@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME 🦃 Coming to you early this week — Happy Thanksgiving! THE PERMANENT TAX SAVINGS MOST BUSINESS OWNERS MISS A physical therapist walked into my office last year making $200,000 in revenue. Great business. Profitable. Growing. She was structured as a sole proprietor. That single decision was costing her $19,000 every year in avoidable self-employment taxes. We restructured her as an S-Corp. Set a reasonable salary of $60,000 based on what employed physical therapists...
11 days ago • 8 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME YOUR YEAR-END TAX CHECKLIST THAT SAVES $10,000+ Last Tuesday at 2pm, a software consultant called me in panic mode. Zero quarterly estimates paid. No salary all year. No retirement account. December 31st coming fast. In 90 minutes, we built a plan that saved him $120,000. Here's exactly what we did: Set up a Solo 401(k) before December 31st deadline ($69,000 deduction) Ran a $300K year-end payroll optimized for QBI ($50,000 saved) Paid his entire federal tax through...
16 days ago • 3 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME THE BORING ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE THAT SAVES MILLIONS Wealthy folks love the Deferred Tax Liability — a boring accounting principle that shapes how they think about money. Here's the concept: Would you rather pay $100,000 in taxes today, or pay that same $100,000 in 30 years? If you picked "30 years," congratulations. You understand the time value of money. At 7% annual returns, that $100,000 grows to $761,000 over 30 years. So deferring that tax bill is worth...
23 days ago • 4 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME THE MOST PAINFUL CONVERSATION I HAVE WITH POTENTIAL CLIENTS "If we had talked last November, you would have saved $50,000. But here we are in February..." It's brutal because the money is gone. The deadline passed. The opportunities expired on December 31st. Everyone thinks tax planning happens in December, but the smart moves need to start NOW, in early November, while there's still time to execute. Here are the five year-end strategies that separate the people who...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME WHY YOUR "SMART" TAX STRATEGY IS COSTING YOU $200K A new client came to me last year for a review — he was pretty proud of his tax planning approach. For 15 years, he'd maxed out his traditional 401k. Every year, he saved 30-35% on taxes by deferring that income. He thought he was being smart — it is the conventional advice. Fast forward to today. He's 73, retired, and all of a sudden those Required Minimum Distributions are hitting hard. He's pulling out $180K...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME HOW TO GIVE MORE AND SPEND LESS I am not a genius investor or a stock picker, but in 2012 I got lucky and bought a great stock. This year, I gave it away and won three times. Here is exactly what I did and how it works: I bought AMD stock in 2012 for $1,100. Today it's worth nearly $100,000. If I had sold it and donated the cash to charity, here's what would have happened: Capital gains tax: $23,562 Cash left to donate: $76,438 Tax deduction: $28,282 (at 37%...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME QBI IS NOW PERMANENT (HERE'S WHAT HIGH EARNERS ARE STILL MISSING) Every year around this time I write about the QBI deduction. Every year someone replies: ""Holy smokes, this saved me $50,000!!" And this year is even better because QBI is here to stay. Originally, it was scheduled to expire December 31, 2025, but The One Big Beautiful Bill made it permanent. No more sunset date, no expiration. You can finally build long-term tax strategy around this deduction...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME HOW TO SAVE THOUSANDS BEFORE DECEMBER 31ST If you're planning to file on October 15th, you have six days left. Next Wednesday. Final deadline. You're in the home stretch. But here's the catch: You just spent the last 10 months completing your taxes for a year that ended 10 months ago. And 2025? It ends in 83 days. The Real Question How did tax season feel for you this year? Maybe you filed in April and it was smooth. You had everything organized, your bookkeeping...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
@baldridgecpa WORK WITH ME THE STACK PHILOSOPHY THAT SCALES When you're an employee, someone else handles payroll. Someone else deals with accounting. Someone else figures out the tech stack. Then you start your own business. Suddenly YOU are responsible for everything. And every software company on the planet wants to sell you their "essential" tool. I've watched hundreds of entrepreneurs fall into the same trap — they buy every piece of software that promises to save time or look...
2 months ago • 2 min read