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Jeff Baugus EA, MBA - Tax Beacon LLC

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Jeff Baugus EA, MBA - Tax Beacon LLC

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No annoying tax professional lingo. Just straight, authoritative and friendly advice. Visit us: www.taxbeacon.us
Or give us a call: 623-243-1214

Individual and business tax preparation, with specialization in Minister Tax Returns. Fast, accurate service and fair fees. Jeff Baugus has been preparing taxes for nearly 20 years. Accuracy, integrity, and fairness are the pillars of business for Tax Beacon.

10/14/2026

Top financial moves in the last few months of the year...GO

10/13/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗜𝗥𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲?

Yes, IRA withdrawals can increase what the IRS calls your provisional income, which determines how much of your Social Security benefits become taxable.

The IRS calculates provisional income using:
• Your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
• Tax-exempt interest
• 50% of your Social Security benefits

Depending on that total, your Social Security falls into one of three ranges: none of your benefits are taxable, up to 50% can be taxable, or up to 85% can be taxable.

But that doesn't mean you're paying an 85% tax rate on Social Security. Instead, up to 85% of the benefits you received could be included in your taxable income and then taxed at your ordinary income tax rate.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭: Even tax-exempt interest counts in this calculation.

For example, interest from municipal bonds may not be taxable itself, but the IRS still adds it when calculating your provisional income. That additional income could push you across a threshold where a larger portion of your Social Security becomes taxable.

The same thing can happen when you take additional taxable withdrawals from a Traditional IRA. A larger withdrawal raises your AGI, which can raise your provisional income and potentially make more of your Social Security taxable too.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦?

10/12/2026

Did you know...
• The IRS is navigating “significant workforce reductions”
• Only 21% of calls reached an IRS assistor during the 2026 filing season
• Taxpayers waited an average of 45 minutes just to reach someone on the Installment Agreement/Balance Due line

Before calling the IRS, see if you can find the answer on your IRS Online Account or the "Where's My Refund" tool.

If you do have to call, make sure you have all of the relevant paperwork right in front of you (𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘐𝘙𝘚 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘚𝘚𝘕/𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘕, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯).

Plan to call later in the week. Wait times are typically shorter Wednesday through Friday now that filing season is over.

Your best option, though, is to 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 for you.

We have access to practitioner-only IRS support lines and can often get answers and responses much faster.

10/09/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁?

Your 2026 schedule is based on the payroll tax liability your business reported during an earlier four-quarter period, called the 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥. For businesses that file Form 941, it runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

To check which schedule applies to you in 2026, add up Line 12 on your Forms 941 for:
• Q3 and Q4 of 2024
• Q1 and Q2 of 2025

If the total is $50,000 or less, you’re generally a monthly depositor. If it’s over $50,000, you’re a semiweekly depositor.

If your schedule changed and you kept depositing on the old one, you may have incurred failure-to-deposit penalties.

Unsure which schedule applies, or already facing a penalty? Message us. We can check your filings and deposits, then review whether penalty relief is available.

10/08/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀?

Yes, we can review a return you’ve already filed, even if someone else prepared it, to check for deductions or credits you may have missed.

If we find something, we can amend your return to claim what was missed.

It won’t apply in every situation. But if something looks off on one of your past returns, schedule an appointment and we can review it with you.

10/07/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀?

Pull a year-to-date payroll summary and your general ledger report.

Then compare:
• Gross wages: Make sure total gross pay on your payroll summary equals the wage expense accounts in your GL.
• Payroll liabilities: Check that unpaid employee tax withholdings and deductions on your balance sheet match the outstanding balances on your payroll report.
• Employer payroll expenses: Verify that employer-paid taxes (F**A, FUTA, SUTA) and company contributions on your GL match your payroll summary totals.

Also watch for manual checks, voided paychecks, third-party sick pay, or unrecorded fringe benefits. (These are common culprits behind unexpected mismatches.)

If the numbers don’t line up, investigate now. Waiting until year-end leaves you digging through 12 months of historical data right when W-2 deadlines hit.

10/06/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹?

Turns out, some entrepreneurs are building pretty big businesses with very small teams.

𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭?

https://www.inc.com/kaylawebster/ai-layoffs-fast-growing-companies-hiring-talent/91382822

10/05/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻?

Yes. Contributing pre-tax earnings to a Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA directly reduces your taxable income for the year.

Here's how those options compare:
• A Solo 401(k) lets you contribute as both employee 𝘢𝘯𝘥 employer. You can save a lot more, even if your profit is under $100,000.
• A SEP IRA is employer-funded only. It offers less contribution flexibility at lower income levels, but is easy to set up without much ongoing paperwork.

𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: pre-tax retirement contributions can lower your federal and state income tax liability, but they don't reduce your 15.3% self-employment tax.

Unsure which plan gives you the biggest tax savings? Send us a message and we can help you calculate the best fit.

10/02/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲?

You can deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses, which reduce your taxable net income dollar-for-dollar.

Some of the bigger deductions to check for include:
• Home office expenses
• Business mileage
• Self-employed health insurance premiums
• The business portion of your phone and internet
• Software, web hosting, cloud storage, and other business tools

But having the expense isn't always enough. You also need the records to back it up.

Vehicle mileage is a good example. An end-of-year estimate can put your entire mileage deduction at risk if you don't have a detailed log showing the dates, miles driven, and business purpose.

𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰, 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?

10/01/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

If cash feels tight in your business, start by collecting money that's already owed to you.

Here are three places you can start:
1. Audit monthly software and vendor subscriptions, and cancel whatever isn't bringing in revenue or saving time.
2. Send follow-ups on overdue invoices past 15 days (uncollected money is an interest-free loan you're giving away).
3. Offer an add-on service to active clients, which takes less effort than landing a new customer.

Cash flow problems are usually a system issue, not a personal failure.

Send us a DM if you want another set of eyes on your expenses and unpaid invoices.

Address

15270 West Brookside Lane #125
Surprise, AZ
85374

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+16232431214

Website

http://www.taxbeacon.us/

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