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May 22 •
AI Auditing: the most important coffee break I've ever done.
Today's coffee break livestream was a bit different than what I had planned. I had a whole different show prepared, and then last night, as I was lying in bed, this thought struck me. AI systems are going to be issuing audit notices in the very near future. And we have to build our own AI defense systems starting now. It's way too much for a skool post so go and check out the blog post on the TaxSherpa.com site. Forewarned is forearmed. https://taxsherpa.com/post/audit-by-ai-the-future
Pinned
Mar 19 •
Welcome to The Tax Strategy Network!
You’re in the right place if you want to legally reduce taxes, keep more of what you earn, and have ongoing support as you actually implement strategies in real life. How the community is structured We keep things simple with three levels so you always know what you have access to and where to go next. - Free Forever (everyone starts here) – This is the open community where you can join discussions, see updates, and get a feel for how we think about tax strategy for business owners. - Navigators (labeled “Premium” in Skool) – This is for people who want access to all of the tools, trainings, and resources I’ve created (and will create) to help you design and implement tax strategies on your own. - VIP Tax Plans (labeled “VIP” in Skool) – These are clients who have purchased a custom tax plan; they get everything in the lower levels plus classroom resources built specifically to help operate the strategies in their plan throughout the year. What Navigators get If you’re in the Navigators level, you unlock the full Classroom, all current and future trainings, and our weekly live call. - Weekly Navigators Call: Thursdays at 3 p.m. Eastern (already on the Skool calendar). - Deep-dive trainings on specific strategies, tools walkthroughs, and implementation guidance so you can confidently apply what you’re learning. What VIP Tax Plan clients get If you’re in the VIP level, you have a personalized tax plan that lays out the math, what to do, and how to do it. - The Classroom includes step-by-step resources tailored to operating the strategies in your plan—things like accountable reimbursement workflows and other “how do I actually do this?” guides. - As life and business happen during the year, you can refer back to these resources to make sure each strategy is set up and executed correctly. Your first action: Coffee Break with Neal No matter what level you’re in, the best way to plug in is to add our weekly Coffee Break with Neal to your calendar.
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9h •
The IRS letter almost nobody fights (and almost everybody can beat)
https://www.skool.com/tax-strategy-network/classroom/9d72b0b3?md=6d956230b984400dad279619ba5db93d We just passed the September 15 pass-through deadline. If your S-corp or partnership filed late — or is about to — a CP162 penalty notice is coming. It'll say "amount due" in bold, starting at $255 per partner/shareholder per month late. Most people get this letter and freak out, because their first thought is "we didn't even make any money this year — how do we owe this?" That reaction makes sense, and it's also exactly wrong: CP162 is a filing penalty, not an income-tax penalty. Profit has nothing to do with it. This week's Coffee Break is a full deep dive on that notice — what it is, why it's not fake, and the two real formal ways to get it removed. What this episode covers: - What a CP162 actually is, and why "we didn't owe any tax" doesn't make it go away - How the $255-per-month math stacks up fast with multiple partners - First-Time Abate vs. reasonable cause — which one you actually qualify for, and how to ask for it in writing (not over the phone) - What actually counts as reasonable cause (death, disaster, provably-relied-on-your-accountant) vs. what gets denied on sight ("I forgot") - What CP504 — the follow-up notice with "intent to levy" language — really authorizes, and why it's narrower (and less scary) than it sounds - A heads-up on AEP, the IRS's new automatic penalty relief rolling out in 2027, and why Neal wouldn't rely on it yet Who should watch this: - Anyone who filed an S-corp or partnership return late this year, or knows they're about to - Anyone who's already opened one of these letters and isn't sure if it's real - Any tax pro or bookkeeper who wants the exact IRM language and submission process to use for a client Full breakdown, timestamps, and resource links are up now in Coffee Break Replays. Watch it before you do anything else with that letter.
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2d •
The Two Levers of Tax Planning (and Why Everything Else Is a Sub-Category)
Every tax strategy you'll ever hear about — accountable plans, kids on payroll, cost segregation, SALT workarounds, R&D credits — is one of exactly two moves. Once you see the two moves, you stop collecting random "tax hacks" and start seeing the system. Here's the run of numbers on a 1040 that everything hangs off of: Income → AGI → Taxable Income → Tax → Credits/Adjustments → Final Bill Lever 1 works before that first arrow. Lever 2 works after the AGI is already calculated. That's the whole map. Lever 1: Prevent Income From Appearing If income never shows up as income, there's nothing to tax. This is everything that reduces net income before AGI is even calculated: - Deductions — the standard toolkit: accountable plans, disaster Section 139 plans, family management companies, Summit Strategy sessions. All of it is just "create a legitimate expense at the entity layer so less profit flows to the owner's 1040." - Income shifting — same idea, different mechanism. Put a minor on payroll through a family management company at their 0% bracket, capture the deduction at the company level. The income didn't disappear, it just landed on a return that doesn't tax it. - Deferral — push recognition into a later year (retirement contributions, certain elections). Doesn't erase the income, just delays when it appears. - The Exotics — once the first three tools are maxed out and you're still in a high bracket, this is where you buy into an operating business (solar, oil & gas, equipment leasing, real estate) that throws off real depreciation. You're purchasing a deduction from a third party instead of generating one internally — which is why it usually costs ~20% of the benefit. Right tool for a minority of clients, wrong tool as a first move. Lever 2: Offset the Tax Once AGI is calculated, taxable income is calculated, and a tax is actually assessed — Lever 1 is done, the number is what it is. Lever 2 is everything that chips away at that number after the fact:
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8d •
No coffee break today
I’m at a seminar on buying businesses today so no coffee break Some interesting take ways though that I’ll talk about later
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Discover and implement proven tax strategies used by smart owners to legally reduce taxes and keep more of what you earn
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