Alajian Group

TurboTax is only as accurate as the answers you give it, and those answers can be a lot more than just checking Yes/No.

If you're asking for my help answering those questions, you're asking me to interpret your tax situation and make a judgment call. ⚖️

At that point, I might as well just prepare your whole return!

DIY tax software can be great if your return is simple, but if you have a business, multiple income streams, complex investments...

It's very easy to mess things up.

So no, I won't sit next to you while you use TurboTax, but I will happily take taxes off your plate completely! 😜

If I had a dollar for every time a small business owner asked me, "Can I deduct this meal?", I'd be eating at In-N-Out every night! 🥘

Meals are tricky... the last thing we want is to give the IRS any reason to look at your business more closely.

Here's what made the difference in this small business owner's tax bill:

1️⃣ We adjusted their entity structure and compensation (distributions + salary).

2️⃣ They maxed out their contributions to their SEP IRA to reduce their taxable income and save for retirement.

3️⃣ They accelerated purchasing business equipment (like camera gear, software, and tools they already needed) to increase their deductions for the year.

Tax planning throughout the year is the key to making sure you don't pay too much in April!

Mixing business with marriage? 💍

Running your business with your spouse can be a real dream (or an actual nightmare with the IRS if you don't follow the rules). 🫣

small businesses like to do this because your spouse can get paid AND it's a business tax write-off, but here's what you need to know before you do it:

Your spouse actually needs to be doing real, meaningful work in your business.

That comes with setting them up on payroll, tax withholdings, and all the fun HR paperwork (W-4, I-9, you know the drill).

And their salary? 💸

It needs to align with market rates! You shouldn't be paying your spouse the big bucks if you wouldn't pay that to an employee (who isn't related to you) in a similar role.

It's best practice to document their job description, expected work hours, and responsibilities.

How many write-off questions do I have in my DMs right now? The limit does not exist! 🤭

Okay, in all seriousness, I love that content creators come to me with these types of questions *before* just blindly writing things off...

When it comes to luxury designer purchases (like handbags or everyday fashion items), those are usually not deductible just because you wear them on camera. 🙅‍♀️

For content creators, deductible expenses are typically things that are ordinary and necessary for your business, like:
→ Camera + lighting equipment
→ Editing software + subscriptions
→ Business-related props or set design
→ Marketing + advertising costs
→ Website + business tools

Just because something is part of your lifestyle doesn’t automatically make it a write-off, even if you post it online.

Stresstober is totally avoidable, btw.

If you extended your taxes, this is your reminder that you absolutely do not (and should not) have to wait until you're shopping for Halloween costumes to file. 🎃

This is also a very polite request from your tax accountant to avoid waiting until the fall craziness of last-minute filers.

🔗 Link in bio for help filing your taxes!

I'm taking you behind-the-scenes on exactly what I did for one of my content creator clients this month ↓

I started by importing and categorizing all of her transactions from her bank account, credit card, and PayPal. 💳

I cleaned up duplicated income to make sure we weren't overstating her revenue.

I reclassified any personal expenses to make sure those didn't show up on her P&L.

Then, I reconciled (matched) each of her accounts to its most recent statement. 🏦

As my final step for every content creator, I ran her monthly financial reports, flagged anything that stood out to me, and sent her a summary email with all of my findings! 📊

Every content creator deserves to understand exactly what happened in their business. I can give that to you!

Please, please, pleaseee don't just rush through your W-4 on the first day at a new job!

It's not just an onboarding task; it's telling your employer how much federal tax to take from your paycheck.

Filling out your W-4 correctly is the difference between not owing at tax time and getting hit with a surprise bill (or unnecessary refund). 💸

If you want a little extra help, use the IRS's Tax Withholding Estimator to really dial in your W-4.

I'm all about adding whimsy to your life, but maaaybe your chart of accounts isn't the best place for it? 🤷

Things I've seen that I'm still trying to unsee:

→ A "Personal expenses" account (this really shouldn't need to be a thing; it's best practice to reclassify these!)

→ 3 different versions of "Office Expenses", "Office Expense", "Office" 😬

→ Subaccounts on subaccounts on subaccounts

→ Vague account names that make sense to you (but not to anyone else)

I'm not here to judge your chart of accounts, but I *am* here to fix it. Ask about my diagnostic reviews if you want my feedback on yours! 🧠

If your small business isn't having these conversations with you now... You could be limiting the tax planning strategies that you have in your arsenal.

The longer you wait to tax plan (especialllly if you wait until after year-end), the fewer options you have.

If you're a small business who's ready to get proactive about your taxes, use the link in my bio to schedule your tax planning session this month! 📆