Talk Yo Shit "Robert Suchan" Part 1

Everyone wants financial freedom, but very few people talk about the habits that make it possible.

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, The Heavyweight Collective sits down with CPA Robert Sushin to unpack the real work behind building wealth. From working long shifts at UPS to owning a successful CPA firm, Robert shares why success is rarely overnight and how decades of consistency beat years of chasing shortcuts.

The conversation quickly shifts into practical tax advice that every employee, entrepreneur, content creator, and small business owner should understand. Robert explains why ignoring the IRS is one of the biggest financial mistakes people make, how the three-year tax refund rule works, and why missing deadlines can cost thousands of dollars.

The episode also explores common misconceptions surrounding LLCs, sole proprietorships, S corporations, business deductions, and IRS audits. More importantly, it emphasizes the financial habits that quietly compound over time—discipline, saving early, controlling impulse spending, and building assets that create long-term stability.

Whether you're just starting your financial journey or trying to clean up old mistakes, this conversation provides practical guidance you can use immediately.

 Thanks for tapping in with The Heavyweight Collective!
 Make sure you follow, subscribe, and share with someone who needs this convo. Catch us on all socials for clips, updates, and more behind the mic. https://linktr.ee/TheHeavyweightPodcast

Transcript

The 20-Year Grind

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is another and to me this gets back to the essence of why I wanted to um do this talk your shit um segment or episodes or I've known Robert for over 20 years. Uh I'm gonna say it again. Out of fingers and toes, Jesus. And I would I used to get to work early because I used to set up the building, and um I would sit in my car and I look over and I see this blue Dodge Rand come into the parking lot and you park, and he'd usually be like, So at the time you couldn't miss me.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

I I got two tans in the back.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Yeah, yeah. He was always knocking, yeah. And I would always kind of glance over and I'm like, oh Robert's here, okay. And I would look and he was always studying, he was constantly studying. And then I would start setting up the building, he'd still be studying, and then at some point, show times, get the job started, get on the roll. But I saw him do this for so long, and then eventually at some point, he graduated and he got the fuck out of UPS. I don't matter, I'm not mad at him for that. But uh what I always thought was dope, and I like I told him when I wanted when I wanted to do this talking shit with him, I always thought it was dope that he was dedicated. He never uh wavered, he had a goal in mind, and you could see it, and he had that determination, and I always respected him for it, and I think it's dope, and to be able to give him his flowers, and I think it's important for people to have this insight and information uh as far as careers, choices, and paths that they want to go into. Um, so he's a brother to me. Uh, I met him a long time ago at UPS, and he became family. Um I think I even told him when I even got met his dad. And I remember his dad was uh he has this mean look. He's a mechanic, and he had this really mean look. And I said, I know your son. He goes, Oh, you know Robert? His whole face changed.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

The nicest person you could ever meet, but at the same time, the meanest motherfucker. You don't want to be on his bad side. But if you were on his good side, he would take very good care of you. The the nicest person you could ever meet in your life.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

And he, I'm telling you, his face went from mean to oh, you know Robert? Okay, of course. I said that's what's up. Um, but ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, we give to you Robert Sushin. How are you doing this morning?

SPEAKER_03 2:41

I'm good. How about how much yourself?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

I'm uh tired. Yep. Very tired. All right, so like I said, we met 20 years ago at UPS. I used to see you in that blue dodge ram every day. Did you already know that you wanted to become a CPA? No. Or was it just something you did one class at a time?

SPEAKER_03 2:59

I actually, uh, so my mom's got a great story of I was little and she was CPA, and I see the hours she worked, especially during tax season. Tax season is it that's a beast. And uh she'd be coming home 10 o'clock, 10:30 at night. And I remember telling her, I don't know what I want to be, but I never

There Is No Overnight Success

SPEAKER_03 3:20

want to do that. Nope. That I I won't do, and so two things I learned. One, there is a higher power, there is always uh a master plan, and two, they have a sense of humor. And yeah, uh that they will make you the butt of the joke, and they will take notes. Oh, is that what you said? Uh so here's the thing, and so you know, uh, no, that was never the master plan, that wasn't what I wanted to do. Um, it was a uh I was a victim of circumstance. I graduated uh in 09, which was the height of a recession. So that was with my bachelor's, and the writing was on the wall. There was no job. Uh so did all the work, got the degree. There wasn't a job at the end of the rainbow, like they always told you. Uh, so it was all right, well, I'll I'll continue doing what I know, and that is stay in school. So I just continued on with it and uh and just kept pushing on, and eventually the that there is there is a master plan, and sometimes there everything lines up, and it's just like, well, that's what's gonna be. So you roll with the punches and you end up where you're gonna end up, and uh sometimes it ends up it's better than you could have ever imagined, but there was a lot of work to go into it. So no, that was never the idea.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

So, with that not being the idea, was there a moment when you decided to take this path that you thought about just saying fuck it all together and quit quitting?

SPEAKER_03 5:03

Uh multiple times, yes. Uh so uh I'll I'll give you an example. So uh CPA exam, CPA exam is a beast. If someone can tell you they have conquered that and they've reached their goal, hats off. I I will give their kudos. So uh as far as statistically, you are more likely to cap to pass the California bar than the CPA exam. Crazy to give you a uh like that's crazy, yeah. So uh and so the CPA exam is its own beast. Once you pass your first section, there's four sections, your time limit starts, and you have 18 months to pass the other three. So you have 18 months to pass all four, and so I got to a point, I passed three, I was on my last one, and I was on my last month. So it was if I pass this, I'm done. Or if I didn't, I'm back to 50% because your first one drops off, and you gotta do that again. So it was uh it was a make or break it kind of moment, and I was at my wits' end. I I've been uh I've been battling this for we'll say at least six, seven years at this point. And uh one section will destroy your whole thing, and that may not be what you do every day, that may not be what your experience is in, but that's what they test you on. So uh that they they want to make sure you're well rounded and know everything, and a lot of it is uh we'll we'll say public company. So if you have stocks, if you if you are on the exchange or whatever, that is a different beast than that. That that's not my clientele, that's not who I deal with. That and once you get stocks and like all those other uh require requirements to be able to do that, it's completely different than what you do every day. And it's a lot of theory versus what you do every day, and it's the theory behind why you do that. And so, for example, there's the audit section, which I do audit. I I'll have my my little section that I do of an audit. I may not understand why I do that, but they test you on the theory behind why you do the procedures that you do. And so you have cutoff testing, you have uh there's a whole lot of things that go into that. And it's the the theory on why you do the procedures you do, but that's different than your day-to-day. That's your everyday is different. So yeah, so on the why even doing audits, uh, the audit section, that one was the one section that hung me up. And uh the theory behind things, the the acronyms on why you do all the things that you do, there's a whole course on the test. So even after you have all the education, yeah, you have to do a whole nother course to learn the test rather than learn the knowledge that you already have. So uh so, like an SAT, they they the the way they phrase the question that's different than the the knowledge of what you have. So you have to learn the test itself and then have the knowledge to back it up.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Well, I mean I'm out yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

You lost we that shit. I'm like, nah, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not out of what the people around you misunderstand about your journey.

SPEAKER_03 8:45

Uh so uh I had a lot of friends, uh I had a lot of friends

The Biggest Tax Mistakes

SPEAKER_03 8:50

say in construction at the time, making good money, and just like, why are you wasting your time with education? And uh they they they had they had the money to back it up, just like I'm making money right now. Why would I waste my time? It's like okay, and you know what? Uh I just I just stuck the course and like just stayed to it. And unfortunately, they topped out. They topped out a lot sooner than I did. And once I had that backing that I had pursued, uh, I was able to catch up and surpass what they were doing for years in a short amount of time. I I will never put my nose up to education. Education is uh that will always open doors for you, and it is never a bad investment. The more you more knowledge you attain, the better you will always be. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

How would you say working at UPS prepared you for running your own business?

SPEAKER_03 9:51

Uh, so working at UPS, uh, one, you learn you're gonna do things you don't want to do. You're gonna get up every day. You're you get it getting getting up and showing up, uh that's that's three-quarters of the problem. And if you do that much, you're already winning against the person next to you. So it it it teaches you uh a schedule, it teaches you uh how to deal with other people, it teaches you how to work in a group and uh strengths, weak, weaknesses, and uh the it teaches you business in in a basic form, but you can you can apply that in a multitude of ways. So I I I like my time at UPS, it was a solid foundation. I wouldn't do it again.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

I don't I don't blame you. I don't blame you.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

My back still hurts.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah. My hands are fucked up. Um, if you could talk to your younger self sitting in that truck, what was one thing you'd tell them?

SPEAKER_03 11:06

Uh so success is is not a straight line. Sometimes you gotta roll with the punches, and sometimes you're gonna take a setback, and sometimes you don't see the master plan. You you don't know where you're gonna end up. Uh anytime a student is in school and they say, I'm never gonna use this, why do I have to learn this? Uh, you don't know. You absolutely don't know what life's gonna throw at you. And uh anytime you say, I'm not going to ever need this, karma has a weird way of slapping you upside the head, and they're like, So here's what we're doing today. And all of a sudden you're using that uh that slope formula that you said you were never going to use.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Yeah, yeah. So what some people think is overnight success that actually took 20 years.

SPEAKER_03 12:01

Uh so it's it's a mindset. So uh it it if you get up, you grind, you do your your your thing, you you get into that rhythm, and that rhythm is what took 20 years to establish. So uh if someone thinks they're just gonna jump into something and be successful and uh just wing it, you're not gonna be successful. Uh it it's a it's a mindset, it's uh goal orientation, it's keeping your eye on the prize, it is it's getting up and doing what you don't want to do every day. And if you don't have that backing, you will not be successful.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Facts. So I part of also having you here is I feel like it's important for listeners to know the common mistakes uh that might come across your desk. And uh we'll go through that. What's the biggest tax mistake people make every year?

SPEAKER_03 13:08

One of the biggest ones that I've been dealing with uh say this week, uh people will put their head in the sand and try to ignore the problem and think it will go away. Those problems do not go away, especially with the tax man. And uh so this past week, for example, uh I was dealing with a client. Uh they are the last time they filed was 2016. Damn, they are 10 years behind in filing their taxes. Okay. So I'm doing the returns and the early ones uh the husband making real money, we're talking 150, 200,000 over withholding huge refunds. We're talking 10,000, 20,000 refunds. Here's the thing you could only go back and request your refund for three years. So then he retires, everything changes these last couple of years. They're owing money. Wow, they left almost it was 58,000 and some change on the table for not filing, and they end up owing like about $20,000 for these last few years. So they could have solved all of their problems by just filing their returns. Now they're their their situation. She had cancer, there's there's other things going on. I understand. Uh, and they came to us and we uh I'm I'm bound by the information you give me. So I had questions. This was incomplete, so I sent them home with homework. Uh find me the these answers and we could wrap this up. Then they disappeared. They disappeared for 15 years, then come back. I have the answers to your questions. Okay, great. You were owed $20,000 on this return, but you didn't file, you didn't sign the paper, you didn't, we we didn't complete it in time. Money on the table, and so they shot themselves in the foot. And this was I was dealing with this literally within the last couple of days.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

That's so funny. I only have I have one comment to that, Robert. Um, this year, can I just get my packet via email? Because I

Don't Ignore the IRS

SPEAKER_02 15:41

because I'm like, I'm not gonna fill this big ass questionnaire.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

So uh we are trying to transition to that, uh, but most of my clientele they're older. Okay, they they don't have the email, they don't do it.

SPEAKER_02 15:55

I'm only 40, Robert.

SPEAKER_03 15:56

But yeah, so my most of my my my average uh client is probably between 58 and 65. Oh, I'm younger, okay. Yeah, but those are the people that need my services. Okay, it it so we are trying to transition, we're not quite there. So all right, but the amount of postage that we put out to mail those packets to everybody, yeah, and most of the time they come, they haven't even opened it. Here's your packet back. All right, so that was for you to open it and because I'm not gonna lie, I'm like, ain't shit changed, Robert. I'm just gonna see in these forms. And so that's a roadmap, it's supposed to help people. And if you got a lot of different things going on, is oh, I didn't think about that. Uh I didn't think about that account or whatever. Last year you filed with this. Uh, and it's just it's it's hints. Last year you had this going on. Do you still have that going on? I got you.

SPEAKER_02 17:00

I get the purpose. I'm just like, god damn, this is a goddamn uh uh look like a goddamn Congress bill. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:08

We were like, Oh, I have homework. Like this was your help. I was giving you, and you're welcome. Help me help you. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 17:18

What's one legal tax strategy that most people don't even know exists?

SPEAKER_02 17:22

Please tell me.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

Uh okay, so a legal tax strategy. So uh this isn't our our bracket, none of our, it's not mine. It's but uh damn Robert.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

I don't I know I'm not rich.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

No, no, no. This what when you when you are we'll say quote unquote rich, there is uh they they call it live, borrow, die. So you live, you you gain wealth, what whatever that means. So you can actually borrow against your wealth. So say you have a account that is invested in the stock market, whatever, and it's worth a million dollars or plus. Uh, you can actually go to a bank and say, I have this account, it's worth a million dollars, and they will say, Okay, we'll use that as collateral, we'll give you 40% of your portfolio, so million dollars, $400,000. We'll give that to you cash, cash money. So you put that into the market, they will charge you an interest rate. If you can beat that interest rate in the market, you are you you've lost nothing, and all you are doing is gaining. And uh, so that this is not for me, this is not for, but they there is at 100% legal, and you can even write off the interest that they charge you on uh borrowing against your own capital. So far scan legal, but you you need the capital to to show the bank up front, yeah. But that is a very legitimate tax strategy that the elites use and they have not they haven't sold a thing, they're not out anything. They all they do is say, This is what my portfolio is worth, and they can get fronted the money, and as long as they beat the interest rate, they've gained money and lost absolutely nothing.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

So, what's the Poe Man's tax strategy? Uh so at that point for us.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Uh so you can either not claim all of your income, you could over-exaggerate your expenses, you can uh I'm not saying do that, don't do it, but that's that's what you can do that for me.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

No, that is not what I do. No, um when I get when I get this this packet this year, Robert, there will be some over-exaggerating.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

And okay, for for example, giving this table. Uh yeah, I do I I've got someone who works 40 hours a week, they have a W2 job, they have a side hustle. For their side hustle, they're gonna tell me they drive 60,000 miles a year. Woof. Really?

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Really, but you're working 40 hours a week.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Yeah, so after after working 40 hours, it is not possible. I I will I'm on the other side of that desk going no, there is no way, and I will even back it up with so the average is 10,000 miles a year, 10 to 12,000 miles a year. That's California. We drive more than anywhere else. So you do five, six times that in addition to working full-time. When? How you're a full-time truck driver when you're not on the clock. No, absolutely not. And but they'll they'll sit on the other side of the desk with straight face and be like, Yep, double down. That's what I want. All right, uh, so my job is to create a return for you, and I will try

Understanding Tax Refunds

SPEAKER_03 21:10

to say, you might be pushing the limit here. Uh, this is this is a little outside of what I would expect, but at the end of the day, I have an engagement letter. That engagement letter says, I produce a return, and it is based on the information you provide to me.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

So if you tell me that, I'll do it. I'll uh I will I will give you all of the I wouldn't if I was you, but at the end of the day, they they contracted me to create a return on their behalf. I can do that, I will do that, but that is based on the information they give me, and that's not on me. So, and I've I've got all the legal things to back me up on you sign this here, here initial here. And this is what you want. And okay. If you want to push that envelope, go right ahead. But I will caution against it when something is very out of you read between the lines like that.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

If they come after somebody, it's yours.

SPEAKER_03 22:17

Yeah. If you get audit, and if you're if you're in an audit situation, I'll have your back, and I will be the divider between the IRS and you. So I'm like the lawyer. So they're not talking directly to you. And I will have your back. But at the same time, that's what you had to say, and that's what you told me.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

So far as I could, but hey, you want your own a little bit. I'm gonna tell you right now, he's not bullshitting because I was like last year returned. I was like, Yeah, you know, I use my I use my cell phone. We use our cell phones for uh business for he's like, yeah, we'll go ahead and claim 60% of that.

SPEAKER_03 22:57

Yeah, no, it's it's not a hundred percent. There you can't tell me you did not use that cell phone for personal use. Everything is business, Robert. Everything is business. Everything can be, everything can be, yeah, sure. I I'll ride the wave for you, but I will also err on the side of caution and try to keep you understanding.

SPEAKER_02 23:16

I'm gonna start answering my phone this is so-and-so from the such and such pocket. That's it, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:21

Everything's a business call. We could bump that up to 75%.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

Everything's a business call. So, what's the biggest misconception about LLCs?

SPEAKER_03 23:33

Okay, especially in California. California, I am uh lawyers love LLCs, and people hear the LLC uh and think it means more than it does. All that means is it's a name, and it's a name that separates from you and your social security number. Uh, I am not a fan of LLCs, especially in California. So, first off, the second you become an LLC, $800 a year for California, just for doing business, whether you make a dollar or not, $800 just for the pleasure of doing business in California per year. No. So you can be a sole proprietor, load up on insurance. Do you know how much insurance you could get for $800 a year? Get an umbrella policy, cover you. You could do uh doing business as if you don't like your name out there. Uh that's free. You you could load up on insurance, do a DBA, and keep everything else the same. And you just saved yourself $800 per year, in addition to the taxes. So the second that there's an LLC involved per year, that's another between $100 and $125. That's what I charge. And I'm on the cheaper side. Uh, I do compare my rates to others. The uh you uh, if you go to a HR block, most of the time their fees are higher than mine, and they give you no backing. There's there's no person you can call, there's no one you can go to that you could rely on. If you have a problem, whatever. Uh, so I do compare my fees. We are very like uh cost conscious in my firm.

SPEAKER_02 25:19

I don't know if I got that bill off.

SPEAKER_03 25:23

Compare my bill to someone else's. I guarantee you, we are right.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

So we only had two more schedules on this one.

SPEAKER_03 25:30

I don't think this is justifiable. Every time you do something new, it's another charge. I get it, I get it, I get it. But uh an LLC in particular, in addition to my fees, eight hundred dollars per year for California. I would put that money toward insurance, doing a doing business as, and you you could do a DBA, you can file that. That's free. You like that? That's just paperwork. But then what about self-employment tax? So you do have you have self-employment tax both ways. Do having an LLC does not avoid a self-employment tax, so that's still a schedule C both ways. So no charge. Uh, so LLC is an additional charge. I'm joking, I'm joking about the schedule C, right? But no, uh, me personally, I am not a fan of LLCs. Lawyers, big fan. You you go to someone, you you tell them I'm trying to start a business. Oh, you got to get an LLC. I will say, no, absolutely not. You do not. You can accomplish the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

Do you think that's what what about once you reach a certain size?

SPEAKER_03 26:39

Does not nothing changes when we have an LLC. No. So you you would where what's your thoughts on escort? I like an escort. Uh you're still at $800 per year uh for the pleasure of doing business in California. That is flow-through income. Uh, so the difference between an escorp and uh sole proprietor, you do get away from the self-employment tax, but and you still have uh access to distribution. So uh it's still kind of your pot of money, you have access to if you're running a profit. Um, you uh S-Corp, you do have to pay yourself, you have to take a W-2 uh employment taxes. There is that aspect of it, but uh sole proprietor,

Audit Red Flags

SPEAKER_03 27:30

at a certain point, I would go an S-corp rather than an LLC every time.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

What point is that?

SPEAKER_03 27:39

So you gotta be making money. Uh how much money? Uh so there's not a clear like dividing line. Okay, uh, so it's it's when the self-employment taxes have gotten more than so I gotta see what you're going. Okay, so what once you get past the self-employment taxes, so that you're paying both the employer and employee portion of the taxes. A S-corp, you have to pay yourself, but it's just the employer portion of the payroll taxes, but you have to have payroll, so that comes with its own thing. You have your quarterly reports you have to file, you have your yearly reports, you got your W2s, you got your so there is cost that go come with the S Corp.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

I have a great CPA that does that stuff, yeah, right there.

SPEAKER_03 28:37

So uh so what once you once the self-employment taxes are eating into your profits, that's when you start to transition. Okay, and there's not a clear dividing line, but once you are paying more in the self-employment taxes than you would be otherwise, that's the point. Okay. So buy a car. But you have to be making money. Okay if you're claiming a loss, stay at sole proprietorship.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

Okay, so expenses, expenses, expenses, expenses. All right, that's all I heard.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

That's all I heard. All right, all right. Uh claim the loss. If someone starts making money off of YouTube, uh podcasts, Instagram, etc., what's the first thing they should do?

SPEAKER_03 29:26

Uh so track everything, your expenses. I guarantee you have expenses. Uh, and as long as you can support that, uh track everything. Everything can be an expense. We talked about your phone. Everything can be an expense. Uh so lighting, or you you have uh you have uh business use of home, so you have a designated part of your home. So at that point, you can you could claim part of your utilities, you could claim part of your mortgage interest, you could claim part of your property taxes. So but can you do that if you're only I mean if you're working like with a W-2 or is that something you can do? No, you you so that has to be once you have a 1099, you have the once you are receiving a 1099 or self-employment, you and you can back it up. That documentation means everything. But so no, you don't get access to this on a W2 job, but once you have a 1099, a schedule C, uh if you do it right, a schedule C, a schedule E, a rentable. Uh, if you do it right, uh depending on your goals, that can be a loss. Uh I I would say that can be a loss when I stamp on your foot. Yeah, but but you you have to be able to back it up, and it's all about documentation. And uh so you you have to be able to back it up in an audit situation. Uh and that is the worst case scenario. If you can do that, if you have the documentation, if you have the phone bill, if you have the utilities, if you have whatever, if you can prove this is a designated space for your business, then you will beat the audit every time. But it's all on documentation. You gotta have the documentation to back you up. The the worst case scenario is the audit and then throwing out and then reassessing, and then they give you interest penalties and they back they backdated. And so now here's what you owe us. That's what you want to avoid. Yeah, and that that's a worst case scenario.

unknown 31:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

So, what's the difference between because you spoke on this earlier? What's the difference between avoiding taxes and tax evasion?

SPEAKER_03 31:54

So what's the snipes? Tax evasion are you gonna like either me or what's like evasion is just you don't pay it, you come up with some BS, you just throw something on on there, you make something up, uh, or you put your head in the sand and ignore it, and just don't you'd be surprised how many people that I deal with. I haven't filed in the last 10 years. What do you mean you haven't filed in 10 years? And uh a lot of times they owe you money, you left money on the table for not filing. Now I'm picking it. I did the you get three years, and then I don't have any money left on the table. After that three years, you you that's a donation to the government. I did three years. I would not do that, never do that.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

I've never done that, but I did the three years and then I file it. She was like, Are you rich? And I was like, Fuck. But you they owe you money, and I was like, Oh, really? Shit.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

Oh, that's okay. I just didn't pay you off for no reason.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

That's a nice little come-up. But but uh keep in mind a tax refund is you overpaying and you getting your own money back.

LLC vs Sole Proprietor

SPEAKER_03 33:10

That is not the government doing you any favors. Yeah, that it that is your that's your money you are entitled to. They don't do that, and if if you don't play by their rules, you are giving them money. Why would you do that? Right. Uh, but that is avoiding taxes. That's that's being smart, that's learning the code, that's that's making the code work for you. That is uh you uh you're playing by the rules, so they set the rules. You play by the rules, but you can make those rules work in your favor if you do it right. Yeah, so that's being smart, that is different than evasion. Evasion is these are the rules, and I'm going to I'm gonna make them up. I'm gonna interpret that. Here's what I think that means. No, that's not what that means. Uh, I've had this conversation multiple times. Uh, I had an influencer, quote unquote, worst client that I've ever had. I fired them. Uh so they I never heard of that. Uh they were under the impression if I have a receipt, it is a business expense. Uh that is not how that works. And so one, they would be last second. So at the deadline, I'd get a shoebox and it would be just receipts. Make this make sense. Okay. So I'm I'm looking at the receipts. Every so we went to a restaurant, alcohol. Uh most of the bill is alcohol. That that's not a deduction. No, then we have makeup, makeup, not a deduction. No, clothing. That's my uniform. I did a photo shoot and I needed this. Uh, so uniform, there's very specific rules on what a uniform is. You need a name tag, it needs to have your business. You can't wear that in any other setting other than work. And they they said, I I bought clothing. This is I got a receipt. This is a bit that that's not an expense. Absolutely not. No, I'm not going to do that. What if it's used as props? Uh, so a prop, if if it is used in a business setting, that is a deduction. Yeah. But so I I would literally get in the argument with this person every year. And uh this person, the the only way they were able to fund their lifestyle was their parents. Their parents were good clients of ours, and uh I I got into a situation where I was uncomfortable and I said, I'm not going to do this, I'm not going to do what you want. No. Uh, because that's that's me, that's my name on there. And I I still have to abide by what I need to do. So I I give advice, I I I will tell you something. They disregarded everything and said, That's what I want to do, and this is the way I interpret the and I said, You're wrong. You are absolutely wrong. So, what they did, they called mommy, and their mom went around me and went to my mom, who that's my boss. So, they went to my boss and said, This is what we want. I said, We won't do it. And and luckily, uh me and my mother, we have a very good working relationship. I went to her, told her the facts, and she said, Yep, you're right. And also, I got your back, we won't do it. That's what's it? And so uh we ended up firing them as a client, and that's fine. Uh, but no, it's not worth it. It absolutely is not, and your interpretation of what this means, I will say you are wrong.

SPEAKER_02 37:31

No, I mean, I agree with you. I mean, after everything you say, how long it took you to get the license, I'm probably gonna risk my license for some dumb shit like this.

SPEAKER_00 37:37

Yeah, so you can say three dollars just because my brain took it there.

SPEAKER_03 37:40

So, would that mean an OnlyFans or you can write off so much, so all of your lingerie, all of your props, all of your cameras. Don't say less on the start this week. I I had a stripper and I I wrote off her breast implants. You better believe it. I wrote that off as a business expense. Wow, you invested in yourself for your business, yes, no problem. I will do that every time.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Damn. If you get a different set of uh tax stuff at some point down the time from me, just what is this new handle? What are some business expenses that people get audited for because they push it too far?

SPEAKER_03 38:29

Uh, so first off, it's gonna be mileage. Uh, we we talked on this, uh, so there's an average, and so the IRS, what what designates a red flag? So the IRS they process millions of returns, and so they come up with their range and it's an acceptable range. And the second you are outside of that range, that's what's called the red flag. So, mileage, first off, uh, your 2% miscellaneous business expenses. So you have a W-2 job, and you say, This is the expenses that I incurred to make this money. First off, the federal government they completely did away with this section because it was so rampant in fraud. So it will only help you for the state at this point.

When an S Corp Makes Sense

SPEAKER_03 39:20

2% miscellaneous means first you have to come up with your adjusted gross income, then you have to figure out 2% of that, you have to get above that, and then that's when those deductions start to matter. So, say your work boots, your union expenses, your so that's where these things go. Your uniform, and it better be a real uniform. But it is, yeah, no, it is okay, but that's where these so uh dry cleaning for the uniform. Uh, so the expenses that you incur to make the money that you make, uh, but this section that's where people they would play. And I I have seen so like, oh, really? It cost you forty thousand dollars and your W-2 says sixty thousand dollars. So two-thirds of what you made went to making that money. How are you living? Really? Yeah, yeah. So how do you put gas in? How do you put food on a table? That this doesn't make sense. So anytime it doesn't make sense, and I I I'll take a step back. Does this make sense? Uh, is this what you're telling me? And people will double down. Yep, that's it. All right, sign here, here, and here. That's on you. Uh, I'll I'll put it together for you and I'll caution against it, and I will tell you to me, this doesn't make sense, but if you got the documentation to back it up, then you win. Uh I ain't gonna fight you on it.

SPEAKER_00 40:59

So what's one thing that every parent should know financially?

SPEAKER_03 41:06

The sooner you start to save, the better. Uh, so the idea of compounding interest, uh, if you know time value of money, uh there's always uh say the the college college expenses always go up. You always hear you got to save for college. There's 529 plans, there's the new Trump accounts, uh, which uh those are brand new. If you if you have a child under 18, get a Trump account. That's a thousand bucks. If if they were born within this year or next year, that's five grand on the table for filling out a form. Do that. Every single one of my clients that had a dependent under 18, we set them up with the Trump account. That's a thousand bucks for filling out a piece of paper that was government funded.

SPEAKER_02 41:59

That's uh wait, you set my account up? Yeah. So why I keep an email set my account? You did it, you did it already?

SPEAKER_03 42:08

Yeah, I'll ask you afterwards. It was what's your last file? I get, yep. Every single one of our clients that had a dependent, we we set an account up for their kids. That was a thousand bucks. If the kid was brand new, they were born this year, next year, that's five thousand dollars. The government will fund them. It is uh it's set up for retirement, it's essentially an IRA. There's a couple of exceptions, you can access that money after 18. That's the kids' money, it's got their name on it, it's their account. At 18, they have access to it. If they withdraw whatever uh money is in that account, that's income to them. They have to claim it unless there's three exceptions. It's for a house, it's for a business, or it's for the first-time home. All of those are expenses that every person is going to incur. So filling out a piece of paper to get the government to give you a thousand to five thousand dollars, fill it out every time. Yes. Uh so you are able to contribute to that account until they're 18. Your employer is able to contribute to that account and until they're 18. And at 18, they have access to it. I wouldn't rate it, but it's it's set up to be their IRA, it's their foundation for their retirement. And the government looked around and said, all these people, they're approaching retirement, and no one's saved for for no one's ready for this. And they said, we will fund for the next generation to be better prepared. And that's what that Trump account is. So do that. The ball smart for her.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

So shit. Should people hire a CPA before they make money or after?

SPEAKER_03 44:03

Uh so for the general population, they keep bumping up the standard deduction. Uh if you are a standard deduction, you can file your own return. You don't need me. There, there's nothing I can do that's going to benefit you in that situation. You're at my base rate. I could put in the information just as easy as you could put in. I don't have a sandbox to play in. So once you start making money, that's when we we can come up with strategy. That's when I that that's when I have something that I can I could work for.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

You got to give a dollar amount, Robert.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

Uh no, uh, so it's what you have going on. So uh what complicates a return is say flow through income. You have a trust, you have a schedule C, you have a Schedule E,

Wealth Starts With Habits

SPEAKER_03 45:00

you have rentals, you have uh you have an S Corp, you have a K1. Those that complicates your return and makes it harder for a normal person to be able to do. If you have a W-2, maybe some mortgage interest, you you own a property, and that's your situation. I could put in the information just as well as you, and there's not a whole lot I can do for you. You have a business, you have a rental, you have uh you have flow through income, anything like that. Now we can start playing with the numbers, quote unquote. And that's where I can make the code work in your favor. That's when I have a sandbox to play in, that's where I earn my fees.

SPEAKER_02 45:51

That's our point.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

What's one financial habit that separates wealthy people from everyone else?

SPEAKER_03 45:58

Um, the first one that comes to mind is going to be impulse control, uh, saving, uh, a budget. Uh so it if you have money, you you know you have money, say you have a thousand dollars and you go down and you buy a name brand belt that costs $650. I'm sitting there going, no, that you did not, you cannot just because you had the money, does not mean you can't afford this. Always save plan for the future and uh investing. If uh that there's a difference between spending money on an asset versus spending money on an expense. So spending money on that belt, $650 or whatever it is. Okay, you got yourself a belt, that's an expense. That money's gone. You uh and you can't resell that belt, you will never get $650 for that belt ever again. Name brand or whatever it is, that's gone. That money you just lit on fire. But you put that into a business, you you save for your future, put that into a house. The first step in being able to retire, own your home, uh, not having that monthly expense, you would be surprised what you're able to accomplish with not having a mortgage. If you have a mortgage, retirement and not working, not having that money coming in, uh it's out of your grasp at that point. Most of the time, unless you're making stupid money. And if you're making stupid money, do whatever you want. But even then, you're showing up to work, you're working for it, you still need that money to come in.

SPEAKER_00 47:54

Because the this conversation is so dope, we got to split it into two. You'll catch us again for part two of Talk Your Shit with the boy Robber. That's a rent, you know. That's that's how she wrote. So click like subscribe. Until next time.