RHP Market Talk
Complicated economic topics distilled into digestible and palatable investing principles.
Hosted by Natalie Picha, Partner and CXO of RHP Wealth Management.
RHP Market Talk
Tax Changes That Actually Matter Now
In this episode, Natalie Picha, CXO, sits down with Kevin Jenkins, CPA, of Jenkins Associates Certified Public Accountants, to discuss recent tax law changes and updates, including:
• What changes the OBBBA brings, and what it makes permanent
• How the SALT cap jump might revive itemizing
• Super catch-up contributions for ages 60-63
Plus, learn how having your CPA work with your financial advisor may help you save money over time.
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rhp-market-talk/id1538051530
Hi everyone, I'm Natalie Picha, Chief Experience Officer and Partner at RHP Wealth Management, and this is Market Talk. In today's episode, we are joined by special guest Kevin Jenkins with Jenkins Associate Certified Public Accountants to discuss the far-reaching implications of the recent tax law changes, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Secure Act 2.0. Kevin's firm was founded by his father, Stephen Jenkins, and their team has been helping clients with tax and accounting needs for more than 30 years, creating a long legacy of service to their clients. Jenkins and Associates specializes in helping small businesses and individuals navigate the often complicated tax rules and regulations, and in the process, minimizing tax burdens. Kevin is a proud graduate Texas A&M University, where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2007. After four years in the finance and banking industry, he transitioned into accounting, completing graduate studies at the University of Houston in 2012, and earning his CPA in 2013. In his free time, Kevin enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and outdoor activities. I'm excited to have this conversation and look forward to hearing what Kevin has to say about the OBBBA and Secure Act 2.0. Kevin, welcome and thank you so much for being a guest on RHP Market Talk today.
Kevin Jenkins:Thanks so much for having me. Excited to talk taxes.
Natalie Picha:And I'm so excited to have this conversation because there's just so much to talk about. Right. And there's just so much out in the media right now. And before we jump in and get real technical, I have to ask you a really serious question. How big is the IRS tax code? Like, how big is it really?
Kevin Jenkins:It is very large, as you can imagine. So it's if you just take the tax code itself, which is just all the law, just that alone is like about 7,000 pages. The if you include all the regulations, the clarifications, the court cases, all that, you're looking at 75,000 pages. So I saw somewhere one time it said a person reading 24 hours a day at a normal pace, it would take them about three and a half months to read everything. So that's kind of where we are with our current tax law state.
Natalie Picha:Yeah, and so it begs the question how in the world can any one person ever digest and utilize that much information?
Kevin Jenkins:They can't, honestly. You know, I think it's we live in an age where we're lucky to where we have the technology available to kind of search for stuff that applies to us, you know. Um my my father started our firm back in the 80s, and I remember as a little kid going to his office before the internet, before really I mean, just as computers were be even becoming a thing. And I would walk into his office and see just bookshelves upon bookshelves with binders of the tax law changes by the year and all that. And so, you know, they would have to. I remember they would get this out, this big binder out on the conference room table and kind of skim through and it would take a while. Luckily, today, you know, you're looking for something specific, punched into the computer. You know, we have you know specialized kind of research um subscriptions and stuff that that make it a lot easier, but it's still not to say it's easy to keep up with everything because it's not, but yeah, we're we're kind of lucky that way. And as you know, the tax law has just really exponentially expanded since COVID. It's a lot has been added with, you know, there's been really probably three or four major changes since then, not to mention the one in 2018. So which creates a lot of opportunity for people.
Natalie Picha:Well, and that really what we want to talk about today. So we saw 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. During COVID, we had Secure Act 1.0, and now we had 2.0. Now we have OBBBA, O -Triple B, as you called it earlier. I don't even know exactly what to call it. I mean, some people are calling it still calling it One Big Beautiful Bill. Others are calling it OBBBA or O-Triple B. I, you know, but here we are with all of these. And I think the one that everyone has been talking about most recently is that One Big Beautiful Bill or the O-Triple B and how it extends provisions for the TCGA, those sorts of things from a high level, because again, there's just so much here that we can unpack. What do people need to be thinking about, when we talk about all of these changes? One on top of the other, but specifically the OBBBA?
Kevin Jenkins:Sure. Yeah, it's, you know, as you alluded to, a lot of it is extensions of what came into effect in 2018, you know, with that tax cuts and jobs act. They that was really the biggest sweeping tax law change since the 80s. And, you know, as they implemented that, things like the increased standard deduction, um, the lower tax rates, some of the um the business incentives that are available, bonus depreciation and uh qualified business income deduction, things like that. Those were all you know pretty sweeping changes that affected a lot of people. All that was set to expire at the end of this year if they didn't do anything. And so most of this bill is making that stuff permanent, quote unquote, until they decide to change it again. But you know, it's not the main thing to, I guess, highlight is that it's not going to change at the end of this year like it was set to. We were under the assumption that we kind of had to go under the assumption that things were going to go back to the old way. And, you know, that accelerated a lot of probably, you know, like what you guys do with like Roth conversions and things like that. Trying to take advantage of what was in place as we knew it. This kind of gives gives you a little more time to do some some of that, and also you know, take advantage of those lower rates. By and large, the the rates are on average two to three percent lower per bracket, you know, than they are historically. And so that's that's the main reason right there why some people are choosing to take some income now that they might not otherwise with like a Roth conversion or something. And then, you know, in addition to that, the standard deduction going way up, that really simplified things for a lot of people. You know, it used to be that mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable contributions, all these things were important to keep track of for everyone. And as people have seen in most recent years, it's it's most people don't itemize anymore. They just take that that big standard deduction and it simplifies things for for the majority of people, I'll say. One thing that will uh increase the potential to itemize for a lot of people that was in this bill is the increased salt cap.
Natalie Picha:I was going to ask.
Kevin Jenkins:Yeah, exactly. So, you know, the previously uh the salt cap is state and local taxes, and that for residents of Texas is really your property taxes and sales taxes for people in other states, it includes income tax state income taxes as well. So that was all capped at 10,000. As part of this bill, they increased that cap to 40,000 temporarily. And so, you know, what that means for a lot of people that have I know, you know, as well as you do, property taxes are through the roof in the last few years. It's not hard to get to that $10,000 cap for a lot of people. And so this is going to really, really add some benefit there when you're writing that property tax bill check at the end of the year. You know, you won't feel as bad about it, I guess, if you can get a little bit back.
Natalie Picha:But there's there's also phase outs there as well, right?
Kevin Jenkins:Exactly. Yeah, there are, and and that's true for pretty much everything we're talking about in these law changes. So it's not going to apply to everyone, but it will benefit some people with with the higher property taxes, and then also those in states where income taxes are a lot higher. And you know, outside of the kind of business as usual things, as I alluded to earlier, some of the business stuff, bonus depreciation, QBI, all that's still still there. The increased estate tax limit was a big thing that people were worried would go away at the end of this year. That's there to stay for a little while. It's going to be around 15 million per person. So that's really something that I know a lot of people were worried it was going to go back to, you know, a million or less, which would really kind of cause a nightmare for a lot of people. So that that was all the stuff that was kind of made permanent, like I said, quote unquote permanent. There were some temporary changes that are going to kind of be in effect from 25 to 28 that uh relate to tax-free tips, no tax on overtime, increased uh deduction for seniors and car loan interest not uh being tax deductible. These are, I guess, like the senior deduction, that's going to affect a lot of people because as this bill was coming out, I was commonly getting the question of, I heard my Social Security is not going to be taxable anymore. That was something that was a big talking point.
Natalie Picha:Yeah, we've had we've actually had that question. We've encountered that question.
Kevin Jenkins:Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it was it was floated out there that yeah, Social Security is not going to be taxable. Well, the way they handled that is they gave an increased deduction for those people over 65 that is now 6,000 per person. So it's kind of meant to offset the Social Security. And so as we said, that there is a phase out there, 150,000 for a married couple on that one. Most of these other ones, they phase out 200 to 300,000 in in income. But for a retired couple, that you know, they're probably not getting close to those, you know, amounts could affect a lot of people positively, I think.
Natalie Picha:So with these changes in mind, what are some action steps that people should be thinking about? Where, because we're coming to here to the end of 2025, what it what, if anything, should they be doing considering all of these changes?
Kevin Jenkins:Yeah, I think it's it's time to, if you were utilizing some of those strategies that were, you know, where we were trying to accelerate some of that stuff under the anticipation that all everything was changing at the end of this year, right? It's kind of time to talk to your financial advisor or your tax person, or ideally both at the same time.
Natalie Picha:Right. That's what we recommend. We recommend you have two, you have both of us in the room. It's always a good idea.
Kevin Jenkins:Oh, absolutely. Yeah. So yeah, to have that conversation and say, how does this change things for us? We had planned to, you know, convert X amount of dollars in before 2025. Now do we have more time? Can we stretch this out a little bit now and maybe bring bring our income under some of those thresholds to where we can take advantage of the senior deduction or you know, some of these other things? So yeah, I think that's that's probably the main thing that needs to happen in the next month and a half. jJust to make sure that you're not doing anything that wasn't you know under the assumption back in March or February that you're kind of adjusting your strategy to to reflect what is now in effect for you know the next at least three years, three or four years.
Natalie Picha:Right. So let me backtrack just a little bit because again, I know what we're hearing in the news right now is the OBBBA and and a lot of those things. And like you said, it's extending really the TCJA and keeping that going. But the Secure Acts one and two, those those dramatically change retirement planning. One of the things that you know we're dealing with when it comes to estate planning, financial planning for a lot of our clients is just recognizing the new 10-year rule. That's just that's just one piece. But that 10-year rule that says if it's a non-spousal IRA or if your beneficiary is not espoused, then whatever that rollover, and for most people, their largest asset is their retirement account. That retirement account will have to be taken within that 10 years. So let's just say, for example, it's your children who are already earning, you know, they're in their higher earning years. Within 10 years, they're going to have to take that full IRA and pay all those taxes. So that's just one example. But Secure Act One and Two, I feel like brought a lot of changes that we didn't even get to fully absorb before we saw all these other changes kind of come out. So can you kind of expand on those a little bit?
Kevin Jenkins:Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, the first thing you said is that that 10-year rule, you know, it did dramatically change things for people that are inheriting IRAs. And I think that that can kind of play into in conjunction with what we just talked about. You know, if you have a situation where you're considering doing a Roth conversion, not only is it going to help you probably have some tax flexibility in the next few years, you're now thinking about the next generation when you do something like that. Yeah. Because you know, there's no no requirement there if it's an inherited Roth to do that. So that that's kind of one thing to consider. But I do have clients that come in and they don't really understand that now that they've they've gotten this big pile of money in a lot of cases from their their parent or their grandparent, that they're going to have to take that out within 10 years. And as you you said, most of those people are in their higher earning years. So trying to manage that has become a challenge for a lot of people. That's kind of the the downside, I guess, of those that those acts. But what it did do in addition to that, it opened up a lot of retirement planning opportunities for for everyone outside of you know requiring that that 10-year distribution. So it gave more access to to Roth accounts, allowed people to maybe do more catch-up contributions um into their 401ks, et cetera, than than they were previously could do. It it increased the RD age. So you know, we're seeing a lot of a lot of people run up against, which is a good problem to have, you know, as you know, in the last decade, we've been in a pretty good market. And so people that that retired at 60, 65, they might not have needed that IRA money now, or you know, and so they can delay those RMDs a little bit longer than they previously would have had to. And and maybe you, you know, go not to beat a dead horse here, but go back to the Roth conversion type thing. You know, we're we're going to delay our RMDs so we can do some Roth conversions and kind of plan all that together. And and then not only for people that you know are 65 plus, was it a good thing? It's it it really opened up a lot of opportunity for younger savers as well. One of the questions I get a lot is regarding 529 plans. They, you know, people will fund the 529 plans for years and years, which is great. It's a it's a good thing to do that. But with a good market, with you know more opportunity out there for scholarships and things like that, people are not always using all these 529 funds. And what those acts did is allow Roth rollovers from 529 plans. So that's a strategy we're we're seeing a lot of people utilize, which is really beneficial for younger people. I mean, if you can get money into a Roth when you're college age or before, you know, as you know, the compounding is is insane.
Natalie Picha:So Right, right. And I'm not sure everyone completely understands why the Roth is so beneficial, but it it really is. It is after tax dollars, but it's tax-free growth. And and that's what we try to stress to to clients, if they can just understand starting that Roth early makes a lot of sense.
Kevin Jenkins:Absolutely.
Natalie Picha:You know, and you are correct. It really did change or or broaden how people, you know, can stay for retirement. I have to admit, as a financial advisor, and I'm sure as the CPAs too, it's like every time they make a change, we have to absorb those changes and think through them. And the one that I thought was, I guess, unusual was that super catch up. Like we're just going to give you, is it three years? Just three years, right?
Kevin Jenkins:Yeah, we're going to give you between 60 and 63.
Natalie Picha:Right. Only between the ages of 60 and 63 can you actually not just do the regular catch up, you can catch up even more, but only for those three years. I'm curious how I'm not sure in what room was that discussed. Now, if you're between 60 and 63, we we're planning for it. We work through it with our financials, right?
Kevin Jenkins:It's a lot of, yeah, that's a lot of how a lot of the tax law goes, I think. You know, it's these they they get in a room and they kick these things back and forth. Okay, I'll give you an extra year here if you give me something over here. Or, you know, I don't really understand how they arrive at a lot of these numbers and and regulations, but you know, we just play with the given.
Natalie Picha:That's right. And so I'll just bring it back to it's why you need a great CPA who does who doesn't just do your return, but does strategy and a great financial advisor. And if you can get them working together, that is the best of both worlds.
Kevin Jenkins:Oh, absolutely. No, I completely agree. Absolutely. That's why I appreciate working with you guys on our mutual clients because it's like you know, whether we're meeting semi-annually, quarterly, number one, there's no surprises, you know, whenever it comes time to file. That's right. Yeah, and number two, you know, a lot of times the ship sails on some of this tax planning at the end of the year. So I have I still have some clients that I don't know their financial advisors. I just see them once a year in in February or March. And sometimes we have to have some tough conversations about, you know, did you know about this? You get you got a 1099 that's showing this. And they uh sometimes they'll blame their financial planners, which I have to, you know, tap the brakes on that and say, well, they didn't make you this money, you know. So we could plan for it a little better.
Natalie Picha:Thank you for saying that because that does tend to be a little bit of a conversation that we'll have when we have, like we're having right now, year after year of really great years. And for us, when we're managing through markets, we always say our first priority is to take advantage of the market, also manage for risk or downside. And our secondary priority is taxes. I know we don't want to pay taxes, but if you're paying taxes because you made money in the stock market, you made money in the stock market, right?
Kevin Jenkins:Yeah, absolutely. No, I we a lot of times have competing goals, you and I, you know, your job is to make them as much money as possible. My job is to keep as much money as possible. So or or at least still on paper that they didn't make as much money as possible. So yeah, but but you're right. I'm I'm never really a fan of uh losing money just for tax purposes. You know, I get that question a lot, you know, like, oh, should I start a business that loses money to save in taxes? Like, well, why would you want to spend a dollar to save 25 cents? You know? So that's but but yeah, you're right. That's that's something it it helps some people understand.
Natalie Picha:That also seems like a lot of work. It is, yeah. That's a lot of work, a lot of hoops to jump through. So, what are some pretty common misconceptions that you that you would like to clear up? I mean, working with people and their money, I mean, we see a lot. We get a lot of very interesting stories. Do you have any specific situations that you might want to share with listeners?
Kevin Jenkins:Sure, yeah. I mean, I there are a lot of questions that I feel like I get uh every so often. And I can always tell, like, when there was a popular uh article or TikTok video or an email making arounds, or you know, so it's uh some of the same stuff resurfaces over and over again. But um, one of the big ones that people don't don't always realize comes, you know, with the employee expenses. I still get people that will, they're a W-2 employee and they bring me in. Here's all my mileage, here uh, you know, home office is a big one for people that are working at W-2. That you haven't been able to take those expenses since 2018. You know, it they didn't ask me when they wrote that law. I don't think it's fair, especially with the more work-at-home environment that's out there these days. But that was just one of the things they did. And, you know, so unfortunately, when it's really hurting a lot of people that that are work at home or that travel a lot, that are W-2 employees that are out of pocket for a lot of stuff. We have to have that tough conversation sometimes. Like, you know, you you can't really take these. It's a different story if you're self-employed, if you're working for a 1099, but uh W-2 employees, unfortunately, you know, that's not a not an opportunity there for them. Another thing I get asked a lot is about starting an LLC. I I think there's a lot of stuff out there that people will see, tips online, start an LLC to save in tax. That in and of itself is not really going to do anything for you. Um an LLC is is a it's a state designation. So the IRS doesn't even really recognize it, you know, once you form one, so you just default to one of their forms of business. And so if you were to start an LLC today and do nothing, if it's just you, you're assault proprietorship in their eyes. Um, really forming an LLC is just I I do recommend it in a lot of situations, but just to do it just for tax purposes is not really going to get you anything. And also you have to have a business, like yeah, well you know that's probably the most important thing.
Natalie Picha:It has to be a legitimate business, it has to be a real business.
Kevin Jenkins:Exactly. I have people come in that are that are W-2 earners, they're they're high earners, and they say, Can I uh start an LLC and start deducting some of my expenses? Well, that's going to be a quick way to a red flag, you know, a lot of times. So it kind of goes back to what we were talking about with the spending a dollar to save 25 cents. You know, if you're if you're yeah starting a business solely to lose money, probably not a great idea. And then, you know, another major one is is around rental properties. A lot of times it's those once-a-year clients that they come in in February and say, we bought a rental property last year, here are all the costs I incurred. I lost a bunch of money, I put a bunch of money in up front. Well, and you know, is that going to save me a lot of money on my taxes? Well, it will and it won't. Uh it will down the line. But rental income and loss is considered a passive activity by nature. And so people don't realize that the passive activities you can't take unless you have other passive income. So rental income or yeah, in uh passive investments in businesses and such. Right. So even though you lost a bunch of money and you're one on your real property, well, that loss is going to be suspended and carried forward. And so it's really not going to benefit you this year. There are some exceptions to that real estate professional, short-term rentals, all that, which are legitimate strategies. But just for most people that have a W-2 job or or run a small business, just buying rental property in and of itself, not really going to be probably the tax advantage that they think or that they heard on YouTube, you know. Right. Um so yeah, that th those are kind of the main ones um that I that I get a lot.
Natalie Picha:I do think it's interesting, and we get this, and AI has made this issue even larger, is that people will and and I'm sure it's just human nature, right? It's what we're seeing and hearing all the time, but they gravitate to TikTok for their for their tax strategy or YouTube for their financial advising. You know, now we've got chat GPT, just tell me, you know, I think rule of thumb, at least from where we sit, is that everyone's financial plan is specific. It's very specific to them and their situation. And while there's a lot of great information out there on the internet and in social media and things like that, you cannot necessarily apply that to your specific situation. So making sure you sit down with your CPA and your financial advisor on a regular basis and having these conversations, I think is just that much more important because there's good information out there, but there's also a lot of misinformation out there too.
Kevin Jenkins:Absolutely. Yeah, there's there's a lot of armchair experts out there on the internet. It's and you know, the old ads, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But there are some legitimate tax strategies out there that not a lot of people know about. That I do think that that some people are surprised to know that's out there. But a lot of times, if it's just somebody on TikTok or YouTube that is telling you can write off pretty much your entire lifestyle, not going to be a thing.
Natalie Picha:That's not a thing. No, that's not a thing. So are there any common misconceptions that you would like to clear up that you that you could share?
Kevin Jenkins:Well, yes, I mean, some of the the craziest, I think, videos that I've seen out there recently that I've been sent by clients or that I've just kind of come across on my own. There was one lady that said she never takes a vacation. And so every trip that she takes is a business trip. Well, that's sort of um not really going to hold up, I think. Uh a lot of times when I hear these things, I like to think that they're sitting in front of an IRS auditor and they're going to tell them, you know, their their strategy and how's that going to go. But I think, yeah, she said, you know, I everywhere I go, I'm conducting business and you know, there's no personal travel, her family goes with her and all this stuff. I that's just not going to hold up, um, unfortunately. So you have to think of the tax code a lot of times as a set of incentives. The IRS is writing this tax code to incentivize certain behaviors. Well, you know, the Congress is writing the tax code or writing the tax law, but they're trying to incentivize certain behaviors. And, you know, why can you deduct mortgage interest? Because they want people to buy homes, you know. Why are they uh incentivize? Why are they allowing you to deduct IRA contributions? Because they want people to save for retirement. Why would the taxpayers want to subsidize your vacation?
Natalie Picha:Right.
Kevin Jenkins:That's that that, along with I saw another one where, you know, somebody was telling you go out to dinner every night and bring your family along and talk talk business with your kids. And now it's a tax-deductible meal. Well, no, it's not. You have to have some uh reason that that's going to lead to business, you take another client, etc. So that that's another thing. Or people just it's a lot of trying to subsidize personal expenses. I see it all the time where people try to try to shoehorn in some personal expenses in there that that's not going to hold up, unfortunately, if it's ever scrutinized. You know, other than some of the crazy TikTok videos and stuff I see, there's there's numerous ones out there, but you know, a couple questions I've gotten just personally, you know, around taking pets as dependence was one of them. I get that I don't I've gotten that question multiple times.
Natalie Picha:Um Can I write off my that I needed to go back and if I can use my pets.
Kevin Jenkins:As a pet owner, I know it's it's expensive, but yeah. And then uh I've had had people ask me, can I deduct my haircuts and nails for under under what? Under what I guess they consider it a a necessary business expense. I don't know. Um so yeah. I always tell people when they're talking about w whether or not they can deduct something, the IRS standard is ordinary and necessary. So if it falls into those two categories, that then you're probably going to be good, you know. And that means is it ordinary that someone in your line of business takes that deduction? Yeah, then yeah, then you're you're going to fall in line there. Is it necessary though? That's a lot of times where people fall short. Did me spending this money lead to more business? And so the connection there sometimes gets blurred. Uh but yeah, there's a lot of crazy tax advice out there. I you know, just like with any industry, I think there's a lot of unfortunately unqualified tax prepayers out there, financial planners out there that are given. Bad advice. And it's really, it's really unfortunate that they're kind of fly by night.
Natalie Picha:And it yeah, and it's it's sad too because I think it gives all of us a bit of a bad reputation. Um our whole goal for our clients is to truly help them meet whatever goal they want to meet by making sure we maximize every dollar in every area, right? And it meets their financial plan. I always tell people, you know, over long periods of time, working with a financial advisor reaps benefits because you've got, first of all, another set of eyes on it, but what we're also trying to remove emotion and just use data, right? Constant data analysis. So if you're doing that in conjunction with a great tax strategy, you're going to save money over the long haul, right? Sure. Just a strategy to your goals is what you're doing.
Kevin Jenkins:Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I like to work with people that, you know, I always learned you can work with people on a transactional basis or on a relational basis. And so, like transactional, you're going to see them one time and you don't care what happens after that. You know, if they come back to find you, maybe they'll find exposed phone wires in the wall or something, you know. I mean, but I like to work on a relational basis where you know you got a long-term relationship, you're going to have the same people year over year. And I just I work better that way.
Natalie Picha:I just do better at night. And it and I think both of us work in a generational from a generational aspect, right? Because we understand that for most people, their wealth is generational. There is either they're passing along value systems, legacy, whether it's you know, charitable giving, things like that. They they they want to at least plan for even when they're not here anymore. And I think it's pretty cool. Can you just tell us a little bit about your firm and the fact that your dad started this firm, I think, well over 30 years ago? And I'm sure that you guys, like us, are now working with second, third, fourth generations of business owners and families and things like that. What is that, what does that look like for you?
Kevin Jenkins:Sure. Yeah. So my my father and my uncle started our business back in the late 80s, eight eight eighty-eight was the the formation date. They did that on purpose. Yeah, yeah. Easy to remember. Yeah. Um, so he, you know, they formed the business. Uh my uncle passed away in the early 90s, which um, you know, left my dad as kind of a a one-man shop for a long time. Um and and growing up, seeing, you know, those long, you know, my formative years, seeing him uh grow the business and and work those long hours, and you know, going back to talking about how the technology has changed, it's kind of funny that I remember when he would come home during tax season to you know, I'm lucky now I can just bring my laptop home and hook it up and work at home and then everything. He would literally bring a desktop computer home, hook it all up in the dining room like every night. Oh my gosh. Yeah, yeah.
Natalie Picha:So I'm that Commodore 64, that 50 eight. Yeah, yeah.
Kevin Jenkins:I'm a little spoiled when it comes to that. But um so yeah, seeing all that kind of gave me an appreciation of work ethics and kind of treating people right and all that gave me a good example growing up. And you know, I when I graduated high school uh and went to AM, I did have the the goal that I was going to take over the business for him. And when I got up to AM, you know, I got into some of those upper level accounting courses and auditing and stuff that that we don't really handle just because I don't like it. And so I thought, is this really what this career is about? And so I changed business majors there, but getting out in the real world within three or four years, I realized, yeah, I kind of don't want to be a part of a big corporation that's kind of just another face out there that you know has a small piece of the pie that I'm doing every month. I want to help people, I want to be face to face with people and trying to feel like what I'm doing is mattering to them. The good thing about doing what we do is I don't know who's going to walk through the door, I don't know what they're going to need. It kind of keeps it exciting a little bit. And so, you know, I do like helping people save money and tax. That's really what what my goal is in every transaction. And uh, you know, keeping them out of trouble is another big goal. Yeah. It's a good goal, yeah, for sure. Great goal. But yeah, no, been really good. I've kind of been running things for our firm for the last uh three plus years. And it's it's given me a new perspective on things. My dad, he's still around and still practicing, but it's we've really been lucky to to grow and to you know help people out, create relationships with people like yourself that we we really try to take care of people. And yeah, that's kind of where we are today.
Natalie Picha:Do you guys have any particular niche? Now, I know having worked with you guys for quite a while now, business owners is is usually something that we we see quite a bit of because that's where things start to get pretty complex. Or inheritance with generational wealth and stepping into that space. But do you guys have any specific niches that you you really love to work in?
Kevin Jenkins:Sure. Yeah, I think most of our clientele is going to fall within that. Um, you know, they have some sort of complication. It's uh they they own a small business, they have own real estate. Those are the main times when we start to see people when they have experience some sort of complicated, they've invested in something that's going to give them a K1. They there's some complicated retirement planning strategies going on. You know, that's most of the time when we'll see somebody when I think we can start to provide pretty good value. And outside of that, I think mainly like service-based uh businesses, um, a lot of professionals, doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc., and then all and then people that have uh either recently retired or are thinking about retiring in the next few years that are kind of some of their money's moving around and they want to plan a little, uh a little bit more. That's where most of our clientele falls in, I would say.
Natalie Picha:Okay. So um tell us a little bit about where you guys are situated and if someone wanted to reach out and and have a conversation, how what's the best way to get in touch with you guys?
Kevin Jenkins:Yeah, absolutely. So we're physically located in Clear Lake area, you know, south of Houston, pretty close to you guys. And you know, if you wanted to that's not to say we can't help people outside of our area, you know, I have clients all over the country, really. Right. This day and age, it's it's nothing to hop on a Zoom call and you know so the the physical barrier is not there that it used to be. But if you do want to reach out to us, our website is www.jenkinscpa.com. So that's j-e-n-k-i-n-s cpas.com. The yes at the end is important because somebody there's another firm in Missouri that got the the similar version of that. So there's been some confusion in the past there.
Natalie Picha:Well, that's interesting. You make the comment about our website for our listeners out there and for our longtime clients, they they know that our website is www.royalharborpartners.com, but most people refer to us as RHP. So for those that are a little bit newer to the relationship, you know, sometimes what does RHP stand for? Or if people are like, I was searching RHP, but it's Royal Harbor. I'm like, yes, you know, so keep just making sure people know how to how to find you sometimes is sure important. Do you have anything else you'd like to share with our listeners before we sign off?
Kevin Jenkins:You know, I think the last thing probably I would touch on is that, you know, as I said earlier, there are legitimate strategies out there that you know a lot of people are not aware of and that I think could really benefit people that sometimes they're surprised to hear about whenever I'm talking to them face to face. And I know you guys know about all this, you know, donor advised funds, Roth conversions, backdoor Roths, you know, the all that sort of stuff that I think is kind of low-hanging fruit that people should be thinking about at a bare minimum, you know, and then you can get to the higher level stuff, opportunity zones and making your small business an S Corp and things like that. It's not a one size fits all for everyone. So I think, like you mentioned earlier, it was important. You want somebody that's going to look at your situation and not just kind of apply a boilerplate tactic to it. Right. Um, you want to really have some specialized attention there, I think is important. So I think in that vein, I think connecting your tax professional with your financial planner is essential. I really think that you can really compound the savings and the opportunities there for you. And at a bare minimum, minimize your surprises. I don't like telling people they owe a lot of money unexpectedly.
Natalie Picha:Yes.
Kevin Jenkins:But yeah, I think just just doing that can really up your game when it comes to to your financial situation.
Natalie Picha:Well, Kevin, thank you so much for joining us today. And I appreciate you sharing your expertise, reminding us that we should not use our pets as dependents, but also unpacking a little bit for us this OBBBA and just so many of the tax law changes that we've had in recent years. I think for our listeners, it's just a good reminder. Have a good CPA that does strategy and make sure you're working with a financial advisor, financial planner that considers all of these things as well. So, to our listeners, I just want to say thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Market Talk. Please take a moment to subscribe and leave us a rating and review. Our hope is to reach as many listeners as possible. So please share this episode with friends and family. Helping others is what keeps us going every day. You can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram for additional content, to book a consultation or to discuss today's topic. Visit us at www.royalharborpartners.com. Whether you're just beginning your financial journey or already working towards your ultimate life goals, we're here to guide you. Experience the difference of working with a firm that empowers your life, a firm that focuses on what matters most. You. Thank you, Kevin.
Kevin Jenkins:Thanks so much. Bye-bye.
Disclaimer:Royal Harbor Partners is a registered investment advisor and the opinions expressed by Royal Harbor Partners on this show are their own. Registration of an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable, although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any individual. Listeners are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal or investment advisor to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
