Oct. 13, 2025

Trucker Bookkeeping & Taxes

Trucker Bookkeeping & Taxes
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Season 3

TaxTalk4U.com Trucking, Business and Taxes. What you need to know about trucking. Mistakes that cost truckers and business owners thousands. Bad or No Bookkeeping and the Most overlook Expenses to minimize taxes for business. Missing Business Expenses, Incomplete bookkeeping, Not reading your Settlement statements, Bookkeeping done by those that don’t know trucking. Bookkeeping without Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement Keep it Simple principle of bookkeeping truckertaxtools.com

Tax Talk 4 U is broadcast live Mondays at 10AM ET and Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Tax Talk 4 U is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions express in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

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or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

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liability explicit or implies shall be extended to W FOURCY

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Radio or it's employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments

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should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for

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choosing W FOURCY Radio.

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Barry G.

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Fouler EA brings you tax talk for you right here

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on W four CY Radio and talk for TV. As

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an enrolled agent and a national leader in tax resolution

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as well as Trucker bookkeeping and tax planning. With over

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thirty years of experience, Barry will break down taxes, bookkeeping,

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tax planning, and tax relief for individuals and businesses just

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like you. So let's have some tax talk for you

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with your hosts.

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Barry G. Foul Or.

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Hey, good morning, and it's another great Monday to be

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here talking taxes and trucking and small businesses, you name it.

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Release the taxes. We're going to be talking about it

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So if you've got questions, feel free to send us

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some messages or jump on and let's get your questions answered.

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Let's help you be better at what you need to

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do for business and personal. To save money on taxes.

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Nobody likes paying taxes, so why not despine the ways

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to reduce your taxes to the lowest amount allowed to

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buy law. Hey, today's a great day. You know, we're

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celebrating Columbus Day. You know, in fourteen ninety two, Columbus

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sale the ocean blue. And that's the way we always

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learned it to remember, you know, when Columbus came and

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discovered Americas. You know, if he hadn't been so driven

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to prove that the earth was round and not flat

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where you just fall off the ends, we probably America's

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wouldn't have been discovered. Then it would have been discovered

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at some point in time because of all the you know,

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modernization and everything else that happened over the years. But

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this great country, you know, some two hundred and some

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years later was founded. So you know, that's fantastic. It's

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a great day to celebrate and enjoy. You know that

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the America's were discovered back in fourteen ninety two. But

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just the same as he wanted to do discoveries and

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he wanted to find ways to prove with the earth around,

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we want to find ways to reduce the burden of

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taxes for you especially. You know those people you know

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in UH in business, those people that are running trucking companies.

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So you know, how do you do that? How do

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you find ways to save money on taxes? Well, you know,

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when I go to oh Ida Owner Operator Independent Drivers

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Association and I speak at their someone are called Truck

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to Success. Normally we'd be having that coming up here

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this month. They've had to cancel it because I didn't

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have enough people wanting to jump out and be an

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owner operator, which you know, I understand. It's a tough

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business right now with fuel prices being up and that

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load costs what you're able to charge for loads being down,

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and people taking loads just to try to cover payments,

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which isn't the right thing to do. You've got to

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keep a fair price so that it keeps the industry afloat,

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not just you. But if you're only and even you're

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not paying yourself, you're just doing work just to pay

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your note and that's it. Well, that's not keeping you

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yourself afloat, that's not paying your bills. So you know,

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all this has happened in the industry, and the industry

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has been kind of in a decline because of that.

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It's tough business to make money in being an owner operator.

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So you know, I'm going to kind of give a

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little bit of that session that we would do now.

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We don't have as much time as I have when

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I'm speaking at truck to success, but we want you

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to be successful. Now when we talk about mistakes that

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cost truckers thousands upon thousands of dollars in taxes, and

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it's one of the biggest mistakes even all business owners

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make is bad we're no bookkeeping. Now, can you imagine

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running your business with bad or no bookkeeping whatsoever. You know,

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if you have bad or no bookkeeping, you're missing deductible

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business expenses. You know it, have incomplete bookkeeping. You know,

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when you're in trucking business and maybe you're least done,

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you've got settlement statements and you've got some people doing

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bookkeeping that have never read a settlement statement, don't even

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know what it is. And then if you don't read

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your settlement statement, you don't know what deductions are coming

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out of the gross trucking revenue that you're receiving. You're

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just looking at the bottom line. You didn't look at

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your insurance costs that they may have hit you. You

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didn't look at chargebacks they may have hit you with.

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You didn't look at what your fuel costs are. So

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you've got to read those settlement statements right there just

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to understand what money you're getting from your business. And

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then you know, bookkeeper done by somebody that doesn't know

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your industry, your business, trucking business. You know, we see

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it all the time. And you know, when you've got

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somebody that doesn't know the ins and outs of the

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business that you're in, sometimes they're missing is very valuable deductions.

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And you don't want to be in that kind of

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situation where you're missing deductions because somebody doesn't know the

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deductions you should be getting for your business. And then

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we talk about bookkeeping that are done by those who

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only care about their own bottom line and not about yours. See,

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we take an interest in your business. We want to

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see you be successful, so we kind of look at

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your bottom line. What's happening. Are you increasing are you

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decreasing what has been an issue. Can you compare this

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month the last month, this month the same month last

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year year to date this year, to compare it to

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that same period last year, and see, this is all

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the information that you can get when you have somebody

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good at doing bookkeeping that helps you run your business. Now,

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you know, one thing that I've seen in this industry

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is there are companies that take shortcuts and they produce

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a financial statement sort of, and it's more upon a

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cash flow statement. That means you're not getting a true

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profit and loss. You're getting hey, this is where cash went.

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But that only helps you so much. See, good financials

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has a balance sheet, has an income statement or profit

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and law statement as comparisons, has a good cash flow statement.

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So you can see all of this as a business

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owner and how it makes sense of what's happening in

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your business. It's your business. You've got to take a

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step back periodically look at what's happening in your business.

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Where's my money going? So cash flow statement is good

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for that. It shows you, hey, this was our gross revenue,

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this was the expenses that went out. This is the

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cost that went out to pay for debt. Principal interest,

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capital improvements, increasing if you have a business that takes inventory,

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then increasing your inventory. All these things can the keys

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to running your business. But having a good profit and

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loss is what's going to help you run your business,

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understand your business, and then you can go from there.

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So that's kind of the big thing out there. I mean,

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what you're looking at when you're looking at a profit

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and loss. Of course, you're looking at your gross revenue

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at the tip, but then you've got all your expenses

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and so we kind of do things a little bit differently,

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So we use the cost of service. So what's it

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going to be to run your truck on the road

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for every load every month? As you're going So you're

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going to see our financial statements that you see a

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profit and loss with. You're going to see gross trucking revenue,

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and it may be broken down by several items. You

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may have other items that come in besides the gross

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trucking that you're paid for out there. Then you're going

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to have your cost of service, maybe your fuel costs,

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your truck maintenance, your tolls, your scales, and all your

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other expenses for you to operate that truck on the road.

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Now the centex section is going to be more of

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general administrative overhead and all the other costs out there.

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So you know, costs that you're going to have whether

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that truck is out there running or not. Like your

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insurance cost is going to be the same whether you

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have that truck on the road or not. You know

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you're going to have a cost for you whether it's

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payroll or if you're an escort, or payroll for contractor

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or your employees, or you may have subcontracting work and

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that's going to be you know, up into the top

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section that's cost of service. So these things are what's

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going to become important to you to be able to

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run your business and understand what's you need to do

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to help yourself in business across the now. We want

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to make it simple, so sometimes you just want to

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do it yourself. You think you can save money doing it.

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So what we suggest is we have a great bookkeeping system.

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It's called Keep it Simple, and we're going to go

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through Keeping it Simple bookkeeping.

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Right after this break, we have only scratched the surface

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of today's show. Please stand by as Barry G. Fowler

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will be right back with tax talk for you. If

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you own the IRS or are going through an IRS audit,

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don't go at it alone.

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Called Taxation Solutions Tax.

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Relief at eight eight eight nine three zero one zero

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one six. We are your solution for IRS debts, audits,

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back taxes.

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Garnishments, leans and levees.

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Whether you're an individual or business, you need a solution

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and a strong, aggressive tax resolution. Don't let the IRS

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walk all over you. Stop the IRS now call eight

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eight eight nine three zero one zero one six or

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go to Taxation Solutions dot net now for a free

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no obligation consultation. Let's get back to tax talk for

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you with more tax talk once again.

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Here's your host, Barry G. Fowler.

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Hey, welcome back. You know, talking trucking, talking keeping it

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simple when we're talking income statements, and we're going to

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get keeping it simple here in just a minute. We're

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talking to income statements. I mean, we're talking about service

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revenue at the top gross trucking revenue, and your bonus

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is detention, maybe fuel, serve charge, things that are going

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to be you know there in revenues and stuff. And

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we had a question about cost of service. What else

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could we include in cost of service? Of course you know,

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we talked about fuel scales and tolls, you know, truck

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maintenance death is is it really a good.

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One to have in there?

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We run a complete chart of accounts that you would

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say is probably pretty extensive in that, you know, we

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want to make sure that we're including every single thing

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you know possible in your costs. And I mean you're

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going to have also possibly refer fueled, broker fees, additives,

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lumper escort fee, mileage charges, maybe have inspections or an

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overweight fee, transit damage, subcontracted services, travel for your drivers

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out there, especially like your subcond You know, if you're

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paying subcontractors, it's going to be some contract and pay,

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but you may have drivers out there and you've got

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travel for them. All those things are going to be

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kind of included in what we would call cost of service.

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So you know, we kind of break it down whether

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this moscle you can you kind of see what you're

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spending money on in the business to keep it visible, understandable,

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and readable, because what you really want to do is

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make sure you've got readable financials that will help you

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guide your business down the road. See you use a

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GPS to get from point A to point b or.

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Your financial statements should be your GPS to financial success

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in determining exactly what you need to do or are

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doing in business. Now we're going to talk about keeping

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it simple. Keeping it simple means keeping it simple. You know,

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save every receipt for your business. Open a separate checking

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account for your business. So you know, you may be

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a DBA and you think I can just run everything

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underneath my family checking account. No, you just got too

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many things going on in there. You really want to

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keep it separate business personal, so that you know, Hey,

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everything going through this account is my income, and everything

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going out of this account would be towards my expenses

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and everything. Hey, Kelly, great question. Would this information apply

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to all businesses? Absolutely? Now, you know, when we're talking

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about the financial statements we were talking about, you know

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those are set up specifically around a trucking business. Now,

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if you are an independent contractor in your service business,

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you might want to set up your financial statements similar way.

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Now.

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You know, if you're in a retail or manufacturing business,

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then you've got a separate sort of chart of accounts

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that you would use that distinguish costly goods sold as

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opposed to like cost of service that we're talking about.

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So hey, I'm going to try to stay up to

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date with questions as they're coming in. Frank, this is

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another great question. If you are an owner and driver,

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should we know all these things just starting out? Well,

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what I would tell you to do is, Hey, give

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us a call at truck or tax tools dot com.

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Let us get started helping you in your trucking business

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from day one, and yes, you should know this stuff

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starting out. And when I go to speak at Oida's

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Truck to Success, I'm there speaking about this to people

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that are just coming out or just deciding they're going

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to be in the trucking business. And so yes, we

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want them to learn and understand and then give us

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that phone call and let us help guide you through

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business itself. That's why we're one of the most recommended

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bookkeeping and tax companies for truckers, is because we take

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and we help the truckers all down the road so

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that they've guided in the right way through business. So

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just give us a called eight seven seven nine sixty

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six two four seven seven again eight seven seven nine

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six six two four seven seven, and we'll get you

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on our very low cost bookkeeping service so that we

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can keep you and guide you down the road. So

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we were talking about keeping it simple, so you know,

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open that separate checking account for your business. If you've

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become an LLC or an inc. The bank's going to

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require you to have a separate checking account. I always

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tell you never commingle funds. Never write checks out of

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the business, or use the funds directly from the business

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for personal use. You want to transfer funds from the

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business account to the personal account for personal items, don't

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ever comingle that. It becomes a real pain for you.

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If you're an LC or a corporation. Our attorney friends,

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and I'm not an attorney, never want to the attorney.

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Don't charge legal fees. Tell me all the time you

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start commingling that you lose that corporate veil. You lose

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any protections you may have out there. We also tell

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you to use a separate credit card for business expenses. Now,

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if you can get a credit card in the business name.

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Now you may get a fuel card, or you may

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get you one of these other saving cards out there

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that you use for your trucking business, and that would

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be separate underneath the business name. But if you can't

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get a separate credit card in the business name. Designate

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one card that's personal that is only used for business

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as well. That way you can track everything through there.

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And you know, everything going through that card is purely

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business and nothing else. So you want to separate that

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and keep it separate, and it helps keep your life

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a little bit simpler. You know, that's the card you're

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going to go to to look for the other expenses

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that you may have for the business. Get a notebook

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and carry with you and pocket folders so that you

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can record every receipt and you can put receipts into

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those expanding folders and make sure you're keeping all the receipts. Now,

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I tell you a lot of times make pictures of them,

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because you can see those receipts these days. After a

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few months man and being in the heat or whatever,

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they fade away, you know, and you won't know what

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it is and you'll be going to what was this for?

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Especially if you've got you know, using cash or something

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like that. You want to make sure you've got those

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documented above and beyond anything else, because at least receipts

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or some that's been charged on a credit card, you

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can go through and make sure that you know you've

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got everything tracked that way, track your loans. And I'm

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going to give you a hint. Before you sign a loan,

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or you sign a lease on a truck, or anything

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else for that matter, for equipment purchases or anything else

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you do in your life, read it. Read it. Ask questions.

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What's the actual cost of buying this truck, what's the

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interest rate, what's it costing me to do this? Look

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at the cash purchase price versus what you're going to

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pay over the long term. What's my buyout at the end,

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You've got to make sure you're reading. And that's how

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I stand in a soapbox and preach this to new truckers,

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even people that are doing bookkeeping and taxes with us currently,

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we preach this to them consistently. Read before you sign.

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Even our engagement letters, we tell you to read it

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before you sign it. We want you to know what's

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in it. Even though we go through it tell you

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about it. You got to read it to understand it.

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As my dad always says, if you don't read, get

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what you get. You can't throw a fit. At least

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when you read it and you know that. Hey, I'm

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agreeing to this, and it's totally understandable to me. Save

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your records. Hey, we had a question from Larry how

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long you keep receipts? Well, you know, IRS to tell

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you should be keeping support for your tax return for

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about seven years. Now, I'm going to tell you your

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receipts aren't going to last that long. Very seldom do

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I have an IRIS agent that has gone through an

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audit with me that will ask for actual receipts behind things.

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Unless it's a large purchase. Then you know, hey, if

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it's a couple thousand dollars here, five, ten thousand, they

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may ask for the receipt So you might want to

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have pictures and put them in you know, Hey, you

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can use folders in your in your phone. Those are

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really nice things to do. Speaking of phone, before it rings,

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I got to turn my ringer off here, but you know,

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you can use file folders on your by year and

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put your pictures over there for the year, so you

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have them if you need them. So, but it's about

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you know, seven years now if it's a major purchase,

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and until seven years after you really you sell it,

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So it could be something you keep a little bit longer,

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but we work through that. I've got a few more

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questions that have come up in here, and we're going

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to talk more about basic keeping it simple bookkeeping or

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your business, whether you're in trucking, whether you're a small

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business out there. We want to try to find ways

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to help you keep it simple. We'll answer those questions

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and go through more of this right back after this.

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We have only scratched the surface of today's show. Please

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stand by as Barry Chief Fowler will be right back

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with tax talk for you. As an owner operator, you

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00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.519
already spend too much time away from your family. Trucker

355
00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.880
Tax Tools handles all your bookkeeping and taxes.

356
00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:01.440
No matter what level trucker you are.

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00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:04.880
Life on the road can be taxing, but that doesn't

358
00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:08.279
mean that your wallet or time with your family should suffer.

359
00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:12.759
Trucker Tax Tools makes your life run smoothly. Go to

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00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:15.599
Trucker tax Tools dot com for a free guide that

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00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:19.319
will give you the tools to never worry about your

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taxes again. Call Trucker Tax Tools eight seven seven nine

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00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:28.160
sixty six two four seven seven, or go to Trucker

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00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:30.599
tax Tools dot com now and let the.

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Experts keep you trucking.

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Let's get back to tax stock for you with more

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tax stock once again.

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Here's your host, Barry G. Feller.

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Hey, welcome back. H You know, we got some other

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good questions that come in.

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We'll got a.

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Couple will fill in as we're going through and talking

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about bookkeeping systems, how to make it, keep it simple,

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simplest way is being truck or tax tools a call

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and let us get you set up in our bookkeeping.

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We start as low as twenty five dollars a week

377
00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:12.519
for trucking or bookkeeping. We're running some great promotions right now.

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We have a great billboard out on Highway twelve out

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in Louisiana with some great information. So hopefully if you've

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00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:23.960
seen that, call us. Call us if you've seen it,

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Even if you're not going to use this for bookkeeping. Hey,

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00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:28.839
if you're out there trucking and you see the billboard,

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00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:31.519
call us, hey, just give us his thumbs up something

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00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:35.680
that says, hey, I saw the billboard and everything. But

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we had a question for James. From James, what if

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you are just about to start out in business but

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don't have things set up just yet. You have to

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get the separate accounts and how do you get accounts

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without documentation. Well, James, if you're in a startup phase,

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you're not going to have that separate account yet. So

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you know, once you set up your DBA or your

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LLC or your corporation, and then you get the employer

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identification number and then you can get that checking account

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in the company name. Now that being said, you're going

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to possibly have expenses or you even have that account.

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Now those expenses are going to be considered startup costs.

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Now the best thing to do is track those. Maybe

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do a folder says startup costs on it. And as

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you're spending money, like in corporation fees, maybe you're driving

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to go see a lawyer. Maybe you're doing some pre

401
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work to determine if this is the right business for you.

402
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You're out looking for maybe a truck, you're looking for

403
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a location, you're looking for storage or parking, and you're driving.

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You want to keep track of those miles, all those

405
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business miles to and from the house and get a

406
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log and log all those miles. Maybe you had to

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buy pre supplies and stuff like that for you were

408
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getting all set up, so you're going to want to

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track all that.

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Now I don't.

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Recommend you buying that truck until you get the LLC,

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put the LLC's name on it, or the corporation's name

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on the truck, and you can start from there. That way,

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you've got your eyes down and t's crossed. And then

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when you go to your bookkeeper or your tax guy, Hey,

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these were my startup costs, and you can total those

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up and it's going to be total startup costs, and

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then we can take the appropriate deduction for startup costs

419
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on your taxes. So there are some limitations in that,

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and it varies by year and what's happening, but we'll

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be able to sit down and get that information and

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be able to take those deductions. Where we go Now,

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I promised, Hey, keeping it simple. Here was the example

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I used at Truck to Success. A very basic record

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keeping procedure for you as an owner operator. And you

426
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can do this as a small business person. You know,

427
00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:02.960
you buy that expanding folder, you go down to an

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office supply stor you get a Stapler desktop calculator with

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a registered tape. You fill out the pocket labels with

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various categories of expenses and income, you know, such as

431
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maintenance or meals and fuel equipment, settlements, office supplies, et cetera.

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And then when you get a receipt, you just reach down,

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find the right section, drop in the receipt into that pocket. Now,

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at the end of every month, you take those receipts out,

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you total them up, staple them together, put a total

436
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on them, and now you've got total four office supplies

437
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for the month. You've got a total for fuel for

438
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the month. You've got your total for revenue for the month,

439
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fuel fuel for the month. So you made it simple,

440
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and now you can actually put it into a spreadsheet

441
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and help determine what you need, what you have as

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net income. So it can be that simple. Now do

443
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I recommend doing it that way? Now you don't have

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time on your hands to do this, you don't know

445
00:27:07.559 --> 00:27:09.720
what you're doing. Get a good book hip heer that's

446
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in the trucking business that doesn't, and that's something you

447
00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:18.759
should start soon as possible. So, really, when I'm looking

448
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at questions that come in, Jennifer asked a question, what

449
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kind of expenses can I take as an owner operator? Well, Jennifer,

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you know we talk about the most overlooked truck driver deductions,

451
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So you know some of these things are really simple

452
00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:41.240
and really easy, such as you know, fuel and truck

453
00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:45.640
maintenance and tolls and scales. But the things that you

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do sometimes missed. They may seem like small items. But remember,

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if you're a small business person and you're running a

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DBA and you're a soil proprietor and you're reporting on

457
00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:00.319
SCHEDULEC or your single member LLC reporting on SCHEDULEC, your

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00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:04.519
bottom line of your business gets first tax at fifteen

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00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:08.480
point three percent social Security and Medicare. So if you grow,

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if you netted one hundred thousand dollars, you're paying fifteen thousand,

461
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three hundred dollars just in Social Security and Medicare taxes

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before you get to the federal income tax side, and

463
00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:22.480
only half of that fifteen point three it is deductible

464
00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:27.400
for federal income tax. So every dollar you save for

465
00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:33.119
every hundred dollars you gain and expenses saves fifteen dollars

466
00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:36.559
at a minimum in your pocket plus whatever the federal

467
00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:39.519
income tax. So even if you were taxed at the

468
00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:43.880
lowest tax bracket, you're saving twenty five cents on every dollar,

469
00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:48.519
twenty five dollars on every hundred, So it becomes important

470
00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:53.559
to do that it's money saving items. Okay, so what

471
00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:57.079
items are those association dues? You know, if you paid

472
00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:01.240
to become part of the Association of Owner Operator Independent

473
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:06.440
Drivers Association, deductible your bank fees whatever the bank's charging you. Now,

474
00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:09.079
I tell you to watch those bank fees. I've seen

475
00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:14.319
bank fees higher costs than sometimes professional services out there.

476
00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:17.440
So if you're running an NSS on your account and

477
00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:21.440
those fees become very very high, some banks are still

478
00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:23.599
charging a monthly bank charge.

479
00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:24.279
Watch that.

480
00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:26.519
Maybe you're banking at the wrong bank. Find a new bank.

481
00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:30.160
It isn't going to charge it. Your cell phone or

482
00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:34.000
internet plans. Now, a cell phone or cell phone plans

483
00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:37.400
themselves are only deductible for what you're using for business.

484
00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:39.319
So if you have a straight lines that it's just

485
00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:42.319
for your business, that's one hundred percent deductible. Now if

486
00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:45.720
it's a business and personal, maybe you're using at eighty twenty,

487
00:29:46.079 --> 00:29:48.519
maybe fifty to fifty, So you got to look at

488
00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:50.440
what your usage is on that phone and then in

489
00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:54.720
deduct the portion that is applicable to the business. But

490
00:29:54.759 --> 00:29:58.279
it is a deduction that some people overlook. Coffee pot

491
00:29:58.519 --> 00:30:04.359
for the truck, deduct any certifications you need, has MATT certifications,

492
00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:09.279
things like that, you're gonna be able to take that deduction. Calculator,

493
00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:14.759
cleaning supplies for the truck. Something as simple as chains

494
00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:18.839
that you need or required to have for the truck, envelopes,

495
00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:24.440
your stapler. Hey, guess what professional services such as tax

496
00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:29.359
and bookkeeping services. Our services are deductible, so it gives

497
00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:34.480
you that additional tax deduction. Any licenses or fees that

498
00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:39.559
you're going to incur your fire extinguisher, ice scrapers, and

499
00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:42.440
people laugh about this because I'm sitting here talking about it.

500
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:46.680
But the little things that you have to replace periodically. Hey,

501
00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.839
if it costs you ten dollars for it and you're

502
00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:53.519
going to be hit at twenty five percent tax, doesn't

503
00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:54.359
that money?

504
00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:54.720
Say?

505
00:30:55.319 --> 00:30:57.680
Doesn't it save you two dollars and fifty cents you

506
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:03.079
had to buy it? Anyone take the deduction for excise taxes? Hey,

507
00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:06.720
road at list, I funny joke about the road outlyss

508
00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:10.240
is it's paper, We all know that. But how good

509
00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:13.240
is a GPS? Sometimes out in the mountains in different places,

510
00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:16.200
sometimes you might need it. Most truckers that I've ever

511
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:18.519
talked to have a road out, liss, I carry one

512
00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:21.039
in my truck. My kids go, what is this? I

513
00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:23.079
taught them how to read them map that I got

514
00:31:23.079 --> 00:31:28.119
a GPS. A GPS doesn't always work everywhere, and sometimes

515
00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:30.400
you just need to be able to read a map

516
00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:33.519
to know where you're going, where you're at, and how

517
00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:38.000
to find the next exit, the next step and maybe

518
00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:39.759
the back road that gets you around all of it

519
00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:42.759
that maybe your GPS isn't going to guide you down.

520
00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:46.400
We were taking a road trip and heading to Branson

521
00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:50.920
and going through Arkansas. They were doing some major construction

522
00:31:51.079 --> 00:31:56.200
and there was a two hour delay on the major roads.

523
00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:58.400
When my wife was able to pull out the road

524
00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:02.519
map and it and guide us using that road at

525
00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:06.799
Liss to get around it all and something the GPS

526
00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:10.759
did not show us. So it saved us more almost

527
00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:14.480
two hours of at least sitting in that traffic. Took

528
00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:16.200
us a little bit more time because it was some

529
00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:18.400
back roads, but we enjoyed the back rounds. So it

530
00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:21.319
was it was something fun, It was something good, and

531
00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:23.319
it was a learning experience, you know, with the kids,

532
00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:26.519
showing them how you can find the different routes to

533
00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:33.279
get around things like this that are traffic oriented. Of course,

534
00:32:33.319 --> 00:32:37.160
you know your fuel, and your truck operating expenses are

535
00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:44.759
all deductible paper pens, envelopes, and excuse me, insurance, but

536
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:48.640
not life insurance. Now, you could deduct life insurance. So

537
00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:51.079
maybe it's a you know, maybe you got a partner

538
00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:53.079
and you need the insurance between the two of you

539
00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:57.359
for bicell agreements and stuff like that. I don't recommend

540
00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:59.720
that being deductible because then the proceeds from the life

541
00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:02.240
and which is supposed to be taxed, so you kind

542
00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:08.519
of need to avoid that portion. Interest expense is deductible,

543
00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:12.160
but the principle is not. So if you're paying on

544
00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:16.039
your truck, or you're paying on capital improvement, or you're

545
00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:18.480
paying on and it's real estate or building or something,

546
00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:22.680
the principle is not deductible. It comes off the loan balance.

547
00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:27.920
The interest is deductible any labor your leases. Now, leases

548
00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:34.519
have two categories, operating or capital. Operating is directly deductible.

549
00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:39.880
Expense capital you capitalize the fixed asset and appreciate it,

550
00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:43.000
so you don't get the lease expense. Now, a portion

551
00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:48.160
at lease expense would be interest, and therefore you would

552
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:54.480
take the interest part of this as a deduction. License fees, maintenance,

553
00:33:54.480 --> 00:34:01.839
and repairs, dot medical exams, safety gear, and things like

554
00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:06.359
that are all deductible, So you want to be looking

555
00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:09.519
for every kind of expense. Now we come back, we're

556
00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:13.159
going to talk about other expenses. What is required by

557
00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:16.679
the IRS to make an expense deductible. We'll do that

558
00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:17.199
right after that.

559
00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:22.000
We have only scratched the surface of today's show. Please

560
00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:22.760
stand by.

561
00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:26.079
As Barry G. Fowler will be right back with tax

562
00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:26.840
talk for you.

563
00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:32.920
As an owner operator, you already spend too much time

564
00:34:32.920 --> 00:34:37.119
away from your family. Stop spending time doing paperwork. Go

565
00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:41.519
to Trucker tax tools dot com a solution filled specifically

566
00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:45.159
for truckers. Trucker tax tools dot Com makes your life

567
00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:51.239
run smoothly. Let's get back to tax stock for you

568
00:34:51.320 --> 00:34:56.280
with more taxtock once again, here's your host, Barry G.

569
00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:56.880
Fowler.

570
00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:03.599
Hey, welcome back. What makes an expense deductible? According to

571
00:35:03.639 --> 00:35:06.840
the I R S. In order to be deductible, it

572
00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:13.000
needs to be ordinary and necessary expense for your business. Now,

573
00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:18.239
all the things we've talked about are ordinary and necessary expenses. Now,

574
00:35:18.280 --> 00:35:22.039
what other items can you find that you could actually

575
00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:28.000
make become ordinary and necessary expenses? Some people don't think

576
00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:32.400
about personal supplies. So not all personal supplies are considered

577
00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:35.519
tax deductible. And again, you know, it's got to be

578
00:35:35.559 --> 00:35:41.199
considered ordinary and necessary. They have to have a business purpose.

579
00:35:41.880 --> 00:35:46.840
So here's some examples. Uniforms, see sure has my logo

580
00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:52.000
on it and everything. It's a deductible business expense. So

581
00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:56.800
we consider uniforms something that you're doing that you only

582
00:35:56.960 --> 00:36:01.440
can use truck now if you knows, and stuff like that,

583
00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:05.800
and wouldn't be considered ordinary and necessary. They're considered to

584
00:36:05.800 --> 00:36:08.519
be personal items and isn't going to be tax deductible.

585
00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:10.320
I guess you could put your logo in the back

586
00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:14.079
pocket and maybe that works. Might be a good one

587
00:36:14.119 --> 00:36:18.440
for the plumbers, gloves that you're using at the truck,

588
00:36:19.400 --> 00:36:22.760
boots especially like steel toe boots that you'd be required

589
00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:27.920
to wear, or something showers. Motel expense, So even though

590
00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:30.239
you could probably sleep in your truck, if you've been

591
00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:32.519
stopped at a motel and you sleep in a motel,

592
00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:36.920
it would be a tax deductible item. You know, you

593
00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:40.719
really have to think about it and keeping the I

594
00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:45.239
R s's words and thought process, which is really hard

595
00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:47.159
to do. When you start talking about the I R S.

596
00:36:47.239 --> 00:36:52.440
Isn't it ordinary and necessary, isn't it. You think about

597
00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:55.239
it that way, it's easier to decide whether or not

598
00:36:55.280 --> 00:37:02.719
an item is tax deductible. Communication expenses, I mean you

599
00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:05.000
may not think about you know, your cell phone and

600
00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:13.719
the internet, your radio, CB radio, your truck. Also things

601
00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:17.639
like your subscriptions to different things that you use within

602
00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:21.920
the truck. Yes, you can hearr ELD and things like that,

603
00:37:22.039 --> 00:37:25.599
but what about your YouTube, TV or some of the

604
00:37:25.639 --> 00:37:28.920
other platforms that you may be using while you're in

605
00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:33.400
the truck, or maybe have a specialized GPS that you

606
00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:37.760
want to use. Those all become ordinary necessary business expenses

607
00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:43.840
and you know, tax deductible. So those things that you'd

608
00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:48.280
be able to use now some people get into factoring.

609
00:37:48.599 --> 00:37:50.719
Now factoring, if you don't know what it is, is

610
00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:53.719
when you take your receivables or your invoices and send

611
00:37:53.719 --> 00:37:57.679
them to somebody else to collect and get the money

612
00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:03.440
up front. Factoring is sometimes a hard thing to get

613
00:38:03.480 --> 00:38:08.199
away from doing because once you get started and you're

614
00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:11.360
used to getting that money right away, where some companies

615
00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:15.519
pay you in maybe two weeks, three weeks, sixty ninety days,

616
00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:19.920
and you can't survive waiting for an invoice to be paid,

617
00:38:20.039 --> 00:38:24.000
you know, thirty sixty ninety days out, and that being

618
00:38:24.039 --> 00:38:26.400
the case, a lot of people go in factor but

619
00:38:26.480 --> 00:38:31.639
you can be able to take in deduct that factoring fee.

620
00:38:32.039 --> 00:38:34.639
And these fees range anywhere from a half percent to

621
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.960
five percent per invoice. Sometimes they've seen them go as

622
00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:45.719
high as ten percent, depending on invoice volume, clients, credit worthiness,

623
00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:50.960
and whatever industry you may be in. And then you

624
00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:54.519
know the reserves. The reserves are not deductible unless they

625
00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:58.039
pull the money back to cover a claim. Maybe an

626
00:38:58.039 --> 00:39:02.360
invoice wasn't paid, maybe the invoice would ended up having

627
00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:07.320
to be discounted for whatever reason, so you would make

628
00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:11.920
sure that you pulled that back as well as an expense.

629
00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:16.199
So those reserves sit as an s grow or a

630
00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:19.039
reserve account on the balance sheet. And then once you

631
00:39:19.079 --> 00:39:23.079
receive the money, then you would be able to include

632
00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:27.920
that in your income. At that point, other costs of

633
00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:30.840
factory and you get to write off is your application fee,

634
00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:34.800
maybe your check card feed wire transfer fees, and then

635
00:39:34.800 --> 00:39:39.719
if there's a termination fee, all this is deductible there

636
00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:44.360
for you. I've seen advantages and I'm not one a

637
00:39:44.360 --> 00:39:48.480
good proponent of saying, hey you should factor, but sometimes

638
00:39:48.559 --> 00:39:52.000
it works really well, and especially sometimes in the trucking industry,

639
00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:55.920
where you can send over the information to your factor

640
00:39:55.960 --> 00:39:58.480
and they will actually do the invoicing and everything for

641
00:39:58.639 --> 00:40:05.039
you and get your money right away and they collect

642
00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:08.119
over the period of time on thirty sixty ninety days

643
00:40:08.119 --> 00:40:13.079
whatever the company's terms are paying at and it helps

644
00:40:13.119 --> 00:40:18.920
you because you're not having to deal with the invoicing

645
00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:23.679
or the collections, and sometimes that can be a total

646
00:40:23.719 --> 00:40:26.719
pain while you're in business, and not just in the

647
00:40:26.760 --> 00:40:29.920
trucking business, but you know, any business that's out there.

648
00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:33.599
So this is kind of what we go through and

649
00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:37.280
we talk about with people at truck to Success. Now

650
00:40:37.280 --> 00:40:39.440
one of the other things we do talk about because

651
00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:43.719
once you've done all this, you've gathered all these expenses

652
00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:46.559
and you have it in a nice format that is readable,

653
00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:51.119
you can then take a form that o Idea has

654
00:40:51.159 --> 00:40:53.880
on their website, and if you go to o Ida

655
00:40:54.159 --> 00:40:59.239
cost per Mile, that's what one of the forms that

656
00:40:59.280 --> 00:41:03.880
they have out there that's on their website that has

657
00:41:05.719 --> 00:41:10.000
a nice little spreadsheet that you can use to determine

658
00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:13.800
what it's costing you to operate your truck per mile

659
00:41:14.079 --> 00:41:19.280
out there, and that's great information everybody in business. You know,

660
00:41:19.800 --> 00:41:23.079
I know this is specific to trucking, but you've got

661
00:41:23.119 --> 00:41:26.480
to determine what is the cost of doing business, And

662
00:41:26.679 --> 00:41:30.199
in trucking industry, it's as simple as knowing, you know

663
00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:33.320
what is my cost? You know per mile? You know

664
00:41:33.800 --> 00:41:37.320
you're going to be looking at how many loads you've run,

665
00:41:37.760 --> 00:41:40.559
how many miles did you run, And you can do

666
00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:43.199
this on a month to month basis, year to year basis,

667
00:41:43.239 --> 00:41:45.800
and determine it. You're going to be able to come

668
00:41:45.840 --> 00:41:48.920
in if you know your how many loads you did

669
00:41:48.960 --> 00:41:53.599
and how many miles you did. You can also look

670
00:41:53.639 --> 00:41:55.719
at how many empty miles you're in, so if you're

671
00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:58.039
dead heading or something, you should keep track of that

672
00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:00.760
as well. You can come down to your average mile

673
00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:04.519
per gallon. With all your fuel costs for the year,

674
00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:09.920
you can get to your average price per gallon. If

675
00:42:09.960 --> 00:42:13.000
you've looked at the receipts and track your gallons, number

676
00:42:13.039 --> 00:42:17.079
of gallons you use. You can put in how many gallons,

677
00:42:17.519 --> 00:42:20.400
and then how many gallons of fuel, diesel fuel, refer

678
00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:24.280
fuel so forth. Be able to determine all this and

679
00:42:24.320 --> 00:42:26.880
then you'll be able to deduct. Then looking at all

680
00:42:26.920 --> 00:42:30.679
your expenses, get down to an exact cost per mile.

681
00:42:31.079 --> 00:42:33.159
So it's a great worksheet. So if you go to

682
00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:36.280
like I said, you can go to an old idea

683
00:42:36.400 --> 00:42:38.079
and it's easy. You just go into Google and do

684
00:42:38.079 --> 00:42:41.800
a search or whatever search engine you using old idea

685
00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:46.920
trucking tools cost per mile, and then you can it'll

686
00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:49.920
get you over to that cost per mile worksheet. If

687
00:42:49.920 --> 00:42:55.679
you have a problem, you can email us at info

688
00:42:56.079 --> 00:43:00.280
at trucker tax Tools dot com. Again info at truck

689
00:43:00.320 --> 00:43:02.960
or tax tools dot com and we'll get you over

690
00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:07.679
to that cost per mile worksheet as well. Hey, it's

691
00:43:07.760 --> 00:43:10.800
my pleasure always being here. I love answering questions from you.

692
00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:14.239
If you've got questions outside of that, and just go

693
00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:16.679
over to truck or tax tools dot com. Go our

694
00:43:16.719 --> 00:43:19.159
contact page, send us the questions. We're more than happy

695
00:43:19.159 --> 00:43:21.800
to help you. If you've got an IRS problem, we

696
00:43:21.800 --> 00:43:26.679
can help you with that too at Taxation Solutions dot net.

697
00:43:26.880 --> 00:43:30.800
That's Taxation Solutions dot net for tax relief. As I said,

698
00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:33.519
I enjoy being here. Time flies when we're having fun

699
00:43:33.559 --> 00:43:37.079
and we're talking taxes with you. Make sure you get

700
00:43:37.119 --> 00:43:40.719
over to tax Talk for you. Tax Talk the number

701
00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:44.400
four the letter you dot com subscribe over there or

702
00:43:44.440 --> 00:43:46.800
follow us over there, soe you never miss an episode

703
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and we'll be right here talking taxes every Monday on

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W four c Y radio dot com. So online radio

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connect with us, be here. Don't ever be late, because

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if you're late, you're going to miss something good. Tell

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your friends, tell your family, Tune in and join us

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right here at tax Talk for You. Go to tax

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talkfor You dot com. We'll see you next Monday, ten

710
00:44:11.039 --> 00:44:14.159
am Eastern time right here at W four c RI Radio.

711
00:44:14.360 --> 00:44:16.960
Have but God blessed glorious week.

712
00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:21.159
Are you an individual or business that wants to understand

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00:44:21.239 --> 00:44:24.599
taxes and how they affect you? Are you looking for

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specific tax advice for self employed business owners and truckers.

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Are you behind on taxes and your bookkeeping? Are you

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dealing with dirs and ready to have some relief? Then

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you need Tax Talk for You, hosted by tax and

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trucker expert Barry g.

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Fouer Ea.

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Tune in ten am Eastern time every Monday right here

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on W four CY Radio and Talk for TV. Don't

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00:44:53.599 --> 00:44:57.440
forget to check this and past episodes at tax talkforu

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dot com. See you next week at W fur c

724
00:45:01.280 --> 00:45:04.360
Y dot com