Why Your Tax Return Matters More Than You Think

Most ranchers treat their tax return like a form you survive once a year.

Sign it. Send it back. Hope your CPA did it right.

That was exactly the mindset we wanted to challenge in our recent Ranching.FYI webinar with CPA and Farm CPA Report author, Paul Neiffer.

Paul grew up on a farm, became a CPA, and now spends his time training CPA's and Ag business owners all over the country. Paul understands how the tax code works and quoted it line for line many times during the webinar.

It was one of those “fire hose at 500 PSI” type of lessons, but in the best way.

If you haven't already, take time to watch the replay. It is available on our Ranching.FYI Forums, under the educational opportunities room, as well as the video library. These webinars are for Elite members only, so if you haven't upgraded, be sure to do that prior to searching.

What Paul Walked Us Through

Instead of trying to turn you into a CPA, Paul focused on a few key ideas:

• What bonus depreciation is and why you might not want to use it. He explained how that “extra” depreciation can be really beneficial in some terms, but if you are using it on an asset that the bank is financing how you may not want to use it every time.

• Why your entity structure affects taxes way more than you think. Paul was blunt about where S Corps get ranchers into trouble and why a well-structured LLC taxed as a partnership often gives you far more flexibility for self-employment tax, succession, and step-up in basis.

• When “no tax” is actually a bad strategy. He showed how wiping out your income every year with depreciation can come back to bite you—and why it’s often smarter to intentionally fill the lower tax brackets instead of chasing zero.

• What smart ranchers ask their CPA every single year. One question in particular changes how you think about your taxes and how the most successful people he knows always ask that question.

  
  

The entire webinar was very much: “Here’s how this really works and here’s what I’d be asking if I were you.”

Why You Should Watch the Replay

Reading about this is one thing. Hearing Paul walk through real examples, answer live questions, and talk the way through it is different.

If you:

• Wish you knew more about what is deducible and what isn't

• Wonder if your structure or depreciation strategy is actually helping you

• Feel like your CPA is speaking a different language

…then this replay is worth an hour of your life.

Inside the Ranching.FYI Forums, you’ll find the full recording. Be sure to leave us a comment if you find value in the content so we know to have more of these webinars in the future. Then follow up with your CPA— or bring your questions to our next Financial Q&A.