Tax Day: Mobile Notary Deductions

It is that time of year when every dollar counts for your small business. Join Eddie Montes Travis and Marylyn Lee Trotter as they explore the essential tax deductions that every mobile notary should know about to maximize their return and keep more of their hard-earned money. • Mileage and Vehicle Costs: Learn how to track every mile driven to appointments and choose between the standard mileage rate or actual expense method for your mobile notary business. • Office Supplies and Gear: Discover how your notary stamps, journals, high-speed printers, and even paper can be written off as necessary business expenses. • Professional Fees: Understand how to deduct your membership dues, background check fees, and continuing education courses required to maintain your commission. • Home Office Deduction: Explore the requirements for claiming a portion of your home expenses if you have a dedicated space for managing your signing agent paperwork. Navigating tax season does not have to be stressful when you know exactly what expenses to track throughout the year. Taking advantage of these mobile notary deductions ensures your business remains profitable and compliant. Please make sure to subscribe and like the podcast.

Show Notes:
• Overview of standard mileage vs. actual vehicle expense deductions.
• List of common deductible office supplies and notary equipment.
• Breakdown of professional fees, including insurance and association dues.
• Clarification on the IRS home office deduction requirements.

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Executive Producer Derrick Spruill
Writers Marylyn Lee Trotter and Eddie Montes Travis
Graphics & Illustrations by Eddie Montes Travis
Music by Thomas Bynum
This Show is Produced by Magnificent Workz
Business Solutions

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Need a blueprint to start your mobile notary business? Don't stumble through the process. You need an outline for success. Introducing the Mobile Notary Blueprint by Derek Spruel. Build your thriving mobile business and protect yourself from costly mistakes with expert advice. Buy your copy of the Mobile Notary Blueprint by Derek Spruel from any online bookstore, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Booksofmillion.com, Bookshop.org, Mobile Notary by Dereks Spruel.com, or download from Kindle and build your successful notary business today.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

Welcome to Notary Knowledge. I am Marilyn Lee Trotter.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

And I am Eddie Montes Travis.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

We are so glad you are here with us today for a really thoughtful, uh reflective look at your business. Before we jump in, a quick reminder to check out the video podcast No Notary with Eddie Montes Travis. And uh you can also catch my short form tips on Marilyn's 90 seconds of notary.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Yeah, and you definitely want to pick up the notary knowledge books by Derek Sproul. They are fantastic resources. Uh you can find those and more over at the Notary Knowledge website.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Exactly. And hey, if you enjoy what we do here, please take a second to rate the show, subscribe, and you know, share the podcast with other notaries. It really helps us out.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

It definitely does.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

So today is all about tax day, specifically mobile notary deductions.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Right. It is uh it's that time of year that stresses everyone out.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

It really does. Imagine charging a title company $150 for a flawless mortgage closing. You handled the documents perfectly, collected every signature without a single hitch, and you know, you drop the package at FedEx right on time. But because of the specific way you formatted the invoice you sent over, you just gave the IRS an unnecessary 15% tip straight out of your own pocket.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Aaron Powell, which is painful to even think about.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

Right. So today we are exploring how mobile notaries accidentally give away their hard-earned money and more importantly, how to stop doing it. We're pulling from a really solid stack of sources for this analysis.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

Aaron Powell Yeah, we have the official IRS guidelines, specifically publication 334. We've got industry articles from the National Notary Association, some really comprehensive tax optimization reports, and uh insights from a few of the major notary software platforms out there.

SPEAKER_03 2:20

Aaron Powell Exactly. And our mission today is to provide you, the experienced mobile notary entrepreneur, with a high-level look at how to protect your income. You already know the loan signing process inside and out. Today is about the meticulous record keeping and the uh strategic tax planning required to actually keep the money you make.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Aaron Powell Which is exactly what we all want, right? Yeah. And it happens far more often than you might think. I mean, the tax code for independent contractors is already incredibly dense.

SPEAKER_03 2:49

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Aaron Powell But for notaries, it contains very specific exemptions and rules that are, honestly, frequently overlooked, usually just due to minor formatting errors or you know a fundamental misunderstanding of how the state and federal systems interact with one another.

SPEAKER_03 3:05

Aaron Powell Right. So let's start with the money coming in. It seems less before you can even begin deducting expenses, you have to classify your income correctly.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Aaron Powell Yes. Income classification is the foundational step. Before you buy a printer or track a single mile, you have to understand that the tax code treats you differently than almost any other independent contractor.

SPEAKER_03 3:23

Aaron Powell Wait, really? How so?

SPEAKER_02 3:24

Well, when you are commissioned by your state, you essentially become a public official. The IRS actually recognizes that you are performing a quasi-governmental function.

SPEAKER_03 3:34

I want to stop you right there because that classification feels really unique. Why does the IRS treat notaries differently than, say, a freelance graphic designer or an independent plumber?

SPEAKER_02 3:45

It really comes down to the origin of your authority and your pricing. You know, the graphic designer can charge whatever the market will bear. But as a notary, your state specifically dictates the maximum fee you can charge for a notarial act.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Because the state regulates that fee. The federal government, under Internal Revenue Code, Section 1402, C2, says those specific statutory fees are explicitly exempt from the 15.3% self-employment tax.

SPEAKER_03 4:11

Wow. I mean 15.3% is a massive chunk of change to just carve out.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

It truly is. For most self-employed individuals, that 15.3% is mandatory. It covers the Social Security and Medicare taxes that an employer would typically split evenly with a W-2 employee.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

Right, because since you don't have an employer, you're usually stuck paying both halves.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Exactly. But because you are acting as an arm of the state for that specific notarial act, that portion of your income bypasses the self-employment tax entirely. However, the critical caveat here is that all of your auxiliary revenues are not exempt.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

Right. Because as a mobile notary or a loan signing agent, you aren't just stamping a piece of paper. You're driving 30 minutes across town, you're printing 150-page loan packages, you know, you're dropping documents at a shipping facility.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

Yeah, all of those things, travel fees, document printing charges, courier fees, those are considered standard private enterprise business earnings. If your net earnings from those non-noterial activities exceed $400 for the year, they are fully subject to that 15.3% tax.

SPEAKER_03 5:15

Okay, I want to use an analogy here to make sure the mechanics of this are crystal clear. Imagine going out to a nice restaurant. At the end of the meal, the waiter just hands you a slip of paper that says, total, $150. There is no breakdown of the appetizer, the main course, the state tax, or the tip. It's just a lump sum. Now, if a notary does that, if you charge an $150 flat fee for a mortgage closing and just hand the title company an invoice for $150, what actually happens when the IRS looks at that receipt?

SPEAKER_02 5:45

The IRS auditor will look at that single line item and just assume the entire $150 is standard business revenue. Ouch. Yeah. Because you failed to separate the statutory signature fees on the receipt, the IRS will default to taxing the entire amount. I mean, they were not going to do the math for you or guess how many signatures were in the package. You absolutely have to use line item invoicing to protect yourself.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

So how does that look on actual paper?

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Let's use that $150 mortgage closing example. Let's say that closing required you to notarize eight individual signatures. If your state's statutory fee for a notarial act is $10 per signature, then $80 of that $150 fee represents your exempt notarial income.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

Okay, so the remaining $70 represents your taxable travel and administrative services.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Exactly. So your invoice must explicitly state eight notarizations at $10 each equals $80, followed by your travel and service fees on separate lines.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

Just let that sink in for a moment. By simply writing a few extra lines on your invoice, you are legally shielding a significant portion of your income from a 15.3% tax. But uh I want to make sure I understand the actual tax form. Schedule C is where I tell the government my total business profit rate.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Right.

SPEAKER_03 6:56

But Schedule SE is the specific form that calculates the self-employment tax. Am I literally writing a note on the SE form to block that tax?

SPEAKER_02 7:05

That is the exact mechanical process. All of your gross income, the full $150, goes on Schedule C, just like any other business.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

But to claim the exemption, you take that exempt $80 amount and report it on Schedule SE or Schedule 2. You physically or digitally enter the literal text exempt dash notary. You subtract the exempt amount from your Schedule C net profit before the 15.3% multiplier is ever applied.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

Okay, so you've successfully shielded your actual signature income. But as we established earlier, a huge chunk of your revenue comes from the travel fee. Since the IRS is taxing those travel dollars heavily, we need to figure out how to offset them. Which brings us to the vehicle. That has to be the next biggest financial lever for a mobile business.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

Without question, travel is the lifeblood of a mobile notary operation. The IRS gives you two distinct methods to calculate your vehicle deduction: the standard mileage rate and the actual expenses method.

SPEAKER_03 8:01

The standard mileage rate is the one most people are familiar with. You just, you know, multiply your miles by a set number.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Yes, and it is designed for simplicity. For the 2026 tax year, the standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per business mile, which is an increase from 70.0 cents in 2025.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

Nice little bump there.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Yeah, it helps. If you elect this method, that per mile rate is comprehensive. It covers your gas, oil changes, tires, mechanical repairs, and insurance. You cannot deduct those items separately.

SPEAKER_03 8:29

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Yeah. The only things you can stack on top of the standard rate are business related parking fees and tolls.

SPEAKER_03 8:35

But the sources warn that there is a pretty strict catch with how you choose this method.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

The rules of the road are incredibly rigid here. If you want the option to use the standard mileage rate, you absolutely must elect it in the first year the vehicle is used for business.

SPEAKER_03 8:52

Wow. The very first year.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

Yes. If you decide to use the actual expenses method in year one, you are permanently locked into it for that vehicle. You cannot switch to the standard rate later. Furthermore, if you lease your vehicle and choose the standard rate, you are locked into that rate for the entire duration of the lease.

SPEAKER_03 9:10

That makes the initial decision really critical. Why would someone choose the actual expenses method if it locks them in like that?

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Well, the actual expenses method requires you to track the total operational cost of the vehicle for the year and then multiply it by your business use percentage. So if you drive 30,000 miles total and 15,000 of those were specifically for your notary business, your business use percentage is 50%.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

Okay, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

So you can then write off 50% of your gas, insurance, lease payments, and crucially depreciation. This method often yields a much larger overall deduction if you drive a heavy, extensive SUV or, you know, a vehicle that requires high cost maintenance.

SPEAKER_03 9:52

Here is where I think a lot of people leave money on the table. When we think of business miles, our brains immediately go to the drive from our house to the signer's house and back. But the sources highlight a lot of overlooked miles.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Right, because the IRS allows you to deduct mileage for any trip that serves a legitimate business purpose. Did you drive to the office supply store to look at a new dual tray printer?

SPEAKER_03 10:14

Oh, even if I didn't buy anything.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Exactly. Even if you didn't buy anything, the intent was for the business, making that mileage deductible.

SPEAKER_03 10:21

What about driving to a continuing education class across town?

SPEAKER_02 10:25

Fully deductible.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

Dropping off a completed loan package at the FedEx box, or traveling to a networking event, or a National Notary Association conference.

SPEAKER_02 10:33

All of it. But, and this is a big but, the burden of proof rests entirely on your shoulders. You have to prove those miles happened.

SPEAKER_03 10:40

And here's where I have to push back a little. Because human nature is powerful, the temptation to just do some, you know, end-of-year spreadsheet guessing is incredibly strong. Oh yeah. People look at their calendar in late January and say, well, I probably drove about 15 miles for that, closing back on March 12th. How strictly does the IRS actually view those non-contemporaneous logs?

SPEAKER_02 11:03

Reconstructing your miles at the end of the year is an absolute recipe for disaster during an IRS audit.

SPEAKER_03 11:09

Really?

SPEAKER_02 11:09

Yeah, the IRS routinely rejects non-contemporaneous logs. To survive an audit, your log must be kept at the time the travel occurs. You need the specific date, the starting and ending locations, the clear business purpose of the trip, and the precise mileage driven.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

So relying on your memory 11 months later just isn't going to cut it.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

It represents an incredibly high risk of audit failure. This is why specialized tools like notary gadget or closewise are so heavily recommended in the sources. They force you to build that immediate daily tracking habit on your phone before you even put the car in drive.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

Okay, we've offset the travel on the road. What happens when you pull back into your driveway? Let's talk about the physical headquarters. The equipment and the space used to manage the business offer massive tax advantages, but only if strict boundaries are respected.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Right. The IRS requires the home office space to meet the regular and exclusive use test. This is where a lot of sole proprietors accidentally trigger an audit or lose their deduction.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

I want to test this boundary with a physical analogy. Let's say I'm a notary and I set up a dedicated desk, a beautiful laser printer, and my filing cabinets and my guest bedroom. I use it every single day for my business. But a friend comes into town and sleeps in that guest bed for two weekends out of the entire year. Does that blow up the exclusive use test?

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Yes, it completely blows it up.

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Over two weekends.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Personal use ruins the exclusive use requirement. It cannot be an area that is mixed use. A corner of a dining room table where your family also eats meals disqualifies the deduction entirely.

SPEAKER_03 12:43

Wow. So it has to be an absolute sanctuary for the business. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

It does. Now there is a very specific exception in the code for storing business inventory. For a mobile notary, that might mean storing physical journals, archived client files, and bulk paper in a shared space. But generally speaking, the office space itself must be 100% dedicated to the business. The actual expenses method for a home office allows you to write off a percentage of your rent, your mortgage interest, your utilities, and even private mortgage insurance, or PMI.

SPEAKER_03 13:15

Really? PMI too.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

Yep. If your home office takes up 10% of the total square footage of your home, you can legally deduct 10% of those operational costs from your business income.

SPEAKER_03 13:25

Think about the difference there between casual side hustle habits and professional business compliance. Taking the time to establish a true exclusive office space literally pays a portion of your rent.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

Exactly. It demands a shift in your mindset from you know I do notarization sometimes to I operate a compliant commercial enterprise.

SPEAKER_03 13:44

Now let's talk about what goes inside that office space. Technology and equipment, high capacity dual tray laser printers, laptops, heavy duty document scanners. I mean, these are major investments.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Very major. And because they have a useful life extending beyond a single tax year, standard accounting rules say you have to depreciate their cost gradually over several years. However, there are mechanisms designed to accelerate that. Under Section 179, you can expense these items immediately in the year you buy them. Which is huge. Yeah. For 2025, the overall deduction limit is $2,500,000, though it is limited to your active taxable income.

SPEAKER_03 14:21

And then there is the legislation that the sources say really shook things up. Something called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 or PL 11921.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Yes, this is a crucial development for small businesses. The Act permanently reinstated 100% bonus depreciation for qualified property acquired after January 19th, 2025.

SPEAKER_03 14:41

Wait, hold on. The IRS allows me to write off 100% of a massive dual-tray printer at the same day I buy it. Yes. That sounds like a loophole. How does this one big beautiful bill act actually let me do that without triggering an audit?

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Well, it isn't a loophole. It is a deliberate economic stimulus. Our sources indicate the government wants small businesses to invest in capital equipment. By utilizing this 100% bonus depreciation, it allows notaries to aggressively lower their adjusted gross income during highly profitable years.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

There are transition rules, of course. If you acquired the property before January 20, 2025, but place it in service during 2025, you are capped at a 40% bonus depreciation rate. Or even if you acquired it after January 19th, you can still elect to use a 40% rate for the first tax year, ending after that date, if you know spreading the deduction makes more strategic sense for your specific tax bracket.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

Buying the gear and setting up the office is one thing, but how do you categorize all this so a computer at the iOS doesn't flag you? Protecting these deductions requires maintaining what I like to call bulletproof administrative hygiene.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

That administrative hygiene starts right on line B of your Schedule C, where you select your six-digit principal business activity code, commonly known as a NAICS code.

SPEAKER_03 15:58

Does picking a six-digit number really matter that much? I imagine a lot of people just pick whatever sounds closest on a drop-down menu and move on.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

It matters a lot. Selecting the wrong code can distort your financial ratios and easily trigger automated audits.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_02 16:11

Yeah, the IRS computers compare your specific business deductions against industry averages based entirely on that six-digit code.

SPEAKER_03 16:18

So what are the right codes for our listeners?

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Code 541199, which stands for all other legal services, is the standard, widely recommended code for independent general mobile notaries public. If you are a loan signing agent whose primary revenue comes strictly from executing mortgage closing packages, code 522300, which is for credit intermediation, is frequently used.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

The sources also mention code 541120. When would someone use that?

SPEAKER_02 16:45

Code 541120 is strictly for civil law notaries who actually draft and approve legal documents like real estate deeds and wills.

SPEAKER_03 16:53

Ah, I see.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

So using that code when you are a standard mobile notary who only witnesses signatures could raise massive red flags because your expense profile will look very different from a full-fledged law office.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

Okay, that makes total sense. So the code dictates what the IRS expects to see. Let's talk about the day-to-day operational deductions they are looking for.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

The general rule of thumb is that expenses are fully deductible on Schedule C as long as they are ordinary and necessary for running the business. This includes your National Notary Association dues, your errors in omissions insurance premiums, and your state bond premiums.

SPEAKER_03 17:29

What about education? If I take a certification course through a program like Notary2 Pro, is that deductible?

SPEAKER_02 17:35

Yes. Provided the course improves your current skills in your existing business.

SPEAKER_03 17:39

Got it.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

If you take a course to enter a completely new career, it's not deductible. But continuing education for your current profession is absolutely an ordinary expense.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

And obviously all of your office supplies, paper, toner, pens, shipping fees. But I want to ask about the mental burden of tracking all of this. We just listed dozens of rules, exceptions, schedules, and codes. A lot of notaries might feel overwhelmed and think is the cost of hiring a CPA or buying specialized notary accounting software just another painful expense eating into my profits?

SPEAKER_02 18:13

I would strongly encourage flipping that perspective. A CPA or specialized software like notary gadget isn't a sunk cost. They are fully deductible, ordinary, and necessary business expenses.

SPEAKER_03 18:24

It was great.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

And more importantly, they pay for themselves by preventing IRS penalties and capturing loss deductions you might have easily missed on your own.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

Right, because trying to save 50 bucks a month on software might cost you thousands and miss mileage deductions or audit fines.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

Exactly. And part of that administrative hygiene we mentioned earlier is financial separation. Commingling your personal and business funds is a primary trigger for IRS audits.

SPEAKER_03 18:48

You have to keep them separate.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

You must have a dedicated business checking account. All revenue goes in, all expenses go out. It severely weakens your credibility during an examination if the auditor sees you buying personal groceries out of your business account.

SPEAKER_03 19:03

And since we don't have an employer automatically withholding taxes from our paychecks every two wins, we have to manage sending that money to the IRS ourselves.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

Through quarterly estimated tax payments. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal taxes for the year, you must pay quarterly to avoid underpayment penalties. Normally, those due dates are April 15th, June 15th, September 15th, and January 15th.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

But 2026 has a cork on the calendar, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Right. For the 2026 tax year, because June 15th falls on a Saturday, the deadline formally shifts to Monday, June 16th.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Good to know. And finally, let's talk about record retention. How long do we need to hold on to all this proof? The logs, the receipts, the journals?

SPEAKER_02 19:42

Well, while the general IRS art at window is three years, many states have specific statutory requirements for notarial records that extend much further. For example, Florida requires remote online notarization journals and secure audio video recordings to be preserved for at least ten years.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

Ten years. So your physical journals need to be in a highly secure place, and your digital files must be password protected and reliably backed up for a decade.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

Yes. Your journal is not just a state-mandated requirement, it is your ultimate defense in both civil disputes and financial audits.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

Absolutely. Okay, we have a great segment we do on the show called Good Question, What Would You Do? We get these real world scenarios and we want to hear how you'd handle them.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

Let's hear them.

SPEAKER_03 20:26

All right, first up, Maya from California. She gets to a signing and realizes the dates on the documents are wrong. What should she do?

SPEAKER_02 20:33

Maya needs to have the signer correct the date, initial it, and move forward. But she should never ever backdate a document that is illegal and can cost her her commission.

SPEAKER_03 20:43

Exactly. Next is Ethan in Utah. He's wondering if he can charge whatever he wants for a travel fee if the client agrees to it.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

Well, Ethan needs to check his state laws. Utah might not cap travel fees, but he has to clearly separate the state mandated notarial fee from the travel fee, just like we talked about earlier. He can't charge more than the maximum for the actual signature.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

Perfect. Okay. Zoe in Pennsylvania. A title company sent her a massive 200-page package, and she wants to know if she can print it double-sided to save paper.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

Oh no, Zoe, always print single-sided unless the lender or title company explicitly gives you written instructions to print double-sided. County recorders will often reject double-sided documents.

SPEAKER_03 21:26

Good tip. Next, Jackson in Wisconsin. He notices a typo on a document that the signer wants to cross out and fix.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

The signer can cross it out and correct it, but Jackson needs to make sure the signer initials the change, and Jackson should record that correction in his journal so there's a paper trail.

SPEAKER_03 21:41

And lastly, Lily in Maryland. She arrives at a hospital signing and the signer is completely asleep. The family says he agreed to it earlier and asks her to just notarize it while he rests.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Absolutely not. The signer must be awake, aware, and able to willingly communicate their intent to sign right in front of Lily. No exceptions, even for family.

SPEAKER_03 22:02

Great advice all around. So let's bring all of this tax discussion back together and recount the critical pillars of notary tax optimization. First, you must explicitly line item your statutory fees on every single invoice to fully utilize the Section 1402 C2 exemption from the self-employment tax. Right. Second, rigorously and contemporaneously track every single business mile you drive. Third, maintain strict, exclusive physical boundaries for your home office to qualify for those powerful operational deductions. And fourth, leverage the 2025 bonus depreciation rules under the one big beautiful bill act for your heavy equipment purchases.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

It demands a high level of meticulousness, but you know, the financial payoff is substantial.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

It really is. As a public official, precision is your trade. You verify identities, you administer oaths, and you ensure that the documents governing people's lives are executed flawlessly. Applying that exact same level of precision to your own finances ensures that you keep the money you have worked so hard to earn.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

Consider this. As a notary, you are quite literally appointed to prevent fraud for the state. You protect the public from financial manipulation. But if you aren't optimizing your tax footprint by using the legal exemptions and deductions available to you, you are essentially committing financial sabotage against your own family.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

That's a strong way to put it, but it's true.

SPEAKER_03 23:25

Are you protecting your client's wealth at the expense of your own? Take a hard look at your current invoicing habits today. When you send out that next bill for a loan signing, ask yourself if you are unknowingly giving away 15.3% of your profits. I mean, if the most valuable asset you own isn't your notary stamp, but the meticulous journal and ledger that proves your exact value to both the state and the IRS. Precision on paper means profit in the bank.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Well said.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

Thank you. And hey, please email your questions to Derek at Derrick's Brubal.com. We will try to answer as soon as possible at the end of our show.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Keep those questions coming.

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Now for our credits. Execut producer Derek's Bruble, lead writer Marilyn Lee Trumaner, graphics Eddie Montes Travis, music, Thomas Bynum. Produced by magnificent works, Business Solutions. Don't just be listeners of the Numbleage, be doers of the Numledage. This is notary Knowledge. Until next time.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

Are you an aspiring notary looking to join millions of other notaries? Start your journey with the Notary Public Foundation by Derek Spool. This essential guide provides the step-by-step process to becoming commissioned in your state. Don't stumble into the role. Walk into it with confidence. Grab your copy of the Notary Public Foundation by Derek Spoil on Amazon today.