Level Up Academy

September 15th is six days away and I keep getting the same question.

"How do I even know what to pay?"

Here's the answer — and it's simpler than you think.

Method 1 — Safe Harbor (Use this if you're not sure)

Take whatever you owed in federal taxes last year and divide it by 4. Pay that amount.

Example: You owed $8,000 last year → pay $2,000 by September 15th.

That's it. As long as you do that each quarter you are protected from underpayment penalties regardless of what you end up owing in April. If your income last year was over $150,000 use 110% of last year's bill instead of 100%.

Method 2 — 90% of This Year's Liability

Estimate what you expect to owe for 2026, multiply by 90%, then divide by 4. This requires you to actually project your income for the year — which is where most people get stuck. But if your income has jumped significantly this year, this method might actually save you money compared to safe harbor.

My honest recommendation:

If your income is consistent from year to year — use safe harbor. It's simple, it protects you, and it doesn't require projecting anything.

If your income is variable or significantly higher than last year — project it. Overpaying safe harbor when you don't need to locks up your cash unnecessarily.

Once you have your number, pay at IRS.gov/payments → Direct Pay. Free. No account needed. Takes 5 minutes.

Save this post. Share it with someone who needs it.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy if you need help running the numbers.

I'm going to keep this short because this one is time-sensitive.

September 15th is one week away. That's the Q3 estimated tax deadline — and if you're self-employed, freelancing, running a business, or have any income outside of a W-2, this deadline applies to you.

Here's exactly who needs to be making this payment:

→ Anyone who expects to owe $1,000 or more in federal taxes this year

→ Anyone whose withholding covers less than 90% of this year's tax liability

→ Anyone whose withholding covers less than 100% of what they owed last year

If you're not sure whether that's you — it probably is.

Here's what happens if you skip it: the IRS charges an underpayment penalty calculated at the federal short-term rate plus 3%. That penalty stacks for every quarter you miss. And it applies even if you write a check for your entire balance in April. You can do everything right at tax time and still owe extra because of what you didn't do today.

This is an avoidable penalty. Don't pay it.

You can make your payment at IRS.gov/payments through Direct Pay. It's free and takes less than 5 minutes.

Not sure how much you owe? That's what I help with. One session and we'll calculate exactly what you should be sending.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy to book.

Most small business owners I talk to set up their LLC and then never looked at their compliance again.

That's not a criticism — it's just the reality. Nobody tells you what comes after formation. So the gaps build up quietly until there's a problem.

The Compliance Health Audit is a full review of your business foundation across 6 key pillars — Entity & Structure, Tax Compliance, Financial Hygiene, Operational Risk, Document Vault, and Growth & Needs.

I review your setup, identify exactly where the gaps are, and deliver a written report with a personal video walkthrough straight to your inbox within 7 business days. Color-coded Green, Yellow, and Red so you know exactly where you stand and what to fix first.

No appointment. No back and forth. You submit your intake — I handle the rest.

$197. Delivered within 7 business days.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy to book.

I hear this all the time.

"I'm just a W-2 employee — there's nothing I can really do about my taxes."

I need you to stop saying that. Because it is not true.

Here are 5 deductions and strategies W-2 earners at $75K+ can use right now:

Your 401K contributions
The 2026 limit is $23,500. Every single dollar you contribute reduces your taxable income. If you're not maxing this out — or at least contributing more than you were last year — you're leaving a significant deduction on the table.

Your HSA
If you have a high-deductible health plan and you're not contributing to a Health Savings Account, you're missing one of the only triple tax-advantaged accounts that exists. Money goes in pre-tax, grows tax-free, and comes out tax-free for qualified medical expenses.

Side hustle deductions
The moment you have any self-employment income — even $500 from a side project — a whole new category of deductions opens up. Home office, mileage, equipment, software. All of it.

Childcare and education credits
The dependent care FSA, the child tax credit, the American Opportunity Credit. Most W-2 earners I talk to aren't claiming everything they're entitled to.

Your withholding
Got a big refund last year? That means the IRS held your money interest-free all year. That's not a win — that's money that could've been in your account earning interest. Let's fix that.

You don't have to own a business to have a tax strategy. You just need someone to show you what's available.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy to get started.

Setting up an LLC is step one.

Maintaining it is where most business owners fall short — and most don't even know they're exposed until something goes wrong.

Here's what can pierce your corporate veil. That's the legal term for when a court decides your LLC isn't actually protecting you and holds you personally liable anyway:

✕ Mixing personal and business funds
The fastest way to lose your protection. One account for everything is not a business — it's a liability.

✕ No operating agreement in place
This is your business's governing document. No LLC should be operating without one.

✕ Missing annual report filings
Most states require this. Miss it and your LLC can fall out of good standing — or get dissolved entirely.

✕ Using personal accounts for business expenses
Even occasionally. Every time you do this you're weakening your corporate veil.

✕ No registered agent on record
Required by law. If yours lapsed or you listed yourself and moved — you have a problem.

✕ Operating under a name without a registered DBA
If your business operates under any name other than what's on your formation documents, that name needs to be registered.

I see these issues constantly in business compliance reviews. The business owner had no idea. And the scarier part is that none of these are hard to fix — they just require knowing they're a problem in the first place.

That's what I do.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy to book your session or compliance review.

Q3 tax tip — and this one takes less than 5 minutes.

Pull your year-to-date income right now.

Not next month. Not in October when you start thinking about year-end. Right now.

Here's why it matters:

If you're earning more than you did at this point last year, your tax bill is likely higher too. If your estimated payments or withholding haven't kept pace with that increase, you're already falling behind — and you won't know it until April.

If your income is down from last year, you may be overpaying. That's money sitting with the IRS that could be in your pocket or invested right now.

Either way, Q3 is still your window to course-correct before December 31st closes the door on your 2026 tax outcome.

Pull the number. Compare it. Adjust if you need to.

Not sure what to do with what you find? That's what a strategy session is for.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy to book.

I know what it felt like to not know a thing about taxes, business, or compliance.

Nobody was explaining it. Nobody was breaking it down in a way that felt accessible or relevant to where I was in life. And the people who needed that knowledge the most were the last ones getting it.

So I built Level Up Academy.

Not for people who already have a team of accountants and attorneys on retainer. For the side hustler who doesn't know if they should form an LLC. For the W-2 earner who owes every April and has no idea why. For the small business owner who got registered but hasn't looked at their compliance since. For the solopreneur who is building something real and just needs someone in their corner who actually knows what they're talking about.

10 years in individual taxes. 5 years in business taxes. This is what I do — and I built this firm specifically to serve my community and fellow professionals who deserve the same quality of guidance that everyone else takes for granted.

If that's you — I'm here.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy to get started.

Let me tell you what I see when I review business tax returns.

The same deductions. Missed. Over and over again.

Not because people are careless — but because nobody told them these were available. So here are the 6 I see business owners overlook most:

01. Home Office
If you have a dedicated space used regularly and exclusively for business — it's deductible. Most people skip it out of fear. The audit risk is low. The deduction is real.

02. Health Insurance Premiums
Self-employed and paying for your own coverage? Those premiums are fully deductible. This one alone can save you thousands.

03. Business Mileage
The 2026 rate is 70 cents per mile. If you're driving for business and not tracking it, you're leaving money on the table every single week.

04. Phone & Internet
The business-use percentage of your monthly bill is deductible. Every month. Most people either forget it entirely or try to deduct 100% — both are wrong.

05. Professional Development
Courses, books, software, subscriptions directly related to your business. Likely deductible. All of it.

06. Retirement Contributions
SEP-IRA, Solo 401K, SIMPLE IRA. These reduce your taxable income dollar for dollar. The majority of self-employed people I work with aren't using them at all.

The tax code isn't designed to punish you. It rewards people who know how to use it.

If you're not sure which of these apply to your situation — that's exactly what we figure out together.

Visit linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy to book your session.

If you're a W-2 earner making $75K or more — or you've got any kind of side income — and you've never sat down with someone to actually strategize around your taxes, this is your sign.

The Power Tax Session isn't about filing. It's about building a plan around your specific numbers so you stop overpaying the IRS year after year.

In 60 minutes we cover what actually moves the needle for your situation — withholding, retirement contributions, deductions you may not know you qualify for, and what moves to make before December 31st.

You leave with a personalized Tax Action Checklist delivered to you within 7 business days. Not generic advice. Built around your income, your life, and your goals.

$250 · 60 minutes · Zoom

Book at linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy

# Tax Consultant

Did you make your Q2 estimated tax payment back in June?

If you didn't, you're not alone. Most people don't even know they were supposed to.

But here's what I need you to understand:

The IRS doesn't wait until April to penalize you. They charge underpayment penalties quarter by quarter — even if you turn around and pay your full balance in April. That means you could do everything "right" at tax time and still owe extra because of what you didn't do in June.

Here's where we are right now on the 2026 calendar:

📅 Q1 — April 15 ✅
📅 Q2 — June 15 ✅
📅 Q3 — September 15 ← this is the next one
📅 Q4 — January 15, 2027

If you missed Q2, the move is to make a catch-up payment now AND make sure you don't miss September 15th.

Not sure how much you should be paying? That's literally what I help people figure out. It's not as complicated as it sounds — I promise.

Visit our Linktree to get started!
https://linktr.ee/Marie_LevelUpAcademy