WEBVTT 00:00:06.030 --> 00:00:09.250 Hi, everyone. This is the How to Lower Your Tax 00:00:09.250 --> 00:00:12.429 Bill podcast. I'm your host, Terrence Hutchins. 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:15.410 I'm a financial and tax advisor in the Dallas 00:00:15.410 --> 00:00:18.190 Fort Worth area. And the goal of this podcast 00:00:18.190 --> 00:00:20.789 is to help you listeners get educated on different 00:00:20.789 --> 00:00:23.589 tax strategies that you can implement to improve 00:00:23.589 --> 00:00:26.750 your tax situation immediately. Each episode 00:00:26.750 --> 00:00:29.769 will break down useful tax tips you can use to 00:00:29.769 --> 00:00:32.369 save money, no matter what your personal or business 00:00:32.369 --> 00:00:35.950 income situation. Because our motto is keep more 00:00:35.950 --> 00:00:39.390 of what you earn. So let's get into today's episode. 00:00:45.170 --> 00:00:47.750 All right. So welcome to the How to Low Your 00:00:47.750 --> 00:00:50.630 Tax Bill podcast. I am your host, Terrence Hutchins. 00:00:50.990 --> 00:00:53.450 And we have a very special guest today. It's 00:00:53.450 --> 00:00:56.270 actually our first guest on the podcast. And 00:00:56.270 --> 00:00:59.289 that is Miss Tamiya Kelly. So I will let her 00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:01.509 introduce herself as she has started working 00:01:01.509 --> 00:01:04.459 with us this year. in our tax prep department. 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:08.519 Well, hello, wonderful people in podcast land. 00:01:08.620 --> 00:01:11.599 My name is Tamiya Kelly. As you stated, I am 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:14.980 based out of the great state of Oklahoma. I am 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:17.519 excited to have this amazing topic today that 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:20.180 is so near and dear to my heart that I learned 00:01:20.180 --> 00:01:22.959 about only being a tax preparer. So I look forward 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:25.280 to getting into this conversation. Thanks in 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:28.939 advance, Terrence, for having me. Awesome. So 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:32.540 this actually was Tamiya's idea. to talk about 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:35.540 this as she says she was blind and now she sees, 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:38.099 right? So the more you get educated, the more 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:41.519 you have an opportunity to make changes and have 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:44.420 just a new perspective on things. And so we kind 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:48.099 of got into this idea around why people are infatuated, 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:51.640 why they love getting tax refunds so much. And 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:53.739 I've always been in the opinion that I don't 00:01:53.739 --> 00:01:57.280 want to get a tax refund. And normally I probably 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.400 think I'd rather owed a little bit anyway than 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.950 what I actually file. So I'll give her the floor 00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:05.030 to let her kind of talk through maybe some of 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:07.810 the thought process she had about tax refunds 00:02:07.810 --> 00:02:09.849 now that she's got a little more education how 00:02:09.849 --> 00:02:13.669 she kind of feels about the now I Was blind and 00:02:13.669 --> 00:02:17.389 now I see. Yes. Listen you all before I became 00:02:17.389 --> 00:02:20.240 a tax preparer I was one of the people, so we 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:22.960 all know, right? February, March, April, we see 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:25.300 the new cars, we see the new clothes. I mean, 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:27.800 we see all the things because people are talking 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:30.680 about they get this huge refund. And I was the 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:33.340 people, people were me. And that I wanted to 00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:36.240 get this huge refund at the beginning of the 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.539 year. But the more the Lord blessed me to make 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:41.699 money, the less of my refund I got. I'm thinking, 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:44.259 what is going on? Well, become a tax preparer 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:47.360 now. I understand, really, you may not want a 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.030 tax refund. Or if you're getting a tax refund, 00:02:50.229 --> 00:02:53.389 let's figure out why. Because it really depends 00:02:53.389 --> 00:02:56.729 on what your tax liability is, if you're paying 00:02:56.729 --> 00:02:59.969 too much to the government, or some other factors 00:02:59.969 --> 00:03:02.789 that go into why you're even getting a tax refund. 00:03:03.310 --> 00:03:06.030 And I wanted to talk about this because so many 00:03:06.030 --> 00:03:09.349 people are still in the mindset of, I should 00:03:09.349 --> 00:03:12.430 be getting a refund without really understanding 00:03:12.780 --> 00:03:15.580 that a refund is essentially you've paid too 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:19.219 much in taxes or you qualify for some type of 00:03:19.219 --> 00:03:22.639 refundable tax credit. So yes, let's get into 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:25.719 it, Terrence, because we got to, because I want 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.479 the people to know that we need to change our 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:31.860 mindset on needing a refund at the beginning 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:35.620 of the year. Awesome. Yeah. So just to give a 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:38.000 little context, you think about your tax return, 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:40.520 you know, your page one is going to go into, 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:42.490 okay, how much money did you make? And then you 00:03:42.490 --> 00:03:45.590 may have your primary deductions that you see 00:03:45.590 --> 00:03:48.490 on page one is going to be just the amount that 00:03:48.490 --> 00:03:49.930 the government says they're not going to tax 00:03:49.930 --> 00:03:52.069 you on. That's called your standard deduction. 00:03:52.330 --> 00:03:55.270 So if you're single or married for twenty twenty 00:03:55.270 --> 00:03:57.330 five, if you're single the first fifteen thousand 00:03:57.330 --> 00:03:59.250 you make, the government doesn't tax you. If 00:03:59.250 --> 00:04:01.669 you're married, it's double that. Then you have 00:04:01.669 --> 00:04:03.849 other adjustments that we talked about in previous 00:04:03.849 --> 00:04:06.629 episodes that are called above the line deductions. 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:09.469 So that's going to be things like your HSA contributions. 00:04:09.930 --> 00:04:12.800 If you have student loans. If you have an IRA 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:15.080 contribution that you do, then those things that 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.600 can actually lower the amount of income that 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:19.699 the government will tax you on. And then your 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:22.300 page two will go into different credits that 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:25.019 you have. It shows how much did you pay in during 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:27.819 the year. And then if you look at line 24, that 00:04:27.819 --> 00:04:29.720 shows you how much is the government expecting 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:33.759 you to pay. So if you compare your line 24 to 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:35.920 how much you paid in during the year, if what 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:38.519 you paid in is higher, then you get a refund 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:41.209 back. If what you paid in is lower, then they're 00:04:41.209 --> 00:04:43.029 going to say that you owe. All right. That's 00:04:43.029 --> 00:04:45.069 kind of the simple five thousand foot view of 00:04:45.069 --> 00:04:47.310 it. So if you think about it, the only reason 00:04:47.310 --> 00:04:49.350 that most people are getting money back is because 00:04:49.350 --> 00:04:51.769 they actually gave the government too much money. 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:55.709 In fact, just think about the idea of who likes 00:04:55.709 --> 00:04:57.930 to and one of the biggest things that Amazon 00:04:57.930 --> 00:05:00.550 has kind of done is they made returns easier. 00:05:00.930 --> 00:05:02.910 But most people don't like buying something and 00:05:02.910 --> 00:05:05.250 then having to return it and then wait to get 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:08.089 their money back. But when it comes to tax refunds, 00:05:08.329 --> 00:05:10.870 we, as a society, a lot of people have liked 00:05:10.870 --> 00:05:14.329 the idea of waiting until February or March or 00:05:14.329 --> 00:05:17.970 April to get that $3 ,000, $5 ,000 back, which 00:05:17.970 --> 00:05:20.329 is effectively just a return of their own money. 00:05:21.449 --> 00:05:24.509 So think about, in fact, it's funny you said 00:05:24.509 --> 00:05:28.170 that people wait, because I recall, I guess my 00:05:28.170 --> 00:05:30.610 first experience of thinking about money was 00:05:30.610 --> 00:05:33.629 in college. And I remember people were excited 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:37.009 about their financial aid. You know, and I was 00:05:37.009 --> 00:05:39.009 just, and then I came to think, oh man, you know, 00:05:39.129 --> 00:05:42.230 people, you know, they got $5 ,000 back. And 00:05:42.230 --> 00:05:44.970 so they're going shopping. And I was like, man, 00:05:44.970 --> 00:05:48.649 I want to get my $5 ,000. Right. And then later 00:05:48.649 --> 00:05:51.290 on, I'm like, wait, hold on. Most of these are, 00:05:51.290 --> 00:05:53.709 these are loans that they're taking out. This 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:57.149 is not free money. These are student loans, which 00:05:57.149 --> 00:05:59.209 is what you need to be putting their refund towards. 00:05:59.430 --> 00:06:01.089 Right. But we're, we're not going to get into 00:06:01.089 --> 00:06:05.100 that. Right. But yeah, that's, that's real. But 00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:07.100 you know, the government is not giving you back 00:06:07.100 --> 00:06:09.720 free money. And even if you were in a position 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:12.839 where you are a lower income earner, and you 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:15.180 maybe had a few dependents, you are in a position, 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:17.379 at least based on how the tax code is set up, 00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:20.339 to where you can get money back that you actually 00:06:20.339 --> 00:06:22.620 didn't pay into the system. You could have paid 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:24.519 in, I mean, I've had people pay in $100 and get 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.600 back $5 ,000. And that's just based on how the 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:29.980 system is set up. But you shouldn't desire to 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:32.459 be in that situation because You know, if you're 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:35.220 single, you're probably only making 20, $30 ,000. 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:38.699 So you think, well, would I rather just go make 00:06:38.699 --> 00:06:42.360 50 or 60 or 70 or $80 ,000 versus making 30 and 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:45.399 then having to wait to get $50 ,000 at the end 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:47.100 of the year? Listen, that is such a good point, 00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:49.199 right? Because I'll continue to talk about myself. 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:50.879 When I was younger, I didn't make a whole lot 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:53.819 of money. I was single parent. And so I needed 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:56.319 that refund at the beginning of the year, not 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.160 really realizing that all of that money I was 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:04.370 getting back was meant that I I was poor. I was 00:07:04.370 --> 00:07:08.990 below the poverty level, right? And so essentially 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:12.930 when I began to make more money, I didn't understand. 00:07:13.370 --> 00:07:15.449 I was getting frustrated because of the amount 00:07:15.449 --> 00:07:19.089 of FICA was taken. Who was FICA anyway? I was 00:07:19.089 --> 00:07:20.550 getting frustrated because FICA was taking so 00:07:20.550 --> 00:07:23.750 much money, not realizing that I was actually 00:07:23.750 --> 00:07:25.649 putting myself in a better financial position. 00:07:25.949 --> 00:07:28.029 The Lord was blessing me to make all this more 00:07:28.029 --> 00:07:31.000 money. But if you don't have a mind shift or 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:33.980 you really don't understand that a refund is 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:36.980 just The overpayment of taxes that you've paid 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:40.439 in or that you qualify for one of those refundable 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:42.139 tax credits They're an income credit is what 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:43.800 you're referring to the child tax credit, right? 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:47.279 If you don't understand that you will think that 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:49.360 you're supposed to get a refund every single 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:54.360 year Instead of being grateful or appreciative, 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.540 I guess, of what you're making throughout the 00:07:56.540 --> 00:07:58.439 year that you are making more money. You don't 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:02.399 qualify for those credits, and it's okay. Yeah. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:05.920 So let's talk about really two types of taxes 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.000 that most people end up paying. So you have FICA, 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:13.759 as Tamia mentioned. So FICA is an acronym. Essentially, 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:16.060 that's pretty much Social Security and Medicare. 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:19.699 Yes. So you pay a fixed amount of taxes, which 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:24.350 is this year, 7 .65 % for most people. So on 00:08:24.350 --> 00:08:27.649 the 7 .65 % of whatever you make, you're gonna 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:29.689 basically pay into the government. So when you're 00:08:29.689 --> 00:08:32.049 older, your social security check didn't just 00:08:32.049 --> 00:08:34.250 come from thin air. It was based on the taxes 00:08:34.250 --> 00:08:35.789 you were paying throughout the years that you 00:08:35.789 --> 00:08:38.769 worked. And then your Medicare or health insurance 00:08:38.769 --> 00:08:40.750 you get when you're retired is based on that 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.070 same tax that you paid. So you're basically paying 00:08:43.070 --> 00:08:45.409 into this system so that you can have governmental 00:08:45.409 --> 00:08:48.360 assistance. in retirement benefits or health 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:50.340 care benefits when you're older. So that's a 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:53.159 fixed amount. Then you have federal taxes. So 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:56.100 your federal taxes is what you would effectively 00:08:56.100 --> 00:08:58.799 be getting your refund back generally. Now, obviously, 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:01.379 in any tax situation, it always is going to depend. 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:03.940 There are some isolated situations, but we have 00:09:03.940 --> 00:09:06.399 what's called a progressive tax system. There's 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:08.279 seven different tax brackets. So you start at 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:11.399 10 percent. We go up to 37 percent. So think 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.960 about if you went to the bar. you think, hey, 00:09:14.019 --> 00:09:15.480 the people that make the most, they're going 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:17.159 to pick up most of the tab. The people that make 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:18.740 the least, they're going to pick up a smaller 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:21.360 amount of the tab. But everyone has the opportunity 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.759 to plan ahead to determine what they're going 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:26.519 to pay based upon what they make. So it just 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:28.899 requires a little bit of legwork in order to 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:31.080 do that. And so the biggest thing if you're a 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:34.039 W2 employee that you have control over is how 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:35.860 much they would draw from your check every time 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:38.360 you get paid. And that would come from your W4 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:41.259 form. So to me, do you recall the first time 00:09:41.259 --> 00:09:43.950 you filled out your W4? Did it make sense to 00:09:43.950 --> 00:09:47.289 you at all? Absolutely not. I said, oh, I can 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:49.929 file exempt, which in essence means they don't 00:09:49.929 --> 00:09:53.549 take any taxes out of your check, right? So when 00:09:53.549 --> 00:09:55.970 you think about going back to why you would get 00:09:55.970 --> 00:09:59.590 a refund or why people get a refund, I just remember 00:09:59.590 --> 00:10:02.870 saying, one, I wanted both things, right? Two 00:10:02.870 --> 00:10:05.629 things were true in my life. One, I needed more 00:10:05.629 --> 00:10:07.690 money to come to my pocket throughout the year. 00:10:07.789 --> 00:10:11.950 And two, I also wanted a huge refund. And I was 00:10:11.950 --> 00:10:14.250 actually able to get both because I didn't make 00:10:14.250 --> 00:10:17.950 any money. But when I first became aware of what 00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:20.889 this actually meant, what this W -4 meant, this 00:10:20.889 --> 00:10:24.610 withholding form meant, then I remember thinking, 00:10:24.730 --> 00:10:27.409 oh man, I'm going to be broke every time I get 00:10:27.409 --> 00:10:30.710 paid because the government does want its fair 00:10:30.710 --> 00:10:33.549 share of what you make. You got to pay into it. 00:10:33.929 --> 00:10:37.539 So That was, for me, that's an important tool 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:40.559 that you can use to understand what you're going 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:42.360 to be paying or what you can actually get in 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:45.600 your pocket every time you get paid. Gotcha. 00:10:45.879 --> 00:10:48.279 So talking through the mechanics of the W44, 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.779 it's really broken out into four parts. So it's 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:54.279 going to ask you for your filing status. You're 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:56.639 either going to file single, head of household, 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:00.059 married or married separate, which is essentially 00:11:00.059 --> 00:11:02.830 like filing single. you just are married legally. 00:11:03.049 --> 00:11:05.549 Depending on your filing status, that will determine 00:11:05.549 --> 00:11:07.570 do they take out more taxes or do they take out 00:11:07.570 --> 00:11:09.169 less. If I file a single, they're gonna take 00:11:09.169 --> 00:11:11.230 out more. If you file a married joint, they're 00:11:11.230 --> 00:11:13.509 gonna take out less. So that's number one. Then 00:11:13.509 --> 00:11:16.350 you have your deductions. Your deductions is 00:11:16.350 --> 00:11:18.570 generally tied to, like I mentioned earlier, 00:11:18.850 --> 00:11:21.230 that standard deduction, which is the amount 00:11:21.230 --> 00:11:23.450 of money the government doesn't tax you on. So 00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:26.269 if I make $100 ,000 and I'm single, the government's 00:11:26.269 --> 00:11:29.730 actually only gonna tax me on 85 ,000. So on 00:11:29.730 --> 00:11:32.169 your W4 form, you could actually say, hey, if 00:11:32.169 --> 00:11:34.509 I want a house though, and I have other deductions 00:11:34.509 --> 00:11:37.370 that I have available to me, and once I add up 00:11:37.370 --> 00:11:39.549 my itemized deductions, which is gonna go on 00:11:39.549 --> 00:11:42.929 my schedule A on my tax return, I can look at, 00:11:42.929 --> 00:11:44.870 hey, what is that number that came from my schedule 00:11:44.870 --> 00:11:47.870 A? And I could actually put that number on my 00:11:47.870 --> 00:11:50.509 W4 form, okay? So if it was 20 ,000, I could 00:11:50.509 --> 00:11:52.629 put 20 ,000 instead of the 15, there's gonna 00:11:52.629 --> 00:11:55.440 be 20. Then I have my credits. So my credits 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.379 are generally going to be tied to my dependents 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:00.299 unless I have other credits that are available. 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:02.519 So certain credits that are more popular now 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:05.679 would be like electric vehicles or solar panels. 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:08.019 Those are things that you could say, hey, I'm 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:09.919 actually going to get this big credit back. I 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.720 can put that information on my W -4 form. So 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.879 they end up taking out less taxes. So when I 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:17.740 file my tax return, they'll have already factored 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:20.120 that credit in so that they actually take out 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:22.080 less in my paycheck so I can keep more money 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:24.940 throughout the year. Then you have on box 4C 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:28.059 of your W -4, you can actually specify how much 00:12:28.059 --> 00:12:30.679 income you want them to take out. Now, this is 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:33.000 especially important for people who have multiple 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:35.740 jobs. Right. Because if you work part time, for 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:38.399 example, many times I see, you know, I see someone 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:41.179 has a higher W -2 and they have a lower W -2 00:12:41.179 --> 00:12:43.840 where they made, you know, $10 ,000. Well, in 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.059 that case, when that second employer is taking 00:12:46.059 --> 00:12:48.340 out taxes, they're only thinking through, well, 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:50.879 how much is this person making? if you're only 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:54.059 making 10, $20 ,000 at a second job, well, they 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:56.899 don't know that you have two jobs. So they're 00:12:56.899 --> 00:12:58.740 gonna take money out as if you've only gonna 00:12:58.740 --> 00:13:01.500 make that for the year. So many times I see a 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:03.879 very little amount of withholding on that second 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:05.899 job, and then that can actually create maybe 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:08.500 you to owe overall because you haven't had enough 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:10.700 taken out of your side job. So that's something 00:13:10.700 --> 00:13:13.460 that when you fill out the W -4 form, you have 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:15.399 your filing status, you have your credits, you 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:17.399 have deductions, and you have the actual extra 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:19.399 withholding. that you could specify how much 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:21.919 you want to have taken out. And that will then 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.500 determine, okay, how much am I going to get in 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:26.379 my paycheck? And then you can kind of double 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:28.720 check your work after you fill this out. And 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:30.820 you can compare your last year's tax return. 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:33.799 So you can look at your box 24. That box 24 shows 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:36.440 how much money did you pay in federal taxes for 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.779 the prior year? You could just look at your paycheck 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:40.639 and determine, okay, how much are they taking 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:43.259 out now in taxes compared to what I owed the 00:13:43.259 --> 00:13:45.960 prior year? And that could be a decent barometer. 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:48.399 to determine, are you actually paying in enough? 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:52.820 Right, right. I think to go back to the W -4 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:55.879 that you're mentioning, one of the things that 00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:59.080 helped me understand why they're taking all this 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:03.179 money out of my check is at the end, and Terrence 00:14:03.179 --> 00:14:05.980 will certainly correct me for sure, but at the 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:09.399 bottom of that W -4, if you go to the IRS .gov 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:13.039 or... Google right you will see they give you 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.759 an estimate This is not the gospel, but they'll 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:19.700 give you an idea of if you make 60k if you make 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:23.159 70k Yeah, the amount of taxes you're going to 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:26.840 oh, right and so that also helped me understand 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:29.659 Okay, I don't need to be trying to file exempt 00:14:29.659 --> 00:14:32.779 I don't need to be trying to have like all these 00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:35.720 different withholdings if I don't want to oh 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:39.179 if I do want to refund I need to make sure that 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.799 I've selected the correct withholdings in OR, 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:45.539 like Terrence was mentioning, add that additional 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:47.940 tax withholding to make sure that I don't owe 00:14:47.940 --> 00:14:51.820 or possibly get a refund. And I think that what 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:54.519 he's referring to is so important from an educational 00:14:54.519 --> 00:14:58.440 standpoint so that you can change your mindset 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:02.000 on, should I really be getting a refund? Do I 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.480 really want a refund? Or do I really just want 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.279 to keep this money in my pocket throughout the 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:09.820 year? or do I just want to break even during 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:13.559 the tech season, quote unquote. And when you 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:16.620 think about your objectives, my first thought 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:20.279 is to either have a tax liability above a thousand 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.940 dollars or to owe less than a thousand dollars. 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:24.860 Remember, what if it's more than a thousand that 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:27.200 I'm getting back? Then I felt like I let the 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:29.639 government keep too much of my money. If I'm 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:31.720 paying more than a thousand dollars, I now open 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:34.419 up myself to actually having to pay a tax penalty. 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.639 And so if you don't like paying taxes, which 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:39.899 I've never met anyone that does, you probably 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.539 don't like paying more taxes. So even if you 00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:44.940 feel like, hey, I'm paying in enough. Why does 00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:47.399 the government want more? Well, to me as point, 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.340 you can actually try to determine how much they 00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:51.360 actually want you to pay in so that you have 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:53.779 better expectations. And if your expectations 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:57.539 are too low, then you just got to realign yourself 00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:02.309 to the facts, the facts of your situation. They 00:16:02.309 --> 00:16:04.610 say, okay, hey, how am I making my money? And 00:16:04.610 --> 00:16:06.409 this, based on how I make my money, this is how 00:16:06.409 --> 00:16:09.190 much they're expecting me to pay. But if I owe 00:16:09.190 --> 00:16:11.149 more than a thousand dollars, I could be subject 00:16:11.149 --> 00:16:13.990 to an underpayment penalty. So number one, I 00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:17.009 want to avoid that so I don't pay any extra taxes. 00:16:17.029 --> 00:16:19.610 And I can do that by either paying in at least 00:16:19.610 --> 00:16:22.710 90 % of what I owe for that year. So if I owe 00:16:22.710 --> 00:16:25.649 10 ,000 as my total tax bill for the year, I 00:16:25.649 --> 00:16:29.049 need to have paid it $9 ,000 by January 15th. 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:31.580 If I do that, then I can avoid any kind of tax 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:34.639 penalty. Or I can at least pay 100 % of what 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.019 I paid the prior year. And that number is very 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:39.419 important for people who have big jumps in income. 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:42.080 I actually encourage them to actually use that 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.960 to their advantage. Because let's say you're 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:47.320 a business owner, for example, and you doubled 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:49.779 your income from one year to the next. Well, 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:51.659 especially with interest rates now, let's just 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:55.639 say that in the extreme case, let's say your 00:16:55.639 --> 00:16:59.299 tax bill is $100 ,000 or $200 ,000. But the prior 00:16:59.299 --> 00:17:03.139 year, it was only $30 ,000. Well, let's say I 00:17:03.139 --> 00:17:05.660 have this $100 ,000 to pay my taxes. As long 00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:08.680 as I paid $30 ,000 by January 15th of the next 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:12.680 year, so we're in 2025, if I had paid $30 ,000 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:16.099 by January 15th of 2025, I could keep my $100 00:17:16.099 --> 00:17:19.960 ,000 until April 15th. So I have three more months 00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:22.519 to actually earn interest on my $100 ,000. And 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:24.680 then I can pay it to the government and the government 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:27.539 will not charge me more as a result. So now I'm 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:30.599 actually in control of my money. And I kind of 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:33.119 gave this example because we had a technical 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:36.299 difficulty earlier. We won't get into that. But 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:39.160 Amazon is a big example for this where they have 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:40.940 their accounts failed versus accounts receivable. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:43.440 So when you go to Amazon, you immediately pay 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:46.079 them for whatever you purchase. But many times 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:48.660 their vendors that they order stuff from, they 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:51.119 won't pay them until 90 days. They say, hey, 00:17:51.259 --> 00:17:53.390 give us the product. When people buy it from 00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:55.809 us, we receive their money, but then we won't 00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:58.150 pay you for that product until 90 days later. 00:17:58.369 --> 00:18:00.349 They actually have a 90 day cycle where they 00:18:00.349 --> 00:18:02.470 make millions of dollars in interest just from 00:18:02.470 --> 00:18:03.710 holding on to other people's money. They do that 00:18:03.710 --> 00:18:07.329 with your refunds to people. Exactly. So the 00:18:07.329 --> 00:18:10.029 government is in a position where they actually 00:18:10.029 --> 00:18:11.710 are basically hanging on to a lot of people's 00:18:11.710 --> 00:18:13.529 money and then just giving it back to them whenever 00:18:13.529 --> 00:18:16.690 they decide to file. Listen, you mentioned a 00:18:16.690 --> 00:18:19.680 really great point about Because I deal with 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:23.940 a lot of W -2 employees. I have a few LLCs, sole 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:26.359 proprietors, and everything. And one of the things 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.180 that they have a hard time with, not so much 00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:32.180 of W -2 employees, because you can use your W 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:35.500 -4 to try to get an idea of how much you should 00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:37.940 owe, what your tax liability is, or your first 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:41.720 share, right? I would say, though, that one of 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:44.119 the things about a refund, like you said, I love 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:48.660 that whole $1 ,000. Gauge is because for those 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:50.660 people who have those side hustles and just different 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:54.220 things you still got to pay taxes people right 00:18:54.220 --> 00:19:00.440 you got to pay taxes and so with that You need 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:04.180 to make sure that you too use your resources 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:07.900 to find out how much taxes you owe and and in 00:19:07.900 --> 00:19:10.480 that case if you want to do a little over to 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:13.539 avoid because some people are afraid of owing 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:17.119 the IRS and so Even if you're a W -2 employee 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:20.140 and you add those additional withholdings, okay, 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:23.700 great for you. But if you are a sole proprietor 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:26.960 LLC or anything, you too need to also try to 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:31.839 estimate how much taxes you should owe and pay 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:35.160 that to where you're not underpaying the government. 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:38.900 And if you so happen to overpay, great, that's 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:41.420 better. But you certainly don't want to underpay 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:44.069 because you're trying to avoid the man or the 00:19:44.069 --> 00:19:45.890 government or whatever your motives are, because 00:19:45.890 --> 00:19:48.369 there are some penalties for that. There's, listen, 00:19:48.609 --> 00:19:50.430 they will get their money one way or the other. 00:19:50.450 --> 00:19:53.190 One way or the other. They're going to find you. 00:19:53.509 --> 00:19:57.789 Okay. For sure. That's also, I would think should 00:19:57.789 --> 00:19:59.750 be an important conversation when we're talking 00:19:59.750 --> 00:20:02.789 about even refunds, right? You got to, you got 00:20:02.789 --> 00:20:06.769 to pay in. Right. Definitely. And one thing that 00:20:06.769 --> 00:20:09.329 I'll point out in that scenario. So if you are 00:20:09.329 --> 00:20:11.980 someone that has a side hustle, You wanna gauge, 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:14.880 okay, how much am I making? I know that many 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.420 people, they don't like accounting. And so they 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:20.480 don't keep an account of what they brought in, 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:23.519 what they paid out. But if you don't track what 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.619 you are spending, you probably gonna leave money 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:27.759 on the table because you're just not gonna know 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:30.680 all the stuff you spent. And many times, especially 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:33.460 during tax season, depending on the preparer 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:35.230 you're working with. they're not going to have 00:20:35.230 --> 00:20:37.789 time to try to hold your hand on every little 00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:40.750 detail that you could have done. And most CPAs 00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:42.950 or EAs that you're working with, they're not 00:20:42.950 --> 00:20:44.650 going to be giving you quote unquote advice, 00:20:44.670 --> 00:20:48.170 right? Your planning doesn't start February 1st 00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:49.829 or March 1st when you get all your documents 00:20:49.829 --> 00:20:53.490 together. That has to be in the prior year. But 00:20:53.490 --> 00:20:56.109 one thing to keep in mind, I mentioned the whole 00:20:56.109 --> 00:20:59.950 FICA versus federal taxes. So if you have a side 00:20:59.950 --> 00:21:03.430 hustle, Just know that on any profit you have, 00:21:03.490 --> 00:21:06.609 you're going to pay twice the FICA tax, plus 00:21:06.609 --> 00:21:08.150 you're going to pay a percentage of whatever 00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:11.390 your tax bracket ended up being. So if you're 00:21:11.390 --> 00:21:13.529 paying twice the FICA tax, which is about 15 00:21:13.529 --> 00:21:17.049 % and you're in a, let's say a 22 % tax bracket, 00:21:17.250 --> 00:21:19.329 that means that any profits you make in your 00:21:19.329 --> 00:21:22.990 side hustle, you're going to pay 37 % tax. And 00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:25.130 so you need to account for that to say, Hey, 00:21:25.410 --> 00:21:27.089 either I'm going to have extra withholding out 00:21:27.089 --> 00:21:29.109 of my paycheck to account for it during the year. 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:31.259 Or to Tamiya's point, you're going to pay a little 00:21:31.259 --> 00:21:33.960 bit every three months to ensure that when you 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:35.500 file, you're not hit with this big surprise. 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:37.880 And then you end up paying extra money through 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:40.940 penalties. And so I guess, Terrence, my question 00:21:40.940 --> 00:21:43.640 for you would be, I know the strategies that 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:47.740 I give people, specifically W to employees about 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:51.200 refunds and about. changing our mindset, right? 00:21:51.299 --> 00:21:53.680 So I hope by this time during the podcast, you're 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:56.700 asking yourself, do I need a refund? Should I 00:21:56.700 --> 00:21:59.180 be getting a refund, right? Or why am I getting 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:03.319 a refund? You do a great job of directing us. 00:22:03.549 --> 00:22:06.829 back to our tax return from the prior year to 00:22:06.829 --> 00:22:09.190 understand and really kind of dissect it and 00:22:09.190 --> 00:22:12.230 see why we even got a refund. Was it due to some 00:22:12.230 --> 00:22:15.750 type of refundable credit? Was it due to like 00:22:15.750 --> 00:22:17.730 deductions, adjustments, all these different 00:22:17.730 --> 00:22:21.009 things that go into why someone receives a refund? 00:22:21.309 --> 00:22:24.930 So I guess the question would be how then, you 00:22:24.930 --> 00:22:26.470 know, what were we supposed to be doing with 00:22:26.470 --> 00:22:30.190 refunds? Why should I get a refund? What is your 00:22:30.190 --> 00:22:32.450 thought process being in this business for, I 00:22:32.450 --> 00:22:37.190 guess? forever, way longer than me about refund 00:22:37.190 --> 00:22:39.950 and about how to make sure we're not overpaying 00:22:39.950 --> 00:22:42.109 the government or underpaying for that matter. 00:22:42.890 --> 00:22:46.009 Yeah. So when it comes to the refund, you know, 00:22:46.049 --> 00:22:48.490 there's this concept that is called the time 00:22:48.490 --> 00:22:50.910 value of money. And that just means a dollar 00:22:50.910 --> 00:22:53.650 today is worth more than a dollar in the future. 00:22:53.750 --> 00:22:56.349 And I can guarantee most people, even if they 00:22:56.349 --> 00:22:58.430 don't understand that concept, they understand 00:22:58.430 --> 00:23:02.390 the idea that if I asked you to Let me hold $20. 00:23:02.549 --> 00:23:05.910 I'm gonna give it back to you, right? You would 00:23:05.910 --> 00:23:08.410 want it more immediate. You wouldn't want me 00:23:08.410 --> 00:23:11.289 holding on to your $20 for a year, two or three 00:23:11.289 --> 00:23:13.670 years, right? Because if you don't have that 00:23:13.670 --> 00:23:15.410 money, that means you can't spend it. You don't 00:23:15.410 --> 00:23:17.549 have the options to do anything with it yourself. 00:23:18.069 --> 00:23:20.509 That's really what we want to get you to understand 00:23:20.509 --> 00:23:24.250 is they have more control over more of their 00:23:24.250 --> 00:23:26.549 money. that they just have more options available 00:23:26.549 --> 00:23:29.549 to them. And why I always have that thousand 00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:32.990 dollars plus or minus is if they're getting back 00:23:32.990 --> 00:23:34.609 more than a thousand dollars, then I think the 00:23:34.609 --> 00:23:36.930 government is hanging on too much money. If they 00:23:36.930 --> 00:23:38.869 owe more than a thousand, they could have penalties 00:23:38.869 --> 00:23:41.890 potentially. But also it may be more of a burden 00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:44.470 to come up with a bigger payment versus say, 00:23:44.529 --> 00:23:47.250 hey, if I plan ahead and if I owe 1200 bucks, 00:23:47.470 --> 00:23:49.950 it's a lot easier to pay $100 a month versus 00:23:49.950 --> 00:23:52.829 paying $1200 at one time. And that's when some 00:23:52.829 --> 00:23:55.890 people get behind on their taxes and then they 00:23:55.890 --> 00:23:59.130 don't decide to file. Or I've had people where 00:23:59.130 --> 00:24:01.549 they didn't even, because they may have owed 00:24:01.549 --> 00:24:04.529 in the past. I literally had a client that was 00:24:04.529 --> 00:24:07.670 getting a refund back, but they missed the stack 00:24:07.670 --> 00:24:10.450 sheet to receive it. And so they filed, so the 00:24:10.450 --> 00:24:12.950 IRS only gives you three years to file your tax 00:24:12.950 --> 00:24:15.789 return if they owe you money. Now, if you owe 00:24:15.789 --> 00:24:17.650 them money, there is no statute of limitations. 00:24:17.789 --> 00:24:19.859 They're gonna want to give their money. In fact, 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:21.799 if you don't file, they actually might file a 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:24.339 return for you. That's not going to be to your 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:26.940 benefit, but they actually have waited so long 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:29.119 to file because they were putting it off that 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:31.660 they lost out on a few thousand dollars of a 00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:33.299 refund that could have been applied that they 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:35.440 could have got back, but they waited too long 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:38.099 to actually file. And so taxes is something that 00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:40.700 we think you should embrace because it's probably 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:43.160 either your largest or one of your largest expenses. 00:24:43.380 --> 00:24:47.079 And you have a lot of opportunity to lower that 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:49.500 expense through education, through learning how 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:51.880 to utilize your money or how to take advantage 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:54.420 of the tax system so that you can ultimately 00:24:54.420 --> 00:24:58.759 pay less in. But if you embrace that idea, then 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:01.380 you're going to have this expense that you pay 00:25:01.380 --> 00:25:03.640 every year and it potentially is going to get 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:05.640 bigger as you make more money. and you're going 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:08.519 to feel kind of helpless or hopeless around it. 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:09.960 But it's not something that you really have to 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:12.640 be afraid of. It's really just understanding 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:14.700 the rules or working with someone who does so 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:16.000 that you can ultimately make better decisions 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:18.400 for yourself. Yeah, I like that. I like that. 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:21.740 And so for anyone that's listening, when you 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:24.859 think about a refund, when you think about owing 00:25:24.859 --> 00:25:27.059 all the things, you really got to find balance, 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:29.539 right? One, you got to understand why you're 00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:32.420 even getting a refund. I think you said it, Terrence, 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:36.589 that a refund is extra money. It's just extra 00:25:36.589 --> 00:25:39.230 money. It's not extra money. It's not a refund. 00:25:39.369 --> 00:25:41.970 It's not extra money. It's your money being returned. 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:46.369 And so we tax, people who pay taxes, gotta make 00:25:46.369 --> 00:25:48.670 a decision. Do I want that money throughout the 00:25:48.670 --> 00:25:53.670 year? Which is what I actually believe now, right? 00:25:54.049 --> 00:25:56.750 Do I want that money throughout the year? Do 00:25:56.750 --> 00:25:59.009 I want that money throughout the year or do I 00:25:59.009 --> 00:26:01.250 want to wait to get that money at the beginning 00:26:01.250 --> 00:26:03.829 of the year on one lump sum? And then if that's 00:26:03.829 --> 00:26:07.329 the case, then what am I doing to make sure that 00:26:07.329 --> 00:26:09.809 my goals, my financial goals are being met, my 00:26:09.809 --> 00:26:12.490 objectives are being met? Am I looking at my 00:26:12.490 --> 00:26:15.529 checking my W -4? If I have a side business, 00:26:15.769 --> 00:26:19.390 am I checking my tax liability throughout the 00:26:19.390 --> 00:26:22.130 year? How much I've made versus how much I estimated 00:26:22.130 --> 00:26:24.630 to owe the government? What am I doing to put 00:26:24.630 --> 00:26:27.430 myself in the best position to meet my goals? 00:26:27.589 --> 00:26:30.369 And then when you get that money, all that money, 00:26:30.410 --> 00:26:33.339 those people who get that five... $6, $10 ,000. 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:35.380 What are you doing with that money? What is your 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:37.700 end game? Because I think you said it before, 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:40.500 Terrence, about how this is just money they've 00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:43.000 been holding if you're getting a refund, giving 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:46.579 it back to you. But throughout the year, if you 00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:48.940 have struggled throughout the year or you owe 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:52.880 or whatever, then yes, that vacation sounds amazing, 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:56.660 right? However, so karma, also paying off your 00:26:56.660 --> 00:26:59.460 debt and... putting it in the savings would also 00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:02.160 be as beneficial to what Terrence was saying, 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:04.500 understanding that value of a dollar for sure. 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:09.059 Definitely. So a final few tips as we kind of 00:27:09.059 --> 00:27:12.599 wrap up. And we talked a lot about looking at 00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:14.759 your past year. And so we're actually going to 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:17.180 do a future episode. I'm just letting Tamia know 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:20.740 this now about what are some things on your prior 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:23.039 taxes that could actually impact your career 00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:26.009 taxes? Yes. And so we'll talk through that so 00:27:26.009 --> 00:27:28.329 that you are fully aware of how those things 00:27:28.329 --> 00:27:29.930 are done, because even when it comes to your 00:27:29.930 --> 00:27:32.630 W -4, there might be things from your prior year 00:27:32.630 --> 00:27:35.069 that will impact how you fill that out. So we'll 00:27:35.069 --> 00:27:36.690 go through some things there. Let me say that 00:27:36.690 --> 00:27:39.009 too, because I need you all to tune into that 00:27:39.009 --> 00:27:40.809 one, because that's going to be a good one, because 00:27:40.809 --> 00:27:43.829 I know somebody that we all know that did pay 00:27:43.829 --> 00:27:47.509 taxes, OK, a rich person that did not pay taxes. 00:27:47.910 --> 00:27:50.829 And I think you said this, Terrence, that this 00:27:50.829 --> 00:27:54.759 is not a game for the rich and famous. It's out 00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:57.019 there. What did you, how did you say it? It's 00:27:57.019 --> 00:27:58.599 not, it's public. It's public. What did you say? 00:27:58.700 --> 00:28:00.759 Oh, it's public. Yeah. So, you know, our tax 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:03.299 code is public. See, she uses my government name, 00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:06.539 Tansy, when, you know, because we're professionals 00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:11.660 here. But, but yes, the tax code is public. So 00:28:11.660 --> 00:28:13.779 if you see some guru on social media and that 00:28:13.779 --> 00:28:15.299 makes it like there are some secrets that the 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:17.519 rich have, they really don't. They're probably 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:20.259 just working with someone who's educated on their 00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:23.819 situation or I would say your taxes follow the 00:28:23.819 --> 00:28:25.779 facts of your circumstance. Yes. So depending 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:27.859 on the facts of your circumstance, that's going 00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:29.980 to determine how much taxes you pay. So if you 00:28:29.980 --> 00:28:31.759 want to pay less taxes, you got to change some 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:33.900 things about your situation. And that's part 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:35.880 of the goal of this podcast is to educate you 00:28:35.880 --> 00:28:37.700 on what some of those things are that you can 00:28:37.700 --> 00:28:40.819 do. It's going to be some good stuff and it's 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:42.400 going to help you understand your tax return 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:45.809 for sure. So that way you can. understand your 00:28:45.809 --> 00:28:48.509 refund better and make it work for you. Awesome. 00:28:48.990 --> 00:28:51.230 So if you have any questions, you can send them 00:28:51.230 --> 00:28:54.589 in to us at questions at logos, that's L O G 00:28:54.589 --> 00:28:58.710 O S F G dot com. And we'll address those on future 00:28:58.710 --> 00:29:02.009 episodes. And she said, we'll bring Tamia back. 00:29:02.210 --> 00:29:03.730 We'll talk about some of those things from the 00:29:03.730 --> 00:29:06.049 prior year tax return that can impact your current 00:29:06.049 --> 00:29:09.210 year. And as we say, keep more of what you earn 00:29:09.210 --> 00:29:10.710 and we will talk to you guys soon.