so contributions will be one of those things that we need to be able to document. And if you are looking to give a large dollar amount and you are over or 70 or older, I guess it’s 70 and a half and older, but there is what’s called required minimum distributions. And I know some of you will say, but wait, that was moved up to 73. And that is correct. You are not required to do required minimum distributions till the age of 73 at this point. But if you are 70 and a half and older, you can take RMDs and do what’s called a QCD. And I know RMD, QCD require minimum distributions. You can also do a qualified charitable deduction at the age of 70 and a half out of your IRAs or those versions of those. So yes, you want to consider the fact that you might want to, it’s almost like a dollar for dollar, right? When you’re doing a qualified charitable, and some of you guys actually deal with your parents as well, and they may be of the age, or maybe they’ve been taking a requirement on distributions. And it’s Just very simply put, if you are of the age where you can do a qualified charitable deduction out of your IRA, most of my clients, many of my clients are very giving.
08:02-08:12
And so they basically, their theory or their answer to most of this stuff is they basically take the money, they put it in their bank, then they write a check to their charity.
08:12-08:14
Well, think of it as someone else writing the check.
08:15-08:16
They’re still going to most likely give it to you.
08:17-08:21
You’re going to then mail it or hand it off to the church doing whatever you do, right?
08:22-08:32
And then you get to completely take that off, not itemizing, which is something that most of us have a difficult time nowadays with the higher standard deductions.
08:32-08:33
Itemizing is very difficult.
08:34-08:46
But if you are in that window where you qualify for qualified charitable deduction, that money immediately goes back to or basically goes and reduces your income dollar for dollar.
08:46-08:53
So if you gave $10,000 to your church out of a QCD, you’re going to reduce your income by $10,000.
08:54-09:02
It’s so much better than when you try to put the money in your bank, then you write a check to the organization.
09:02-09:04
Now you have to meet itemizing.
09:05-09:11
And if you are a single person, you still have to have like $17,000 to make it worth it.
09:11-09:18
Or if you’re married people and you’re in that same age group, married couple, both of you over the age of 65, it’s like $31,000 or $32,000.
09:19-09:27
So it’s a lot where you don’t have to do quite so much if you are using the qualified charitable deduction.
09:28-09:35
So, again, if you are dealing with your parents or if you’re dealing with your own, depending on what the situation is.
09:35-09:38
And, again, you do need to talk to your financial planner.
09:38-09:46
It has to be coming from an IRA or from a 401k, a SEP, any of those devices.
09:46-09:49
And they actually write the checks to the organization.
09:49-09:55
So I suggest usually doing, sometimes it’s harder, but sometimes, you know, either quarterly, annually, just have one check.
09:55-12:35
If it’s anything like my church, we basically say, I’m going to tie this much money that they don’t care if it comes in one big lump sum, or if it comes over a period of time, no big deal, just as long as it basically comes in. So if you can have it sent in, then you’ve done your, what you feel is your charitable deduction, and we get to take the tax deduction. And it’s just so much easier than when you have to deal with the other side of it, where there is nothing, you know, really happening on if that same $10,000 would not be deductible, if you were single or married, and that’s all you had, because you wouldn’t be itemizing. So the standard deduction would still be in play. This way you get the standard deduction and you get the money that goes into the charity. So again, it is a wonderful, and I still feel, I mean, every year I talk about this a lot of times with all of my clients, many of them, of course, after the years we’ve done it, but you know, sometimes people are just like, well, I don’t, you know, I like giving the check and all of that, but it’s not so much, it’s not that hard, you know what I’m saying. So it’s really just a matter of working it out in your head so that you have one check or two checks that you give a year to this organization set every week when you go into church or do your tithing. So again, really just changing your mindset and it can save you tax dollars. And in some cases you could be giving almost 10% more or more of that depending on your tax bracket to this organization, because now you’re not paying tax on it. It’s completely washing. So that’s another really neat little trick that can be done on that kind of situation as well. So just really trying to make sure that you have the best way of putting money out, because I know a lot of people look at itemizing as if it was something we always did. And we did, because it was only 6,000 or 12,000 single or married back in those days. And now you have to be at 15, 16,000 or 30 or 30, you know, whatever thousand. So I think it’s 29 first people under the age of 65 and it’s like 32 or something if you’re over. So it is much harder for a couple to itemize than it was when we could, but why not maximize the QCD or the qualified charitable deduction? And at the same time, you still get your standard deduction. And if you have other smaller charities, you know, maybe you won’t get the tax deduction on it, but you can still do those. It’s usually the larger ones where you can actually really maximize what you have going on then where you’re at. All right, we’re going to take our first break and hope that my computer actually reboots here at some point. If you want to join the show, you can 615-737-9986.
12:35-13:32
We’ll be right back with the Dr. Friday show. All right, we are back here live in studio and I am live so I can see the board and everything. Great. It doesn’t help that my computer was having some fun always when you want to do this. Okay. So if you want to join the show, if you’ve got a question, maybe you’ve inherited something, maybe you’re thinking about selling something or, you know, maybe you’ve had some change of jobs and we want to talk about possibility of your W-4 being correct or not. The phone number here in the studio, 615-737-9986, 615-737-9986. I know we’re getting close to the Thanksgiving holiday, which means we’re really only going to have about 30 days, you know, to really do anything, if you’re, you know, you, you really do need to go talk to your financial planner, because that’s usually the ones that will help you make some of those decisions.
13:32-13:52
If it’s just a matter of, you know, taxes, that’s a different conversation. But if, you know, if you’re thinking about doing, especially a lot of my clients think about conversions, a lot of times you want to get your IRS out of your financials. And if you’re trying to do that, You know, you only have about 30 days to actually make that work.
13:52-13:58
So you really do need to consider talking to them and making that appointment.
13:59-14:06
And then if you have a tax person, sometimes including them in on some of the decisions you’re making is a smart idea.
14:06-14:10
I’m always surprised or often surprised. I mean, don’t get me wrong.
14:10-14:16
I realize that many financial advisors or financial planners have software that they can put in the tax information.
14:16-14:40
but sometimes they don’t understand how the tax code works. So when that comes up, you end up with a situation where I know there was one where they called their tax person and they had an NOL or net loss carry forward. And they were thinking that they could do this conversion and everything and it’d be tax free. But what they had forgotten about was AMT tax or alternative minimum tax.
14:40-16:53
that does kick in sometimes when we have these situations. So if your income’s at a certain point, the whole point of that conversation is that the IRS is basically saying, especially AMT tax, alternative minimum tax, they say it’s there to help level the playing field for the people that may be able to make their money through capital gains or other sources, not just wages. And so they actually tax those people a little higher if you hit certain thresholds. And in this case, with the conversion that she was doing, thinking she could wash out her NOL with this conversion and she wouldn’t have to pay any tax and she had already had all these losses. And it turned back that she actually had AMT tax that was going to owe several thousand dollars that she had not counted on. And so again, sometimes just making sure that they understand how all the tax law works is going to be a way for you to be able to move forward and make sure you’re getting the best tax advice when it comes to doing it. So if you want to join the show, 615-737-9986, 615-737-9986 is the number here in the studio, taking your calls. And again, I do know that life happens and sometimes we lose loved ones. And at that point, we now have estates or we have trust or wills. And I don’t sell any of those products just so people know, but I am a huge advocate for trust, doing a trust. A lot of times I think people think, well, they’re expensive, right? I thought, why am I paying? But if you pass away and you don’t have a trust, I mean, at least have a will no matter what, right? Because I have a client that did just pass away and did not have a will. Now they didn’t have a lot, but without a will, the money doesn’t go to the people you might think it would. Like you, you know, this particular person, they thought all the money would go to their spouse because they were married. And so if something happened to him, he thought she would get it all. And then from there, everything would go, you know, once she passed away, everything to their children. No, that doesn’t happen. If you don’t have, if you have a well, if you do not have a well, the state of Tennessee has a plan for you.
16:53-18:06
And that plan will be where a percentage goes to you and to your spouse and the rest of it will go to your children even before. So what you may have thought would have been money available to your spouse is now in your children’s hands because of the way the tax law works. And gosh forbid, if you have more than one family, right, married, divorced, his, hers, yours, all that kind of thing, you really do need to make sure first thing, at least the will. Because I mean, I think it’s so funny that many of my clients to this day, I mean, I’ll usually bring it up during tax season, you know, or just part of the conversation or whatever. And many of them are like, yeah, yeah, we’ve been meaning to do this, but you know, none of us are getting any younger and no one knows when that last day will be. And then the plan that’s going to happen, if you don’t provide a plan through either a well trust, then, you know, like I said, the government will have it. And then there’s going to be attorneys and cost. So with a trust, you pay for most of that upfront, because in most cases, you don’t have to really deal with probate. You probate the poor over well, The poor of the world is pretty straightforward. And then, you know, there’s really whoever your executor or executrix would be, they would handle all that.
18:06-18:12
You wouldn’t have to have an attorney necessarily involved unless it’s a very, very large estate.
18:12-18:15
But otherwise, you wouldn’t have to have an attorney involved to do it.
18:15-18:21
So the cost would be less because you’ve already set up all this before you pass the way.
18:21-18:34
And, you know, especially if there are, I can’t tell you a number of estates that we’ve been dealing with where one or two, especially one, but in one case, two of the children are addicts.
18:34-18:48
They have, you know, the parents knew they had this particular problem. So they set up these trusts to be able to protect their children from, you know, gosh forbid, you know, you get this big, huge chunk of money.
18:48-19:02
And they would basically kill themselves because the drugs or whatever, or they would basically spend it all and if they didn’t pass away, they would have nothing left in a month or two because of how much money they would just, you know, throw it away.
19:02-19:19
And so there is ways of protecting if you’ve got a child, in essence, with special needs. My niece, we have a special needs trust for her. And it’s the same with children that are not yet or maybe have other physical or addictive measures.
19:19-19:25
So keep in mind, because if you don’t, then again, the plan will be they will get all the money.
19:26-19:27
They will go do what they’re going to do.
19:27-19:32
And some people may not worry too much about that because maybe that’s, you know, you’re not here anymore.
19:32-19:34
So it’s not really your problem.
19:34-19:41
But I will tell you, it is and can be quite the burden for the people that are helping to handle the estates.
19:42-19:44
Because that’s the ones I get to see, right?
19:44-22:26
and we’re dealing with estate taxes, but often they’re talking about how they’re trying to figure out best ways to protect these nieces, nephews, children, whatever, from themselves, because, you know, there wasn’t something set up prior, so now you’re looking at somebody that could inherit two, three hundred thousand dollars, and if you are a person with an addiction of some sort, you know, be it any type of addiction, that is just basically volunteering the faith that that’s going to pretty much go down the tubes, if nothing else. But there are ways of protecting those people. And so that’s what I’m saying. So now’s the time to think about what you would want done, if you, because while you’re alive, you’re probably doing it, you’re already probably helping, protecting, maybe even assisting these children or nieces and nephews through this. But if something were to happen to you, how would you approach this? And so again, I am not an attorney. I am not a person that’s selling, but I do know on my side of the desk where I sit, it always goes smoother when people have already thought these things out. So I’m suggesting you go to an attorney, you got Jack McCann, Russ Cook, both awesome attorneys that I’ve worked with for goodness, 20, 30 years. But if you have one locally, just talk to one that is good with estate planning and see what you need to do to protect not only your assets after you have gone, but also to protect your own beneficiaries from these things, because it’s, you know, it’s pretty straightforward what you have. And some people may only have a house and maybe a 401k. So maybe a trust isn’t necessary. But making sure you have what’s called POD, at least on your stock portfolios and your 401ks, all of those kinds of things, you really do need to make sure you have all of that correct and make sure you’ve updated them. Statistically, I know, I think it was Russ Cook or someone that came on one time, and he was basically saying that the biggest mistake people do is they forget to update their beneficiary. So when you set it up, you know, 10 years ago, you may have had a sibling or a spouse or something, but if that person is no longer able or willing to be the executrix. You might want to have another person in line and another. Having two to three people that are able to step up is huge when you’re doing this kind of thing. So, you know, at the end of the year, one of the biggest things we’re getting close to is New Year’s and one of the big resolutions is usually trying to get ourselves back on track.
22:26-23:59
So this may be one of those things you want to think about. And I want to share again about Lolita Roasters. They are hopping. This is a service where if you are in real estate or if you’re like me, an accountant or maybe attorneys, maybe you have clients that you want to be able to give them something that is completely different than you’ve ever done before. Lolita Roasters is where you need to go. They custom design coffee that you will have in this really cool box, a little thank you card, a bag of coffee. And it’s going to be based on your business. Again, they’ve roasted one of mine. I’m Australian. Obviously, I like dark roast. So they’re using this wonderful blend that’s going to be so unique because for one, you don’t really think about Australia and coffee, more of wine country as far as I’m concerned. But it is a really great dark roast that’s going to be available for my clients that I’ll be giving out to some of my bigger customers and clients. And if you’ve got something like that, just Google Lolita Roasters. Let them know Dr. Friday sent you. But more importantly, get a cost because you’re going to find out that this is actually cheaper than some of the things you’ve already done. And it’s one of a kind. How often do we get that? Normally, we just get to put our little name on something. And it’s like, okay, well, here, this is what we’re doing this year, cookies, or we’ve done chocolate covered strawberries one time. And we’ve, you know, done all the different things. But this is so unique, because it’s going to not only be something I love, which is coffee.
23:59-24:06
Well, and many of my coffee lovers are my clients as well, but also that it’s a blend that they can’t just go buy somewhere else.
24:06-24:10
This is my blend and it’s something that’s going to be unique to Dr. Friday.
24:11-24:16
So again, lolitaroasters.com if you have a business that you’re looking for something unique.
24:17-24:18
All right, we’re going to take another break.
24:18-24:21
When we get back, we can get to some of your emails as well.
24:21-24:25
If you want to join the show, we are live 615-737-9986.
24:25-24:26
We’ll be right back.
24:32-24:33
All right.
24:33-24:38
We are back live here in studio on this absolutely gorgeous Saturday.
24:39-24:45
The weather is nice and I have already started, guys, pulling out my Christmas for outside.
24:45-24:48
I am one of those crazy people that likes to light up the sky.
24:48-24:52
So it will take me a few weeks to get it all put up.
24:52-24:53
But it is so much fun.
24:53-24:54
It’s so much more exciting.
24:55-24:56
It’s dark so easy out here.
24:56-24:59
So in the country, we kind of like to have everything lit up anyway.
24:59-25:04
So anyways, hopefully you guys are getting ready for your big Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
25:04-25:10
But while you’re thinking about that, we also have to consider taxes, guys, because they never really go away.
25:11-25:17
We just have to consider what is the next steps that we have to move forward to and what we need to be doing to make it work.
25:17-25:24
So if you’ve got questions, you can join us live 615-737-9986.
25:24-26:31
615-737-9986. It will take your calls live here in studio. But meanwhile, we can talk about a few of the other things we were talking about. Obviously, we’ve covered a little bit of some of the tax situations that I have thought about. But we also have a couple of people asking again about how they can maximize their standard deductions. And again, I know a lot of people put a lot of effort. So there is still the sales tax in Tennessee. So if you are an individual that’s close to itemizing, we call it the SALT tax. But sales tax and property taxes are usually the two that fall in there. Now, it cannot exceed $10,000. So your property tax and your sales tax cannot exceed $10,000. But again, if you’re close to that, and then of course, you will have your mortgage interest, which that we have zero control over. I mean, if you’ve already got a mortgage, you’re paying the interest. It is what it is. And it’s reported to if you pay off your house faster.
26:31-31:01
I’ve had a couple of people ask me, well, if I pay my house down quicker, is it going to help me tax wise? Well, if you’re itemizing right now, it will not help you to pay it off. But that being said, I’m a firm believer that debt is not a good tax deduction. Meaning if I’m in the 20% tax bracket, I have to spend $10,000 to save $2,000 out of my pocket, I think it’d be better for you to spend to pay the taxes of two and keep the eight in your pocket. So if you are holding on to somehow debt to reduce your taxes, it’s never a win win situation, even if you’re in the highest tax bracket, I mean, you still have 37%, you know, going out, and you’d have to spend 100. So, you know, I’m just saying every $10,000, maybe you’d save $3,700, still have to spend the 10,000 to save 3,700. You still have a lot of extra money there that you rather pay the tax of 3,700 and keep the rest of it in your pocket. So when you’re looking at your tax situation, and you’re thinking, is it better for me to do this or that? Well, for one with standard deductions, again, many people have small mortgages or a few dollars that they’re paying out in mortgage interest, but they’re not itemizing. So now your house is not really saving you money. So paying off the loan would have a zero tax effect. It may be that your interest rate is only two and a half or 3%. And if you’re taking money out of an investment that is earning four or five or 6%, I would never suggest taking money out of an investment that’s growing at six and I’m only having to pay two and a half or three. I’m making money on someone else’s money. So again, you need to look at the big picture before you just say, hey, because that’s really one of the big things. I have people that come in and they want to cash out a portion of their retirement account because they just want to get rid of their mortgage. They want to have their house debt free. And it sounds maybe good on paper. I don’t really know. It doesn’t sound good to me normally because in the last few years, most people refinance their houses and they ended up with very low mortgage. Right now, interest rates I know have come down, but for a while, people were making five and 6% just on interest, not even talking about if you had vested it into a decent portfolio. I’m sure your financial guy’s going to tell you. I mean, normally financial guys can average some years you’ll do 12% some year you two but average between five and six minimum in safe investment. So it doesn’t make sense to me for you to pay off a house that’s at 3% interest and not to make 6% because you’re actually making 3% on someone else’s money in essence, because if you paid off the house, you wouldn’t have that money and you wouldn’t be making the 3%. And the house is not going to appreciate most likely that fast. We’ve hit our big numbers. I I think here we have a decent inventory in real estate, buying real estate and managing it. So I think your better bet is to diversify. I mean, heck, you’re talking to a person that does enjoy buying or having rental properties. Not everybody is into that kind of thing, but I do personally, I do enjoy that kind of thing. So if it’s something that you’re into, I don’t think it’s a big problem, but I’m sure your financial planner is probably not going to be extremely happy about it. But, you know, diversification is the heart of everything. So if you’re into real estate, it’s probably one of those deals where you can take a little from here and still invest into your 401k or maybe your 401k. I’ve had a couple of people come in and like, my 401k is pretty much maxed. I mean, they feel it’s, there’s enough in there. I don’t know with inflation and what we’re dealing with if it is, but that’s not my expertise, guys. My expertise is when you decide you’re all take the money out, how can we do that without paying much in taxes? So again, talking about different things, if you want to join the show, if you have a question, maybe concerning taxes or something that’s coming up in your next, maybe if they give conversions or anything like that, you can call the show 615-737-9986. 615-737-9986 is our number here in the studio.
31:02-31:39
I do want to bring up also the BOI or what we call business owners information. I’ve had a couple of people in the last week asked me about it. And I think it’s funny because I’ve been trying, but obviously they may not be listening every Saturday. So I want to make sure I bring it out there. Business owner information is something that passed last year in January, and they’ve given us the entire year to basically file. Now, this information is through FinCEN, F-I-N-C-E-N. You can Google it, probably the easiest way to get to the proper website.
31:41-31:46
And then you’ll be able to file. You do have to have a copy of your driver’s license.
31:46-31:55
All partners, all the partners driver’s license, as well as the information on the business itself, a percentage of ownership, all of that.
31:55-32:02
And it’s free to file. It is something that if you need help with, you can call our office.
32:02-32:08
But all in all, it’s something that needs to be approached and taken care of pretty soon because you only have till December 31st.
32:08-32:34
And then if you do not do it, and this is for companies that were in existence prior to 2024. So if you were in existence prior to 2024, you had until December 31st. If you were just open in 2024, you basically had to do it within 30 or 60 or 90 days. Almost anyone that now is setting up companies are actually doing the BOI at the same time.
32:34-32:45
But you do need to make sure you’re filing because they’re saying the penalty is $500 a day for failure to do a BOI, a Business Owners Information Act.
32:45-32:55
The reason behind this, guys, is they’re trying to find or figure out how many foreign people are involved in these companies and if they are paying taxes.
32:55-33:09
This is what FinCEN does. That’s where they’re asking us for this information, trying to make sure that the people that we’re showing as partners are actually truly the partners and that it’s, you know, doing what it needs to be done.
33:10-33:22
So it really does come down to understanding why it’s not something, it’s not an option. It is not something it’s like, well, if I don’t want to do this, you know, personally, I don’t think it’s an option.
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They’re saying that the penalty will be $500 a day.
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It doesn’t seem like an option to me if we don’t do it.
33:28-33:43
So it’s one of those things that you need to make sure that is being done because at this point, we don’t have any information on is this something that the penalty will be waived because of whatever, you know, didn’t know you did it late.
33:43-33:44
I don’t know, guys.
33:44-33:51
And I really prefer with my clients, at least if we don’t even have to address that, you know, we have enough issues dealing with penalties.
33:51-34:00
And who knows what kind of answering system they’ll have there, because to be quite honest, we have enough troubles trying to get people at the IRS to answer the phone.
34:00-34:07
So this is a smaller firm or smaller organization within the government. So I can’t even imagine what that’s going to be.
34:07-34:11
So let’s just try to make sure. So if you haven’t heard about it, now you have.
34:11-34:20
This is for anybody that has a business registered with the state of Tennessee. So it doesn’t apply to sole proprietors.
34:20-34:36
Is anyone that has a business, so single member LLCs, partnerships, corporations, all of them are basically, there are a few exclusions within those numbers, mostly people that are probably already pre-licensed, but better to be safe than sorry.
34:36-34:44
So if you don’t know, you might want to go ahead and just double check that information and see what you can do to comply with it.
34:44-35:00
So if you need help, again, you can call our office, but also you can go right on to fincen.gov, I believe it is, but just Google FinCEN or BOI information and you can make sure you’re not using one of those sites.
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There’s a lot of companies out there trying to bill you for it.
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You know, really, it isn’t something that’s going to be that complicated.
35:07-35:11
It just depends on the number of partners that you have and how often they will need to be.
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You know, it’s only a one time.
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My understanding is a one time situation.
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Unless you change partners or have something else that has changed, you won’t have to worry about it.
35:20-35:24
So it’s just a matter of letting it, you know, doing it this one time.
35:24-35:27
All right. We’re going to get ready to take our last break and then we’ll come back.
35:27-35:38
And if you do have any questions, you can join the show at 615-737-9986, 615-737-9986.
35:38-35:48
Again, I’m an enrolled agent licensed by the Internal Revenue Service to do taxes and representation, which basically means that’s all I do, guys, is taxes and representation.
35:48-35:53
So if you’re looking for someone that can help you with tax issues, maybe you’re getting love letters.
35:53-35:56
Maybe you’re trying to get yourself squared away and you’re not too sure where to start.
35:57-36:04
even if you haven’t filed for a number of years, we can help you with all of that. It’s not, it’s not that complicated. We really can help you and get you back on track.
36:04-36:07
So again, we’ll be right back with the Dr. Friday show.
36:07-37:50
so if you have a question you can join the show 615-737-9986 615-737-9986 is the number here in studio so you can join us and we can hopefully answer any of your questions meanwhile we’re going to keep going with the mailbag just making sure that we’re trying to at least get some of the questions answered again i know it’s a close to the holidays here a little quiet on this saturday but um totally can relate i think there’s also a tennessee game going on so you know how that is so if you have questions again 615-737-9986 so we’ve talked a little bit about the different services that we have. And again, if you have, maybe you’ve received something or you’re just not sure if it’s going to be taxable, make sure even when it’s a court case, a lot of times we’ve had a couple cases that’s come across and people were being thought that they’re only being paid for damages, you know, basically pain and suffering. And part of the income they received was actually for loss of wages. If you get loss of wages, that is a taxable situation. Pain and suffering is not So sometimes when you’re settling these court cases, part of the money could be taxable, part of the money could not be. So again, reviewing some of the things that’s coming through my email bag, that was a question, and you would have to have someone review the court or the settlement documents to make sure that you have set aside enough.
37:50-38:04
And I actually had a situation a couple of years ago where a gentleman had had a really bad accident. Meanwhile, he had he had owed the IRS. We were working on an offer and compromise actually did an offer and compromise.
38:04-38:22
And within that five years, he had received a settlement from this accident. And of course, then the offer and compromise did get, he had to pay it off because he had received this money. So sometimes those kinds of things can come back into play.
38:22-41:02
very important to make sure that you have you know all of your documents and then you know same thing can happen if you inherit something after you’ve done a bankruptcy same thing if if you’ve done bankruptcy and the next year you inherit or you know win the lottery my understanding is that they can overturn that because you now have the ability to make payments and it was within this period of time and I don’t know what the exact time IRS has a five-year you have to be current, stay current for five years after you’ve done an offer and compromise. In the first two years, I believe they can keep your refunds. So again, just making sure that you know what you’re doing. But there are ways, I mean, if you owe the IRS, there are at least three ways. One, make yourself non-collectible because at this point, you just don’t have the money. You’re either between jobs or you’re barely making it as it is. So you might be able to put a non-collectible. Second way would be making a payment plan so that you can just do it. Third would be an offering compromise because there’s no way you’re going to be able to pay it. But an offering compromise, that’s the ones a lot of times you guys hear about them on the radio, you know, oh, we settle a case 10 cents on the dollar. Everyone thinks, I mean, I can’t tell you how many people have called and said, well, what if I just tell them I can pay them 50 grand and, you know, they’ll settle. It’s not how much you think you can afford. There is a process that has to be done. And in some cases, people don’t understand is that what you think you can’t afford, the government can say you can because your lifestyle is higher or you have credit card debts and stuff, and they don’t consider that any more of a debt than themselves. So they don’t allow some of that besides minimum payments on some of that. So again, it’s really just making sure you understand how all of that works. But those three, non-collectible payment plan, partial payment plan, and or offer and compromise. And of course, there’s always bankruptcy. I find it surprising that many times when people come in, they’ve never actually thought about the IRS can go into bankruptcy. You just have to have 36 months or thereabouts. I always say 36, I think it’s like 31 or 32 months of collections before. So basically, the IRS has three years. And if you haven’t done and you want to take it in, that is a possibility as well, especially for a couple of people we’ve talked to that have older debt. So they’ve been at this five, six years and they finally got themselves back on track, but that five or six years is still festering out there. And maybe they don’t qualify for an offering compromise, but they may be able to handle a bankruptcy.
41:03-42:01
So I am not an attorney, therefore I don’t do bankruptcies, but it is one of those deals that you can put into your Rolodex as an option. You should always think of all the different options that’s available and see which one’s going to fit your situation. Because bankruptcy doesn’t mean you have to take everything into bankruptcy. My understanding is that sometimes people have been able to keep their cars, their houses, you know, certain things out of bankruptcy. But, you know, again, depending on where you’re at in the financial situation, if you can’t afford to pay the IRS and they’re trying to collect or they’ve got levies and liens and they’re trying to seize property, you know, you need to address it. You don’t want to just sit back, put your head in the sand and say, well, you know, they’re not going to they’re not going to do anything because, I mean, I have people that have their Social Security and that’s all they’re they’re living on pretty much being loving because they’re they’re having to pay back old debt to the IRS.
42:02-42:08
Now, if it’s really truly the only thing you’re living on and you have no other income, you probably could get that as a non-collectible.
42:08-42:13
But in the case of one of my clients, it isn’t really what they’re only living off of.
42:14-42:19
They’ve got access to other money, but they don’t draw much from it.
42:19-42:19
But the money is there.
42:20-42:25
So the IRS is saying you have a choice and they could pay them off, but they just choose not to.
42:25-42:29
So you have a lot of options when it comes to that.
42:29-42:34
But your option is going to be, what do you want to do when it comes to dealing with your tax debt?
42:35-42:37
As an enrolled agent, I can help you make those choices.
42:37-42:42
I can send you in the right direction if you decide you want to go into bankruptcy.
42:42-42:45
But that’s not always the first option.
42:45-42:48
But it is an option that people need to think about, is all I’m saying.
42:49-42:51
It may not be the one that you want to do.
42:51-42:52
Maybe it’s not on your agenda.
42:53-43:02
But if you’re at that point where everything is just overwhelming and you need to do it anyways, Well, I’ve had people that went through bankruptcy and forgot to take the IRS through it.
43:03-43:04
I mean, come on, people.
43:04-43:05
That would be crazy.
43:05-43:06
But they did.
43:06-43:11
Because a lot of times attorneys are looking at what debt they have in front of them and they’re not seeing.
43:12-43:17
And once you start bankruptcy, the IRS cannot make any type of collection until you’ve done your bankruptcy.
43:17-43:20
But then they can turn the clock right back on.
43:20-43:27
So you just need to make sure you understand what your options are and how you’re going to do it and what’s going to be the best way of doing it.
43:27-43:41
And then if you are, if you’re a Dr. Friday client, make sure that you have went onto the website drfriday.com and make sure that you have already signed up for the 2024 tax season.
43:41-43:46
It is available now. If you don’t see a date, you can certainly call our office on Monday or next week or whatever.
43:46-43:49
And we’ll make sure we have a time scheduled for you if you don’t see one in there.
43:49-43:56
Last time on Lolita Roasters, I am telling you guys, I am not making money by telling you about this.
43:56-44:07
This is nothing to do. I just think that this is such a unique concept that if you are in a business where you have clients that you want to give them something that is just different.
44:07-44:19
And I mean, I think in my world, there’s so much sweets coming through my door because everyone’s great bakers and they’re wonderful at providing all of that, that a cup of coffee really goes good with all that.
44:19-44:27
And that’s what I’m giving out. So they can make a cup of coffee with my blend and also eat all those wonderful sweets that other people have already given them.
44:27-44:39
So LolitaRoasters.com is what you want to Google and or just put into your address and then send them a ticket and see if you’re interested.
44:39-44:45
Like I said, we are doing them this year and I’ve been very happy with what we’ve seen so far.
44:45-45:00
So we’ll see how it all comes out. And if you’re, if you do actually use them, I’d be really interested to hear your input as well. Again, because I’ve had a great experience with them, but I would like to find out what the experience is for other people.
45:00-45:42
so you can just call our office and you know ask for friday as you know okay so let’s uh wind the show down you can reach me at 615-367-0819 615-367-0819 is the number right here in our office call it monday morning we can get you in um if you need to review taxes or if you haven’t filed taxes or you’re needing someone to take a look at your tax situation whichever you can also go to drfriday.com. That’s our website. Find out who I am, what I’m doing, or if you want to book an appointment, that is all available right there on the website. Again, drfriday.com.
45:42-46:36
Or you can also just email me, friday at drfriday.com. Friday, like the day of the week, that’s my first name, friday at drfriday.com. Pretty straightforward, pretty easy. And if you’re trying to figure out guys where to start maybe you’ve got a friend that hasn’t filed taxes or he’s getting a ton of love letters or she’s getting them you know the initial consultations are always free we want to make sure that we’re going to be able to help you to get you with where you need to be or get you connected to the right people if it’s not something i can do so again if you have a friend or just someone that needs to have the initial consultation they can go to dr carfriday.com, set up the tax appointment, or give us a call at 615-367-0819. I really hope you guys are enjoying this weekend. It’s a beautiful Saturday. As we say in Australia, call you later.
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