Calyx CPA

Calyx CPA LLC is a boutique tax and accounting firm specializing in the unique needs of plant medicine companies.

It offers comprehensive business consulting, entity advisory, tax planning, and tax preparation services to companies across the US. Calyx CPA offers business advisors, tax preparation, tax planning, and accounting services.

10/20/2026

Over the past 20 years, I have seen my share of accounting horror stories, and many of them begin with businesses neglecting their obligations to employees, particularly payroll taxes. I have had numerous clients who underestimate just how serious delinquent payroll taxes can become. When cash flow gets tight, business owners sometimes begin treating payroll taxes like any other outstanding bill, something that can be delayed while they pay rent, vendors, or other operating expenses. Unfortunately, the IRS does not see it that way. Of all the tax liabilities a business can accumulate, unpaid payroll taxes are among the most consequential, and they can create problems that extend well beyond the business itself.

A recent case involving one of Oregon's most recognizable cannabis dispensary chains provides a good example. On October 15, 2026, the Department of Justice announced that Rosa Cazares, CEO of La Mota LLC and 503 Staffing LLC, had been indicted on eight federal counts involving the willful failure to pay payroll taxes. Federal prosecutors allege that approximately $1.54 million in payroll taxes went unpaid over eight calendar quarters between 2020 and 2021. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison. These are criminal allegations, and Cazares is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

For those familiar with Oregon's cannabis industry, La Mota is hardly an unfamiliar name. The company became one of Oregon's largest dispensary chains, largely by marketing inexpensive cannabis products. However, this is not the first time La Mota has found itself in the headlines. In 2023, reporting uncovered millions of dollars in outstanding tax liens and numerous lawsuits involving unpaid vendors and creditors. The company also became embroiled in a political scandal involving then-Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who accepted a $10,000-per-month consulting contract with a La Mota affiliate while her office was conducting an audit of Oregon's cannabis regulatory agency.
Continue reading on our website calyxcpa.com/blogs

10/14/2026

I regularly talk to dispensary owners who are successful operators but have very little understanding of their own financial statements. They may know how much they did in sales last month and how much cash is in the bank, but ask them what is happening on the balance sheet, what their actual margins are, or what their cash flow will look like three months from now, and the answer is often less clear.

That can become a very expensive problem. I had a client that was using a management company to operate the business. The management company was not paying the sales and payroll tax liabilities, and ownership was not being told how serious the problem had become. Had ownership been regularly reviewing and understanding the balance sheet, they would have seen those liabilities continuing to grow. Instead, by the time the problem became impossible to ignore, the business was forced into a fire sale to deal with the debt.

That is an extreme example, but I see smaller versions of the same problem all the time. Financial statements should not simply be something your accountant prepares for the tax return. They should tell you what is happening in the business and, more importantly, help you decide what to do next.

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Regards,
The Calyx CPA Team

10/02/2026

Our friends at Ma*****na Moment reported earlier this week that the DEA administrative law judge has paused the ma*****na rescheduling proceeding while the parties address a new Government Accountability Office report criticizing gaps in the federal drug scheduling process. For anyone concerned that this somehow reverses what happened earlier this year with medical ma*****na, it does not.

What has been delayed is the broader proceeding that would move adult use ma*****na into Schedule III. That is still a big deal for the industry. According to BDSA, adult use cannabis sales were approximately $23.9 billion in 2025 compared with $7.6 billion of medical sales. That means roughly three quarters of the regulated cannabis market is adult use. For businesses operating only in adult use markets, we are going to have to wait a little longer. For businesses operating in states with both medical and adult use programs, I think the situation is much more interesting.

- Justin Botillier.

09/30/2026

The United States has now crossed $40 trillion in federal debt, and we are still adding trillions more through annual deficits. At some point, something has to give.

For decades, people have warned about the growing national debt, and for decades it has been relatively easy to ignore because the consequences were not immediately obvious. I think we are getting closer to the point where that is no longer true. We may see the problem unfold slowly through continued inflation, a dollar that buys less, and increasing pressure on the already dwindling middle class. Or we could eventually face a much more serious economic crisis.

Either way, the federal government cannot continue down this path forever. We are borrowing enormous amounts of money just to cover the difference between what the government collects and what it spends. Eventually, Congress will have to do something about both spending and the revenue side of the equation. If a future government seriously attempts to balance the budget, then it is going to mean higher taxes, fewer tax breaks, or both.

The good news is that there are a number of tools available today that can reduce how much of your income is exposed to future tax increases. Some allow money to grow tax-free. Others defer taxes, generate tax-free income, reduce taxable investment income, or allow you to access accumulated wealth without creating taxable income at all. The goal is not to predict exactly what Congress will do. The goal is to put yourself in a position where you have choices when it does. Visit our bio or calyxcpa.com/blogs for more.

09/24/2026

One of our dispensary clients recently caught an employee stealing. Management noticed that one employee was giving out an unusually high number of discounts, so they decided to test what was happening. They had a friend go into the store as a secret shopper. The friend placed an order, paid full price in cash, and left. After the customer walked away, the employee applied a 10% discount to the transaction and pocketed the difference.

The POS showed the discounted sales price, the correct product came out of inventory, and the cash drawer contained exactly what the POS said it should contain. If management had only been looking at cash and inventory reconciliations, they may never have found it.

In our latest article, I use this story to explain why traditional internal controls and segregation of duties are so important in cash-intensive businesses, but also why they can only go so far. We look at the Fraud Triangle, how collusion can defeat otherwise strong controls, and why simply having good systems in place does not necessarily prevent employee theft.

More importantly, we discuss the concept of the perception of detection, and why making employees believe that unusual activity will be noticed and investigated may be one of the most effective ways to prevent fraud before it happens.

If you own or manage a dispensary, I think there are some important lessons here about how to think about employee theft and fraud prevention beyond simply making sure your cash and inventory balance.

09/15/2026

Psychedelic businesses face some very real economic limitations. Where cannabis dispensaries have an almost unlimited upside due to their product being a commodity, Psilocybin centers sell something much different: time and space, which is limited. In addition, due to the efficacy of the medicine they have limited recurring revenue; clients may not return for months, years, or at all. They are under constant pressure to keep services affordable; add §280E, and an already difficult business model becomes even harder.

In our latest article, we look at why these businesses can be so difficult to operate, why the value of psilocybin services is often misunderstood, and how the CHAMP case may provide an important framework for separating the sale of psilocybin from the services surrounding it. We also discuss what smaller operators can do when they simply cannot afford a sophisticated tax strategy.

Sometimes growth is not the immediate goal. Sometimes the goal is simply to survive long enough to build a sustainable business. Read the rest of the article on calyxcpa.com/blogs

09/08/2026

Schedule III brings 280E tax relief, but the bigger story is how the DEA is quietly laying the groundwork for a federally regulated national supply chain. With separate registration pathways for cultivators, distributors, and dispensaries already in motion, a national market is taking shape, bringing lower production costs, national brands, and a massive wave of M&A activity.

The operators who win will be the ones who build a mature financial foundation before those changes arrive. Calyx’s Client Accounting and Advisory Services (CAAS) helps cannabis businesses strengthen financial reporting, optimize margins, improve forecasting, and position for upcoming lending and investment opportunities. Visit calyxcpa.com/blogs to read the full article.

07/17/2026

On July 15, the DEA concluded the administrative hearing on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the rescheduling of "ma*****na," which began on June 29, 2026. While the final result may take time; the administrative law judge is under no deadline to issue a recommendation, and the DEA has no fixed deadline to act. The uncertainty surrounding the rulemaking is not a reason for cannabis operators to wait.

All cannabis businesses - whether they operate in medical, adult-use-only, or mixed markets - should consider amending their returns while the relevant statutes of limitations remain open. The legal basis for challenging Section 280E is stronger than it has ever been.
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07/14/2026

The Department of Justice has announced the rescheduling of medical ma*****na and encouraged the Treasury Secretary to consider allowing state-licensed medical ma*****na businesses to amend prior-year tax returns affected by 280E. Treasury has announced that guidance is forthcoming, but no one knows when it will arrive or how far it will go.

The window to amend is closing. Businesses impacted by 280E have a limited window to claim refunds or reduce prior-year tax liabilities. Waiting for IRS guidance may mean losing the opportunity to claim refunds for years that would otherwise be available.

This presentation will explain why cannabis businesses should consider amending their returns now rather than waiting for IRS guidance. We will discuss the current status of medical ma*****na rescheduling, the unresolved position of adult-use cannabis, the risk of expiring refund statutes, and how operators can claim their refunds before the window closes.

Learning Objectives:

Outline the current status of cannabis rescheduling and how it affects the various state-regulated cannabis operators.
Identify the difference between medical ma*****na and adult-use cannabis in the current rescheduling discussion.
Understand how forthcoming Treasury and IRS guidance may affect the cannabis industry.
Evaluate the risks and benefits of amending prior-year tax returns before formal guidance is issued.
Recognize how expiring statutes of limitation can limit or eliminate refund opportunities for cannabis businesses.

Register here:

https://vist.ly/5b8ia

06/19/2026

NORML's article highlights another important example of federal cannabis policy colliding with legal reality. If the Supreme Court is unwilling to treat cannabis consumers as categorically dangerous for purposes of constitutional rights, it becomes harder to defend the idea that cannabis belongs in Schedule I at all. Calyx’s take is simple: the Schedule I designation is outdated, punitive, and inconsistent with how courts, regulators, states, businesses, and consumers actually understand cannabis today.

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Medford, OR
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