Making Sense of Tax Season with Kenesha Coleman

That’s right! Our favorite Beauty CPA is back on the podcast today to help you crunch the numbers this tax season.

Kenesha Coleman is an award-winning CPA and IRS Enrolled Agent who specializes in helping ambitious and driven Beauty Entrepreneurs save money by optimizing their tax and financial lives. 

Kenesha has been a long-time friend of the show and I’m so grateful to have her back on to be our “safe place” where we as estheticians and small business owners can go to ensure we’re maximizing our financial lives.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL LEARN: 

• What steps you should be taking (and in what order) before you begin doing your taxes.
• Why using a trusted tax preparer may actually save you money..
• How to navigate the maze of tax season and come out better on the other side - even if you end up owing taxes!

Take Control of Your Bookkeeping With Kenesha HERE!

If you’ve connected with or been inspired by this episode in any way,  leave us a review and let us know your biggest takeaway - I’d love to hear how you’re planning on kicking tax season’s butt!

And while you've got your phone out, make sure to follow us on Instagram @Love2Sugar and check out Kenesha @TheBeautyCPA.

Want more? Download the Love2Sugar App for your one-stop shop for all things sugar and join The Sugar Tribe while you’re there!

If you’ve connected with or been inspired by this episode in any way, leave us a review and let us know your biggest takeaway — I’d love to hear how you’re embracing Sugaring For All!!

And while you’ve got your phone out, make sure to follow us on Instagram @Love2Sugar 🤍

If you’re ready to take your sugaring education and community to the next level, join us at SugarCon!
Grab your tickets and learn more here → https://sugaringconvention.com/

And don’t forget to follow along for updates, behind-the-scenes, and all things SugarCon → https://www.instagram.com/sugarcon_/

Cheers to your Sweet Success! ✨

Transcript

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[00:00:00] Shannon O'Brien: Welcome to this Sugar Show. I'm Shannon O'Brien, body sugaring expert and licensed esthetician who's taken my own skincare business from zero to multiple six figures and has helped over 3000 students learn how to do the same. Now, let me tell you, it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked. At the time, budget, and knowledge needed to grow my small business as a body sugaring pro.

[00:00:23] If we were to press rewind, you'd see the many failed attempts and lessons learned that have helped me build the profitable business that I have today. One that runs on its own and gives me the lifestyle and freedom that I only used to dream of. I created the Sugar Show to hand you my secrets and give you the simple step by step strategies to help you do the.

[00:00:45] So if you're a cosmetologist or aesthetician or wax professional who's looking to fill your books, make more money in your business and enjoy greater balance between your work and home life, you are in the right place. Let's [00:01:00] dive in.

[00:01:12] Welcome back to this episode of The Sugar Show. I always make sure that you are cared for in your business and bringing the beauty C P a Kaneisha Coleman onto the podcast was one of the best things that I could ever have done for all of us. She is our safe place. She is the one that translates all of.

[00:01:35] IRS bookkeeping tax stuff for us, and it is tax season, my friends. And this episode is all about how to be tax prepared in your sugar business. And let me tell you a little bit about Kaneisha. She is an award-winning s. C p a and i r s enrolled agent. Yes, she worked for the I R S, so she's been inside the big house and she specializes in helping [00:02:00] ambitious and driven beauty entrepreneurs like yourself, save money by optimizing their tax and financial lives.

[00:02:07] She owns Coleman Tax and it is a boutique tax firm that offers tax planning, compliance, and resolution services as well as C F O level services, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back, Kaneisha Coleman.

[00:02:26] Welcome back Kaneisha. 

[00:02:27] Kenesha Coleman: I 

[00:02:28] Shannon O'Brien: freaking love when you are on the Sugar Show because you and I just get down to it and really get these sugar pros and estheticians to be honest. Ready? Tax season or doing their books or whatever it is throughout the year. But this quarter it's about tax season. So we're gonna center this podcast around tax season readiness, and so welcome back.

[00:02:53] First of 

[00:02:54] Kenesha Coleman: all, thank you for having me. I'm really happy to be back because it's my favorite [00:03:00] time of the year. I'm nerding and geeking out from now through April, and I'm here to help everybody. 

[00:03:08] Shannon O'Brien: Are you seeing your audience of beauty professionals grow now that they're understanding that they have a c p A in their 

[00:03:13] Kenesha Coleman: corner?

[00:03:14] I am. I am. I am. And it's a great, um, thing to see them evolve as a, a business person and to just know they can, they can't wrap their, their heads around the numbers for them not to be intimidated, for them not to be scared, for them to go in, like with the full confide. Knowing that they have us as a resource to get through it all.

[00:03:38] So yes, girl. I'm happy to see that. Ooh, I 

[00:03:41] Shannon O'Brien: love it. Well, let's get, get down to it. Mm-hmm. , it's tax season. It's what is the first step? You know, we love our sugar. So we're gonna talk to Sugar Pros here, but obviously it's all the beauty industry. Um, what is the first step that a beauty professional should take to begin [00:04:00] tax season?

[00:04:01] Kenesha Coleman: Absolutely. So the very first step, it's all about information gathering, right? Because to even start to prepare a tax return, we gotta know what we gonna put on that thing in the first place. So, mm-hmm. about information gathering, and that's gonna come from two core places, right? You're gonna have all the information that's going to be mailed to you from third parties, right?

[00:04:26] You may be getting 10 90. You may be getting W two s if you work for someone throughout 2022. Um, you may be getting 10 90 eights from if you, you know, you own your, you own a home and you pay mortgage interest or property taxes. So you, you got some things coming to you from third parties through the mail.

[00:04:46] Okay. Then, and, and Shannon, you know, I can go on and on about this right here, . Yes you can, but I'm gonna try not to. Ok. Then you have the stuff that's coming from yourself, from within your [00:05:00] business, the financial records that you've been keeping all year. And that's gonna be your 22 bookkeeping. Now, hopefully all of you listening, y'all are like, p I got it.

[00:05:11] I'm, I've been doing it all year. I got it. It's done. I could just run a report with the click of a button. Oh, Malik, right. But that's gonna be again, um, like the second and likely the major. Piece of information that you're gonna need to get started this tax 

[00:05:28] Shannon O'Brien: season. Mm-hmm. . So there's a lot of people walking their dog or sitting in their treatment room, maybe they're cleaning up and they're thinking, okay, yep.

[00:05:37] Mm-hmm. tax season. She said the words, now I gotta really think about it. Mm-hmm. . So I'm, I'm pulling my information together and maybe they're a little overwhelmed listening to this, so don't, don't turn off the podcast, . It's okay. We got you. If you're listening to this, uh, just take a breath and how does someone.

[00:05:57] Like actually get some help doing this and choose [00:06:00] the right tax professional. Cuz there's a lot of people that say that they can help you with your taxes. Yes. And there's the, you know, the software, there's people you can try doing it yourself. Like what's, what should we really consider when we're thinking about getting help with all this?

[00:06:14] Kenesha Coleman: Absolutely. I want you guys to remember like people. Go to specific formal training for taxes. So anytime you running across somebody as you're going about your normal day in life, right? And there's, you meet somebody, say, oh, I do taxes. You make sure you check for their receipts. , they should have receipts.

[00:06:37] Okay. What I mean by that is you wanna know the formal training they have had to be able to prepare a tax return. Mm-hmm. , you wanna see if they have any type of credential, and there are many, right? Just to name a few. You can have an i r s enrolled agent. Which I am one. Mm-hmm. , you can have a licensed [00:07:00] CPA or a certified public account in which I am one.

[00:07:04] Mm-hmm. , you can have, um, a lawyer. I don't think any of you should go to that extent, but you could. Right. So there are, there are levels to this. Um, but you wanna make sure two things. At a minimum they have had formal training. Okay. And that is not Google or YouTube. Mm-hmm. . , they have some type of credential behind their name, so that, let me tell you, if something goes south, you got somebody you can blame, 

[00:07:33] Shannon O'Brien: you can 

[00:07:33] Kenesha Coleman: point to

[00:07:34] Mm-hmm. , the IRS does penalize tax professionals. And we are not doing our job appropriately and honestly. So you wanna make sure at least you got those two things okay. At a minimum. 

[00:07:48] Shannon O'Brien: Yeah. So someone's in your corner, I didn't realize they could be taxed or they, they could be penalized if they don't do your taxes right.

[00:07:56] I did 

[00:07:56] Kenesha Coleman: not know that. Absolutely we can, right? If something, knock [00:08:00] on wood, right, something were to happen and IRS came and they asked you some questions for you, for the IRS not to penalize you, the taxpayer, you can say, Hey, I relied on this tax professional over here, and they will totally divert it to them.

[00:08:15] Like, oh, they should have known better. Okay, so 

[00:08:19] Shannon O'Brien: let's talk about this, because I think a lot of people just think, oh, I'll just get TurboTax and do it myself. Right. This is like the, a number one reason to not try to do it yourself, especially when you own your own business and you're out in the world trying to make sure that you don't get audited in a few years, is to have the protection of a tax preparer that is, is they're licensed.

[00:08:43] Kenesha Coleman: They can be certified or licensed. Okay? Right. But as you can imagine, that license. A bit more weight. Yeah. It, it holds a bit more weight. 

[00:08:54] Shannon O'Brien: Sure, sure. You know, uh, audience, I'll tell you, I have had a few things. I've owned a business for, [00:09:00] shoot, as long as I can remember, 21 years. And I've had a, a tax preparer the whole time.

[00:09:05] My c p A is, is fabulous and I, I, I would switch to you, but this guy is like so entrenched in my stuff, , like, I wouldn't even know how to, what to give you. Uh, but anyway, he, uh, there've been a couple of times. When I've gotten a, a document in the mail, I, it's like, it's like it's written in Greek or something.

[00:09:27] I have no idea what it means, what it says. It looks very official and scary from the I r s. I just hand it to my c p a and he takes care of it. I imagine you do the same, thank God, and it was for something like two or three years ago. Mm-hmm. , and I just hand it to you and you just, you just handle it.

[00:09:45] Which that's the whole point of having a tax 

[00:09:47] Kenesha Coleman: preparer. Yep. And, and that's another thing. You, you make a, that example is great because the person that's doing your taxes, preparing that tax return is [00:10:00] submitting it to the IRS or the state taxing authorities. If something, again, knock on wood, if something goes south and they need to represent you, meaning go to the tax authorities and negotiate or fight for you, you want them to have the credentials to be able to go before the i r S and fight for you.

[00:10:19] All, all tax professionals don't have that, right? All tax professionals do not have that, right? The IRS will look at them like, I'm sorry you don't have the qualifications to even be speaking to us about this. So no, thank you. So keep that in mind as well. Absolutely. 

[00:10:35] Shannon O'Brien: Wow. Yeah, I mean, I, you just take for granted like, oh, I'll just get someone to help me with my taxes.

[00:10:40] This should be easy. Fill out the little software and it'll spin the magic number of what I get, you know, in return. And maybe if I fudge the numbers, nobody will notice and it'll, I'll get a return back and da, da, da. Three years later, they're coming back at you and it's all on you. Yep. So get yourself a tax prepared that is licensed and certified is [00:11:00] the big thing we want you guys to know.

[00:11:02] Okay. So, You're kind of thinking, all right, it's time. I gotta probably figure out who's gonna be my tax preparer. Mm-hmm. before that, what if someone is listening to this and realizes that they haven't done any bookkeeping all year?

[00:11:18] Okay. We're gonna love on them. We're gonna have grace for them. Cause this will be the last year they ever do that. Yes. Yes. But what happens if they're listening to this and they don't wanna admit it, but they've done zero bookkeeping all year. Yes. 

[00:11:31] Kenesha Coleman: Again, this, this is a very safe space. It is No judgment here at all.

[00:11:36] Um, but what I wanna say to you, there is a quick, a quick workaround and I'm gonna give you a couple Okay. First and foremost, okay. If you accepted a lot of electronic payments from your clients throughout the year, okay? Luckily, Those payment gateways you've been [00:12:00] using, they likely will issue you a 10 99 K that reports your revenue, okay?

[00:12:05] Mm-hmm. . So that's, that's a great thing. If you've done nothing to keep track of what you've made, they will give you something to put you in a very close estimate, ballpark. All right? Now what I want you to do when you get that 10 90 k, is I want you to kind of like, I want you to check it for accuracy, because if it's like way off, I want you to get back with that issue.

[00:12:26] To ask some questions, but most of the time they're spot on, and you can use that to report your revenue and be roughly in the ballpark. Okay. Now, when it comes to expenses, all right, I'm gonna go through two different steps. Hopefully if you have a double bookkeeping, hopefully you have a business bank account.

[00:12:45] I, I encourage and stress everybody to have a business bank account for a multiple, multiple reasons. For multiple reasons, but especially for. You know, you can go to that business bank account and look at all your deposits. [00:13:00] That's your income. Mm-hmm. , and look at all your expenses, and those are your expenses.

[00:13:05] Mm-hmm. , at this point, all you have to do is categorize the expenses. Go ahead and get the Excel transaction data from your business bank account. It'll download in the spreadsheet and you can go ahead. This will take time, but you can take some time to go through the transactions and just categorize. And what I mean by categorize is you are just te saying, okay, you're going line by line and you're saying, okay, that was for job supplies or this was for rent, or this was me having a meal with a client, or this was a travel expense.

[00:13:43] That's all you're doing. So you know what line of the tax. That transaction should go to. Okay. Okay. That's all you gotta do. Now, let's say you don't have a business bank account. Let's say you didn't do bookkeeping, you don't even have a business bank account, okay? [00:14:00] And you have lost every receipt you've ever had, okay?

[00:14:04] The great thing about tax preparation is you can, you can file a tax return based on. You can do that. Okay. If, you know 2022 was very similar to, say 20 21, 21, in terms of the money you made and the money you spent, you can use that as an estimate to prepare this year's taxes. Now, do you have to tell the IRS that?

[00:14:29] Yeah, you do. There's a little form or a little snippet you conclude as a comment saying, Hey, I am using, um, the, it's called the co. The coherent rule to estimate. You know, you don't have any records for these specific circumstances, but you're letting them know you're being transparent. Hey, I'm not trying to pull one over your eyes.

[00:14:53] I lost my records or didn't keep them, but this is very consistent to prior years. So this is what I'm filing. Okay. It [00:15:00] is not an audit red flag. I know you're gonna get that question, Shannon, is that an audit red flag? That is not an audit red flag at all. They do appreciate the transparency. 

[00:15:10] Shannon O'Brien: And you know this because you used to work 

[00:15:13] Kenesha Coleman: in the I R S?

[00:15:14] Yes, absolutely. This happens all the time. My time at I R S I was eight years a revenue agent auditing small business tax returns, and this will happen all the time where the business owner. Did not keep records or they lost records for whatever reason, so they had to simply estimate because they know they had consistent years in terms of revenue in expenses, and that's what they filed with the I R S, which is, which is fine.

[00:15:42] It's fine, 

[00:15:43] Shannon O'Brien: which is absolutely why you should have a tax preparer at this point too, because that person can really help you and make sure you're filling everything up properly. You do know about these pieces cuz you could be nodding your head, okay, good. There's a solution, right? While you're listening to this [00:16:00] podcast, but then you're done with the podcast and you think, where the heck do I go?

[00:16:05] Okay, so someone has done their bookkeeping say they're ready with last year's taxes. They've got all their documents put together. Um, they've got themselves a, a, a tax preparer, c p a. What should we be doing once that tax professional has finished preparing the tax returns? Mm-hmm. , 

[00:16:23] Kenesha Coleman: that is a great question and this is what I'm getting.

[00:16:26] This is so, so very, very important. Okay? When you all get your draft tax return back from your tax professional, whoever prepared it, okay? I need you to review your tax returns. Listeners, this should take more than two minutes, okay? This should take more than two minutes. So many times I get, you know, returns back and people signing within 30 seconds, and I know you did review that return.

[00:16:55] Okay? I need you to review everything and I want you to start with the basics, okay? Make [00:17:00] sure you're, your name is right and spelled right and your address, the most current one. Um, your dependen. Their names and their social security numbers. Make sure all that simple stuff is right. You'd be surprised how many mistakes happen happens on the simple stuff, okay?

[00:17:18] But then after that, I need you to take the tax documents that you gave your tax professional, and I want you to understand where the stuff landed, right? If you know you gave them a profit and loss statement to say that you had gross revenue of 65,000. , I need you to know where on that tax return does it report?

[00:17:39] $65,000. Okay? Mm-hmm. . And I need you to do that with everything that you gave them so you understand where it landed. Now, this is not to make you a tax preparer, right? But this is just so that you understand what's being reported to the irs. Cuz at the end of the day, your signature is on it. And I don't know if you've ever read that little sentence at the bottom of [00:18:00] a tax return, but it says, you know, you don't wanna perjure.

[00:18:04] It says that you completely understand what's on it. And so to do that you gotta, you gotta review it. Okay? You gotta review it because professionals make mistakes too. Sure. Okay. And another thing I want you to keep in mind, that if you review it and you don't understand something, call a meeting. Call a meeting with your tax professional with us when we are doing tax season for our tax clients.

[00:18:28] When we send you your draft, we also include a Loom video that is walking you through that return. Okay? Okay. And so that you can fully understand everything that we did. and then if it's still questions after that, you still have the, you know, ability to book or call with us. But you should be doing the same thing with your tax professionals and they should be open to that because they need to be able to explain what they did.

[00:18:55] Yeah. 

[00:18:56] Shannon O'Brien: Yeah. I love it. Okay, so. You've now [00:19:00] done your tax return, you've paid attention, you've, you've found any little mistakes, which again, like you said, tax preparers are human and there might be a mistake or two or something that maybe was missed or you forgot to turn in, maybe. Mm-hmm. , you know, have that great dialogue with your tax preparer.

[00:19:16] They finish the returns, the return comes back, and the tax preparer says you owe 

[00:19:23] Kenesha Coleman: mm-hmm. , which. It's okay. It's alright. Which is alright. It's okay. It's alright. 

[00:19:32] Shannon O'Brien: What if it's a big number and you just can't pay it right now? What happens? Yes, 

[00:19:36] Kenesha Coleman: absolutely. So if you have tax due, you got a liability out there.

[00:19:42] Okay. One thing I want you to do as fast as you can is request an installment agreement with the irs. Most professional tax softwares have the ability to complete the installment agreement form [00:20:00] right there with the tax return. Like I know for us in our firm, our professional tax software has that ability.

[00:20:06] So anytime any one of our clients have a tax due, we let them know that in advance and we say, Hey, do you want to complete the installment agreement? Right now and we can file it when we e-file the return. Okay? So check with your tax professional to see if they also have that ability to do that. Okay?

[00:20:27] Now, installment agreements, I believe under a certain amount of money, they get automatic like agreement from the IRS pending. You don't have any. Tax bills out there, IRS will agree to it, and you can stretch that over 72 months. Okay? But what I want you to do is I want you to handle that as soon as possible so you don't forget about it, okay?

[00:20:53] Because you file a return, IRS is gonna send you a bill. They're gonna add interest too, because [00:21:00] it's gonna take them a little bit of time to process the return. So, Just knock it out while you're filing the return. Have your tax professional do that for you. If they can't and you know you got a tax bill due, you can still go online, irs.gov/pay and you can set it up online yourselves.

[00:21:16] Shannon O'Brien: Yes. Don't ignore it. I know that it's scary and sometimes you're pleasantly surprised that you get some money back. Mm-hmm. , sometimes you do. All little, I've had years where I've owed. Don't be scared. And this is really a safe place. You know, you can ask those questions, you know, get on the website, the beauty c p A and, and Ask.

[00:21:40] Kaneisha is here. She's your tool. She's helping us to make sure that we don't have those issues. And are you taking new clients? If people are like, oh my gosh, I just need Kenisha to just to help me with this, talk to us about how that works with you. 

[00:21:55] Kenesha Coleman: No, absolutely. This is one of the few times in year that we actually do [00:22:00] take new clients.

[00:22:01] Especially it's because it's taxi season. It's our favorite season of year. You're crazy. Crazy. You know that. I know, I know. I said people not say that. People are looking at me like side eye, but it's really like the unquote sexy time for us, right? It's like, it's like we're the hero. With a helper, we can, we can calm you down.

[00:22:23] If you look at that number, you're like, ah, you know, we're the problem solvers between now and April. We are not the people that are like nerds. So I, I milked this time of the year. It is our favorite time of the year. So yes, we are accepting new tax clients. You can go to the beauty cpa.com, which is our website, and you can book your call and we can get on our strategy session to talk about this tax season and how we can best serve you.

[00:22:50] Um, one other point I just will, you know, to speak to a little bit, Shannon, is. To the last point, we're talking about the installment agreement and having a tax bill [00:23:00] out there. Mm-hmm. , I wanna remind you all that the irs, I know people hate that name, but they are Mo one of the most friendliest and willing to work with you debt.

[00:23:13] There's out there. Okay. They are. If you don't ignore. They only get crazy when you ignore them. Then that's when they sending you crazy letters trying to put liens and levys on your assets. But if you see what's going on and you call 'em or go online and you make arrangement, As quick as possible, they will work with you to no end to be able to pay your, your tax liability.

[00:23:42] Is that kinda 

[00:23:43] Shannon O'Brien: the, I gave you kinda the look, those that are listening to the podcast I was giving you kind of a look like, I don't know if they're nice and if I really think about it. They're just humans doing their job hired by the i r s, gotta do their job, right? Mm-hmm. , I would venture to guess that that's probably the biggest [00:24:00] misconception is that the i r s is just a bunch of like bullies that are gonna, you know, scream at you on the phone and tell you what an idiot you are.

[00:24:08] right? I mean, that, that's kinda what it feels like cuz money is such a trigger for majority of people. Yeah. What's it like on the inside? What's the tone on the inside? I would imagine it's, it would surprise. Yeah. Yes. How nice and helpful you 

[00:24:23] Kenesha Coleman: all were. Yes, it should be. First off, I think out of all the quote unquote jobs I've had before I went out on my own, that was my most favorite.

[00:24:34] And I'm comparing that to public accounting and corporate America. The i r s was by far my favorite because I got top of the class training right from the smartest in tax in all of our country. Um, at the same time. . If you look at your quote, we got something called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Mm-hmm.

[00:24:56] the IRS is not an opposition of the taxpayer. [00:25:00] The IRS is there to help the taxpayer understand the tax system, how they can use it to their benefit, and how to best pay their fair share. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. It's not to like take any more. Than what you are entitled to pay in the first place. And so the reason why I left the IRS is for the one thing I couldn't do as an IRS employee, which was to tell you all the, like the tricks, secrets, and tools on how to legally exploit the tax law.

[00:25:33] Now an agent, I can't do that. It's conflict of interest, right? But if we can legally drive the tax bill down as low as we can, the IRS is. Game well played. There you go. Nicely done, girl. . That's it. Nicely done. That's it. So the IRS is made up of just regular people, just like you and I. They're just dare, dare to do a job.

[00:25:57] They're the messenger. If, if there's any [00:26:00] tax lawyer alike, it's not the irs you go to, it's Congress. It's not the irs. Yeah. 

[00:26:04] Shannon O'Brien: Well, and it doesn't benefit someone that's in the office of the IRS to be a bully or to be terrible I'd venture. Yes. There's people that are tired of hearing the same excuses over and over again.

[00:26:15] They might be a little jaded on the phone, 

[00:26:17] Kenesha Coleman: I mean, 

[00:26:18] Shannon O'Brien: Hence, you know, the, the D M V or you know, any of those companies that you have to pay fines or bills or whatever, like go into the courthouse, you know? But at the end of the day, it does not benefit them to not be nice to you. Yeah, no, because that just makes their job and their day terrible.

[00:26:36] They're just doing their job. They're telling me they're the messenger, right? Yeah. So, yeah, this is, this is bigger than that. So Kenisha, I just love that when you and I get together, We can have a safe talk. In a, in a real person, talk about what you do each time of the year. So listeners, if you are just for the first time hearing [00:27:00] Kaneisha and I on this podcast, I invite you, in fact, I'll link them in the show notes to listen throughout the year to the advice that we have for all of you.

[00:27:08] Well, mostly you have. For the advice that we have, because there are definitely seasons. This is tax season, you know, and then you have a freebie talk about your freebie on deductions so you can understand what you can deduct from last year and understand in 2023 what you should be paying attention to.

[00:27:28] So talk about your freebie that you'll will include in the show notes. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 

[00:27:32] Kenesha Coleman: So the number one question I get from preneurs is, What can I deduct on my taxes? And I get that question all year round. So we do have a freebie. It's called the Ultimate Tax Deduction Guide for preneurs. This guy, it's digital, so you'll get a pdf, but it takes you through knowing what.

[00:27:52] How do you know when something is tax deductible? So it takes you through the four elements of knowing when something is tax deductible, and then at the back [00:28:00] of the ebook it has a like three page cheat sheet, letting you know all the expense categories, how it applies to your business, and you can deduct it on your taxes.

[00:28:11] And it includes my favorite loopholes for beauty. Okay, so I love a good loophole. I love a good loophole. So not only can you use this while you are getting your taxes prepared this season, but also use this as a guide to tax plan and be doing things throughout the rest of this year, 2023 to get you all set up to be able to realize those tax strategy benefits when you're.

[00:28:39] Future years as well. So this is the gift that keeps on giving. I love 

[00:28:43] Shannon O'Brien: it. And it's free and it's in the show notes. Okay, last thing, this time of the year is tax season For you, it's kind of this like big thing, it's like tax season, right? What does that mean deadline wise? So if someone, like, when is the [00:29:00] deadline to get in touch with you?

[00:29:01] When is the deadline to submit? When is the, what are these, like, what does the next two months look like for a tax preparer? And how can we be good students and make sure that we're not slamming you on April 14th? 

[00:29:15] Kenesha Coleman: Okay. Seriously. Okay, so first I'm gonna just go through the deadlines really quick. If you have your, um, business structured as either an S corporation or a partnership, That return is due March 15th.

[00:29:29] Okay. Also, if you want to be an S corporation for this tax year, you gotta file that election by March 15th as well. Mm-hmm. . Um, your individual tax returns, those are due by April. Normally the tax day is April 15th, but that falls um, on a weekend this year. So it's been pushed to April the 17th, I believe.

[00:29:53] Okay. Okay, now, I'm gonna tell you something. My firm as [00:30:00] well as any other really good C p a, we gonna reach capacity real quick. So if you got your eyes out on us or anybody else out there for that matter, You make sure you put your bid in now before they reach capacity. Okay. Normally, our firm will reach capacity.

[00:30:18] We'll be at capacity by mid-March for sure. Okay. Because then we're entering our last four weeks stretch of the season, but we really gotta get it in, you know? Mm-hmm. . So if you are interested in common, Preparing your tax returns. Please do this as soon as possible. We will likely reach capacity and not be taking any more tax returns, um, by 

[00:30:42] Shannon O'Brien: mid-March.

[00:30:43] Mm-hmm. , so I would do it now. I, I'd get on Kanesha's secret special v i p list now while you can. Yeah. And get it all dialed early. You know, really it's. It's not gonna be any different now as it is, you know, in two months. And to be honest, January is a slow season for [00:31:00] estheticians in comparison to the rest of the year.

[00:31:01] So get it done now. Y'all like now in February, like, then it gets into Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day and Spring and people are needing their hoo-ha is sugared like it, you know? Then you're too busy. Then it's our busy season. Tax season is our busy season because everybody wants to get smooth, so now is the time to do it.

[00:31:22] And Kaneisha, thank you so much. Always for guiding us through the year. I can't believe it's already 2023. It just, It kind of blows my mind. I feel like you and I just like were talking about this in 2020, how to handle everything and boom, three years later. Yeah. So thank you so much for being a part of this Kaneisha and uh, I look forward to chatting with you in q2.

[00:31:44] Kenesha Coleman: Thank you. I appreciate it. Happy tax savings everybody. 

[00:31:48] Shannon O'Brien: Chow. I hope that you are not scared by your taxes. After listening to this episode, I hope that you understand it's a part of doing business. I [00:32:00] hope that you feel comfort knowing that you have myself and Kenesha in your corner and my sweet, sweet sugar pro friends, I hope that you understand that being strong in your business this year and last year and for all the years to come means that you.

[00:32:18] At peace with your books, at peace, with your numbers, and you learn from any mistakes you've done in the past and can just grow from it. So it is tax season. Get your taxes out. Do it. It, it feels scary. I know. But if you have been prepared by listening to all the podcast episodes with Kaneisha in 2022 and 21, You should be ready now and I'm hoping to hear that you did get a return.

[00:32:44] And if you are just starting with us this year, then uh, feel free, like I said, to listen back to the other episodes. But go ahead and pull your numbers out. Don't be scared. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or a sparkling beverage of your choice [00:33:00] and just take a breath, put on some nice peaceful music and.

[00:33:05] Really take the time for your business because this is your baby. It is what you work so hard for all year round, and you can do this. Get yourself a tax preparer if you want one in your area, that's great. Kaneisha can do any state. She has the ability to do all of that. And she can help you as well. But if you do need K Kanesha to do your taxes, then you definitely want to jump on her books now.

[00:33:29] So check out the show notes and her information for Coleman taxes in there. Now, on a last little bit of note, we are going to have her back in q2. And we are going to talk about what next. So you've just done your taxes, whether you've got a return or you owe. Kenisha will be back with us the week after tax day, and we are going to talk about what's next in q2 because we want you to just take this next year and.

[00:33:57] Just break it into smaller bites and [00:34:00] make sure that you are prepared for taxes at the, at this time next year as well. So our goal is to walk by your side and make sure that you are the strongest, most knowledgeable beauty professional and sugar pro that you can be.