Hidden Money Podcast

On this week's episode: two people can have the exact same income and still land tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars apart at tax time — and the IRS will never tell you why.

Four things we unpack this week:
Two employees with identical stock option packages can land 31 points apart on their effective tax rate. One paid under 1%. The other paid over 32%. Same income, same year, same opportunity.
Sell "non-covered" stock without documenting what you originally paid for it, and the IRS doesn't ask — it assumes your basis is zero and bills you as if the entire sale was pure profit.
Fall behind on filing for a few years, and the IRS assumes you had zero deductions and a 100% profit margin on every dollar reported to them — even after 50 years of clean returns.
An $80,000 vacation, taken past your tax-plan deadline, can quietly become a $600,000 line item once you count what the delay actually cost.

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction — Why two neighbors with the same income pay wildly different tax
[00:01] The IRS default: guilty until you prove yourself innocent
[00:04] Same income, same options, two Nvidia employees — one pays under 1%, one pays 32%
[00:08] Why the IRS actually helped fund Mike and Kevin's own commercial property purchase
[00:12] The $600,000 vacation — what it really costs to skip your tax plan
[00:15] Covered vs. non-covered stock transactions — why the IRS assumes your basis is zero
[00:17] The dementia case — five years of unfiled 1099s and the IRS's worst-case-by-default rule
[00:20] Why the IRS "works for us," and what that means when you push back
[00:23] Take control: don't let the IRS write your story for you
[00:24] Revo is hiring

Get in touch: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/?utm_source=revo-taxpayer&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=s4e26-the-irs-doesnt-care-about-fair&utm_content=show-notes#contact-1

Connect with us:
• Website: revotaxpayer.com
• Facebook: @revotaxpayer
• Instagram: @revotaxpayer
• LinkedIn: @revo-taxpayer-advocacy
• YouTube: @HiddenMoneyPodcast

What is Hidden Money Podcast?

In the Hidden Money podcast, you'll learn how you can legally use the tax code to your financial advantage. There’s wealth inside the tax code. Taxes aren’t the enemy.
Most people hate taxes (and pay more than they should). But when you view taxes only as an evil expense, you miss out on legal ways to grow your wealth. Unlock the secrets to saving tax and building wealth with the Hidden Money Podcast! 🎧💰 Hosted by Mike Pine and Kevin Schneider.

Mike Pine: Why can two neighbors
making the exact same income have

drastically different tax bills?

We see it all the time.

The IRS doesn't care about fair.

First thing to prove that point is we
have this constitutional government

or republic here in the United States.

And remember, there's this big
deal that we've heard over ages.

You are not guilty until proven guilty.

You're innocent until
proven guilty, right?

It's not that way with the IRS.

You are guilty until you
prove yourself innocent.

The burden of proof is always on you.

That's not fair.

Welcome to the Hidden Money Podcast.

We are happy to have you back.

Thanks for joining.

This is gonna be a good one.

Um, our title this week is The
IRS Does Not Care About Fair.

Did you know that?

They don't.

Why can two neighbors making
the exact same income have

drastically different tax bills?

We see it all the time.

Well, maybe not the exact same income,
but actually I've seen it before with

the exact 'cause they both worked same…

Anyways.

The IRS doesn't care about fair.

First thing to prove that point is we
have this, this constitutional government

or republic here in the United States.

And remember, there's, there's this
big deal that we've heard over ages.

You are not guilty until proven guilty.

You're innocent until
proven guilty, right?

That's our constitutional

Kevin Schneider: what I always heard

Mike Pine: It's not that way with the IRS.

You are guilty until you
prove yourself innocent.

The burden of proof is always on you.

That's not fair.

Kevin Schneider: It's not.

Mike Pine: It's not.

It's not

Kevin Schneider: They don't care.

They don't care about fair.

Mike Pine: They don't care.

They

Kevin Schneider: They don't.

And I would even take it a step
fur- like, you have two neighbors

making the same income could
pay drastically different taxes.

Mike Pine: could pay no tax, one
could pay a heck of a lot of tax.

Kevin Schneider: One could pay no
tax, one could pay a heck of a lot.

Same income, same income
source, same everything.

I've seen it, we've seen
it, between brothers.

We have a constant clie- client,
"My brother's not paying the same

tax I am," because they share
finances, they're in all the same

partnerships and everything else.

"Why is he paying less taxes than me?"

Well, there's many-

Mike Pine: like that client, actually.

Kevin Schneider: You
sound like that client.

I try to impersonate.

But we see this a lot of time in family
partnerships, too, is because there's

a lot of inheritance inside of, like,
a l- a partnership or a stream of

partnerships, and it's all family owned.

And, you know, they're family
members, they're gonna talk about,

"Oh, man, I'm paying all this tax."

"Well, Mike said I didn't
have to pay tax this quarter."

"What?

I gotta pay tax."

"Did you meet with Mike?"

"No."

"Well, okay.

So step one,

Mike Pine: I just want to point out
that exact conversation has happened

two or three times with the exact same
client over two or three different

Kevin Schneider: Years.

Years and years.

So step one, the way to reduce your tax
bill, it's not passively sitting idle and

just taking the same paperwork on each tax
return and putting it on the same 1040.

It's not gonna shake out differently.

The difference is gonna be
the plan that is in place.

So you can…

One taxpayer, one brother can take
all that income and invest it in a

different way than brother number two,
and maybe brother one is investing

in tax advantageous assets, maybe
more real estate, maybe more oil and

gas, which we cover here extensively.

Mike Pine: Maybe a side hustle business.

Maybe his spouse has a side hustle.

Maybe his spouse qualified
a real estate professional.

Kevin Schneider: Maybe they have kids.

Brother one has kids, and the kids are
in the business, and we can push some

wages down to the children tax-free.

There's many number of ways to do
this, but brother two sits by and says,

"Oh, well, I'm just gonna kinda just
let the cards fall where they fall."

And then the two brothers talk.

They're drastically different 'cause
one had a plan and put it in place

and was proactive, and the other one
was idle, expecting things to happen

Mike Pine: the other one was idle,
expecting things to happen to them.

So if

the IRS were fair or cared about fair and
our tax system worked fairly, everyone…

It'd be kind of like in the book of Acts.

Each one would pay according
to what they need and what they

can afford, and it'd be same.

It'd be, it'd be similarized.

We always hear people aren't
paying their fair share in taxes.

People need to pay their fair share.

Rich people need to pay their fair share.

Poor people don't need
to pay a fair share.

But it's not fair, and the
only difference, like we keep

hammering and hammering, is
you got to take control of it.

Don't leave the IRS to
be your, your guide.

Don't leave…

The publications that the IRS sends
out, if you ever read them, or the

instruction manual for the 1040.

You seen how big that manual's gotten now?

Yeah.

That instruction form.

Um, don't leave it up to the IRS.

Take control of your own destiny.

Work with a tax strategist or
design your own tax strategy.

Just be careful.

We're seeing a lot more of that now
with people coming up and, and I, I

met with this, this prospect last week.

This week.

Um, he came to the meeting.

He didn't provide this ahead of
the meeting, but he came to the

meeting, and he gave me this outline.

ChatGPT it a hundred percent.

He's like: "I wanna do
this, this, this, and that."

And I looked at it, and it
was complete nonsense, right?

I was like, "Why?

Where'd you get this from?"

He's like, "Well, I-- it doesn't
matter where it came from, but I've

done a lot of research, and I think
these are the things I need to do.

I just need you to tell
me if I can do it."

I'm like, "Can't do it."

But here's what we can do, right?

So we came up with a strategy.

Um, it's not just two neighbors.

It's you one year versus the next.

You can have the exact same
W-2 this year and next year.

You could pay no tax next year
and pay a ton of tax this year.

You have the same stock options
this year and next year.

We should talk about stock options
because we see some people get

killed with taxes or killed with AMT
on, on incentives to ISOs, right?

Others, they appropriately
planned, and they're not paying it.

Two employees, we did this.

Two N-- Sorry, two Nvidia--
I think they're big enough we

can say two Nvidia employees.

Nvidia, not . Yes.

So you don't know who they are.

It's still sterile.

Two Nvidia employees, same level,
same amount, same number of, of stock

appreciation rights or, um, stock options.

One paid zero in federal income tax this
year, thanks to what they sold last year.

The other one, who we met
with, chose not to do what we

recommended, and he paid a ton.

Same W-2.

Well, the W-2s are a little bit different,
but the stock options are exactly the

same, and that's what caused the tax.

Both made over a million
and a half a year last year.

One paid zero tax.

One paid a lot.

The IRS is not fair.

They don't care about

Kevin Schneider: What did you think that
second guy, why didn't he enact the plan?

What, did he come to you after the fact?

'Cause I wasn't in this one,
so I'm just kinda curious.

How come…

Like, if you pr- if I was sitting across
the table and I go, "Hey, you can pay

no tax, just do these steps," why are
people choosing to not do those steps?

Mike Pine: tax.

Just do these steps," why are people
choosing to not do those steps?

This gets better.

They both came at the
same meeting together.

They were at the same meeting together?

Well, I met with the first one,
and he's like, "Dude, you got…

I, I wanna have another
meeting with my buddy here.

Uh, we work together.

We started together, uh, very similar
jobs, same s- same tax issue."

So they both came, and I reiterated
what I told the first guy, and

he asked a lot more questions,
and that guy was just bought in.

The other guy just, I don't know.

Um, he, he asked questions.

Again, he didn't seem to think it
was real or that it was illegal or

that he wasn't paying his fair share.

But I walked him through the rules.

I told him of our experiences.

I told him, you know, some of these
might have some risk, but you do this,

and this one has little to no risk.

Um, but it took effort, too.

And either he chose not to do the effort,
he chose not to, uh, I, I don't know.

Um, still had us prepare his tax return,
which I even tried to talk him out of.

I was like, "Dude, you, you
didn't execute the tax plan.

We're not adding value."

He's like, "Yeah, but I'm gonna execute
it this year, so I wanna stay with you."

So

Kevin Schneider: So maybe it was a timing

Mike Pine: Maybe

Kevin Schneider: for him

Mike Pine: it was a timing thing for him.

I think a lot of it is people
just don't, they don't believe it.

They think it's, they think…

Like, like that tax attorney, or not,
he wasn't a tax attorney, but that

business attorney called you a fraud a
few months ago for following IRC 1060.

You're a fraud.

Why?

Because they can't believe that
it's okay to not pay taxes.

Mm-hmm.

Um-

Kevin Schneider: Yeah, 'cause we
were, between episodes, we were just

talking in the, in the break room.

We are not gonna be paying much, if
at all, any federal taxes, 'cause we

planned this year with some strategic
business moves that we did in our

business by buying a commercial property.

So we are strategically deploying
cash, which is gonna grow our business,

which our business needs, is because
we needed a solution to house our

growing firm, but at the same time,
it's solving problem number two,

Mike Pine: is our tax liability.

Kevin Schneider: Mm-hmm.

Mike Pine: So it's-

And I was complaining to Kevin,
"Man, we had to pay so much

out-of-pocket cash on this."

And Kevin pointed out, "Yeah, but you
know, the IRS actually paid over third of

Kevin Schneider: They're
paying a good chunk.

Now all the cash we have later in

Mike Pine: Now, all the cash
we had later in the year-

So actually, I think I understand
where that client was coming

from now because it hurts.

It's like- It hurts … I,
it's, it's a timing difference.

I'm not gonna see a difference till
I file my tax return next year.

April next year.

October probably of

Kevin Schneider: be thanking me in about

Mike Pine: Eight months.

Or twelve, fourteen

Kevin Schneider: 12 to 15.

Mike Pine: a late filer.

Yeah,

Kevin Schneider: yeah, 14 for you.

Yes.

Mike Pine: Yes.

So.

Kevin Schneider: But yeah.

So there is always, not always,
there are some tax plans that

you can passively participate in,
but get active loss treatment.

Mm-hmm.

Um, but a lot of tax planning
is gonna involve some degree of

intentionality, and that's fine.

What other ar- And I've said this
before on the podcast, what other

area in your life do you not
give attention to that excels?

If I ignore my wife and kids for two weeks
and I don't give them any attention, I'm

not gonna have a fruitful marriage and
kids that really feel bonded with Dad.

If I don't focus on my investments,
if I don't focus on my workout regimen

or anything, if I just go through
life willy-nilly, I'm not gonna really

succeed unless I give direct attention
to something and give it attention and

Mike Pine: focus and effort.

That's a great point, man.

I mean, all of us have areas in our life
that we focus on because we're passionate

about it, or we see the importance of it-
It's hard … or it's just, it's just…

It's, it's hard.

Like you said, it's hard to be passionate
about tax if you're not Mike or Kevin.

Um, but man, it makes a huge difference.

And so why can two neighbors making the
exact same income stream, in this case,

two friends getting huge stock options
because, um, CPUs went through the

roof or those chips, uh, those graphic
processing chips went through the roof?

Uh, because one of them made
it matter to themselves.

They decided tax matters,
I'm gonna make a difference.

And we're talking about…

Let's, let's put this in real dollars.

So these guys both made about one and a
half million in their stock options, plus

their three hundred thousand in W-2s.

So we're talking one point eight
million pe- one point eight

million dollars total gross pay.

One of them, guess how-- The
one who didn't do anything.

Guess how much he paid in tax?

Kevin Schneider: I'm
gonna put it at 600,000

Mike Pine: Thankfully, they're both Texas
residents, so they didn't pay state.

Okay.

But yeah, he paid about 580,000 in tax.

Yeah.

You know what the other one paid?

Kevin Schneider: I'm gonna guess knowing
with the smirk on your face, 150, 200.

Higher?

Mike Pine: Lower?

Lo-

Kevin Schneider: Lower.

$30,000.

Holy moly.

Mike Pine: That's an effective

Kevin Schneider: tax

Mike Pine: rate- 580 … of like under 1%.

Kevin Schneider: under 1%.

Yes, it is.

Mike Pine: it is.

And then- That is
crazy … same income stream.

But he, he worked hard at
it, he and his wife did.

Um, and I think the
other guy's gonna do it

Kevin Schneider: Was
the other guy married?

Mm-hmm.

So equal to…

Okay.

So spou- okay.

Well, maybe this-

Mike Pine: actually have the same
amount of kids too, which is weird, but

Kevin Schneider: the same amount
of kids too, which is weird.

So you could…

Each one had equal opportunity- They

Mike Pine: weren't brothers though.

Yeah, seriously, they had equal
opportunity, but one was…

One decided to take it seriously
and, and, and bought into it.

Now, don't get me wrong.

He went back and did some research,
and even that one guy actually went and

got a second opinion from a tax lawyer.

Um, and the tax lawyer didn't agree
with everything I've said, but when

I gave him my rebuttal points in the
email, he sent it to the tax lawyer,

and the tax lawyer was like, "Well,
it's an opinion, but you know what?

Um, he's got a good point."

And that was that, and he paid,
like, 2,000 bucks for that consult or

maybe 3, to save that kind of money.

So it's just…

It's, it, it's in your best interest
to take hold of your financial destiny.

Don't leave it to the IRS to do it.

They're not fair.

Don't leave it to government paying you
good in Social Security when you retire.

It's probably gonna be bankrupt
in the next three years.

Don't.

Just take hold of it.

Recognize the importance of it, and
that's the hardest, hardest, hardest

thing that you and I keep harping on.

Mm-hmm.

And honestly, that's, that's the whole
reason and concept behind our podcast,

behind our firm, behind our movement
and our passion and our vocational

mission, is tax can be the biggest
wealth multiplier you've ever experienced

and you ever will, if you take hold of
it, if you take the bull by its horns.

Yeah.

How do you do that?

Kevin Schneider: It
just starts with a call.

I mean, I would recommend us,
obviously, um- You're biased, though.

Mike Pine: though

Kevin Schneider: I am very
biased, but I'm for a reason.

I, I've seen our competition,
and I think we're better.

Um, I would start with just going
to our website, revotaxpayer.com,

talking to Mike and I.

Now, everyone's facts are different,
but our job is to take your life, your

facts, your finances, and apply them
to a tax plan that fits your life.

And maybe

Mike Pine: that other person,

Kevin Schneider: you never know,
maybe they had health problems,

wife got a bad diagnosis,

Mike Pine: who knows?

Maybe they had to divert

Kevin Schneider: attention
somewhere else for that season.

Every…

Life happens, right?

Our job is to just give you the menu
of what's available and let you pick

what fits, and we're gonna try to
convince you to pick the best option.

If you come to my restaurant,
I'm gonna say, "Get the steak,

and you get it medium rare."

Do…

If you come to my restaurant and
get a, and get a steak, and you

get it well done, that's a choice.

I wouldn't recommend it, but
you're in charge of your order.

Sure.

I, Mike and I, we can only suggest
things, and you have to actually put

Mike Pine: it in practice.

Um- Just so you know, by the
way, what happened with that one

client that didn't do it, is he…

And I get it, and, and I don't
fault him f- Well, I try not to

fault him for it because tax…

You should never let your tax
tail wag your life dog, right?

Um, they went on a six-week vacation

Kevin Schneider: Cause
they were eating good.

They had a lot of money, you

Mike Pine: they, they needed one.

They deserved it.

So it was an okay decision they made.

But when we discussed it after tax- after
January 1st came around, and he's like,

"Yeah, I didn't get it to happen, but
can you still do my taxes this year?"

Um, I s- I, I pointed out,
"Well, why didn't you do it?"

And he said, "Well, it was a vacation."

I was like, "How, how
much was the vacation?"

He's like, "It was about 80,000 bucks."

I was like, "That's a nice vacation."

He's like, "Yeah, m- my wife and I
have never been on vacation like that.

We needed it.

We've been working hard."

I was like, "That's great.

You know how much your vacation
actually really cost you?"

Don't do it, Joel.

580.

Different.

Divide 'em, minus 30, so he paid an
extra 550,000 in tax plus $80,000.

So I told him it was a $600,000 vacation.

Um- Opportunity cost.

That was the opportunity cost.

Was it worth it?

And he actually said, "My wife says yes."

So I'm glad they did it.

You gotta focus on family.

And now he'll do it this year.

Yeah.

Lord willing.

He says he is.

All right.

Well, why don't you go follow up with him?

Yeah.

Have him as a guest.

We

Kevin Schneider: Yeah.

He's- Lord willing,
he's with us All right.

I'm gonna hold you…

We'll follow up with him.

Maybe have him as a guest.

We should.

That'd be interesting
to have them both on.

Mike Pine: We should do that, actually.

Yeah.

If they'll be open to it.

The problem is, is I don't know if he's
really gonna do it because last thing

I heard is, is he's on vacation again
for another month this summer, so-

Kevin Schneider: no.

Mike Pine: So we'll see,
but I'll keep pushing or-

Kevin Schneider: only offer the menu.

They gotta pick the items.

You know another area where the IRS…

And you were just talking stock options,
so it just reminded me of kind of

an area that the IRS isn't fair on.

It's a scare tactic.

So when you, when you sell
stock, and there's two kinds

of stock transactions really.

There's covered and non-covered.

Mike Pine: So covered

Kevin Schneider: transactions,
if you ever look at your 1099-

They're not covered … Yeah.

So if you ever look at your
1099, covered options, the IRS

knows what you paid for it.

The brokerage houses, Fidelity,
Charles Schwab, they're gonna report

to the IRS, "You sold this stock

Mike Pine: at this
price, but you paid this

Kevin Schneider: price.

Here's your gain."

Mike Pine: Sorry, it's not
covered options, it's covered

Kevin Schneider: Sorry,
it's not covered options.

It's covered.

Stock.

Yeah.

So non-covered transactions, the
IRS are kind of blind to what

you paid for it, but you're still
responsible for reporting your basis.

Yeah.

What happens is, if you fail to
report an uncovered transaction,

they assume your basis is zero.

They're like, "You sold a

Mike Pine: million dollars of stock?"

Kevin Schneider: and it was
a non-covered transaction?

You owe me, you owe me 24…

$240,000 in tax."

And they're gonna send you a letter, a
blind letter, saying, "You owe $240,000

in tax because you failed to report
this million dollars stock sale."

Mike Pine: Clients freak out.

Kevin Schneider: out.

Yeah.

They're like, "What is this?

What?

How, how is this possible?"

Let me see the notice.

So you see the notice.

They report all the stock sales, but
it's non-covered transaction, meaning

the IRS doesn't know the basis, so they
assume in their favor basis is zero.

They're just gonna assume basis
is zero even though you actually

did pay something for that stock.

So in reality, you probably
owe some tax on that,

Mike Pine: but it's not to the gr-

Kevin Schneider: degree the IRS is saying.

They don't care.

It's not fair.

They don't, they don't send a letter
saying, "Hey, we saw that you didn't

report these non-covered transactions.

We see it's a million.

Will you please kindly
provide us the basis?"

They should.

They just say, "No, we're
gonna assume basis is zero.

Mike Pine: Here's a bill.

Refute the bill."

Yeah.

We see that all the time, and the worst
part is, is when you get that inv- or

you get that automatic underreporting
notice and they send it to you,

they make you prove it so much more.

Like, you got to go through so much
work to prove your basis than if

you had just reported it correctly.

Yeah.

So again, that's proactive
working with the IRS.

We see this all the time also
with self-employed people or

people who get 1099s, right?

And they forgot to report some
income or they just-- We get a

lot of people that just don't
file taxes for a couple of years.

They have a couple hard
years or something.

The IRS assumes they know how much
income was reported via 1099s to them.

They assume they have no deductions.

Mm-hmm.

And I, I'm working with
someone with this right now.

This guy, he was a CPA, new, new--
It's actually a pro bono client, a

friend of my, a friend of my family's.

Um, her dad was a CPA, many, many years
working in oil and gas and tax world.

He, uh, s- started with dementia.

No one realized it about six years ago.

He stopped filing his own tax returns.

No one realized it.

Then about a year and a
half ago, it became obvious.

'Cause smart people are really
good, my mom did this too,

at hiding their dementia.

Um, they're just-- I-- They don't mean to.

I don't know that they're doing it on
purpose, but they're really good at

faking it, and he was faking it well
until he-- Sad story, but she found out,

and, um, she went and moved in with him
for a while, and then put him in a memory

care home and went through his mail.

Hadn't filed taxes in five years.

Every dollar that clients reported
to him, and he was still doing taxes.

And actually, like I said,
some of them she was scared

that they'd been done wrong.

He did a good job, so he was filing
great tax returns- That's what

you're paid for … 'cause he'd
been doing it for, like, 50 years.

Kevin Schneider: It's
just autopilot probably

Mike Pine: Yeah.

Just don't file electronic.

Um, yeah.

But he not, he forgot to file his.

So every time someone paid him
and sent a 1099 to him, the

IRS knew he got that money.

The IRS assumed he had zero expenses,
even though he's got 50 years of tax

filings and filing expenses every year.

They assumed his margin,
his profit, was 100%.

His all taxes.

And so they're trying to assess him
taxes at the highest level, but over

five years penalties and interest.

And we're talking about, in reality,
the guy should be paying $4,000

or $5,000 a year in tax, and we
can get out of the penalties.

But they don't care that he has dementia.

She wrote them.

She called the IRS on the notices,
like, "My dad is in memory care."

Like, "I'm sorry, but he still owes us.

We're gonna seize his bank accounts."

"Well, no, I need his bank account
because we're paying for this facility."

Well, it, it is what it is.

It is what it is.

I mean, that's what the IRS said.

And thank goodness that she
called me, and it's not the case.

So we're just going back and doing
our best to rebuild the records, and

he's, he's gonna owe not the hundreds
of thousands of dollars they say he

owes, but he's gonna probably owe 20,
25,000 in tax plus a little interest.

No, yeah, for a total of five
years plus, plus interest, but

we'll get the penalties removed.

I mean, if you're not…

There's so many ways we can get
the penalty re- penalties removed.

So see that all the time, not
just with dementia, but just with

Kevin Schneider: They assume the worst.

Mike Pine: It's-

Kevin Schneider: they assume

Mike Pine: the…

Kevin Schneider: well, they assume
the best for them- Yes … by default,

Mike Pine: default.

Yes.

Which is

Kevin Schneider: typically the worst for

Mike Pine: for us,

Kevin Schneider: the taxpayers.

That's not fair.

No.

Mike Pine: they work for us.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So.

I mean, imagine

Kevin Schneider: Cause they work for us.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, imagine being an IRS agent.

IRS agents have to file their taxes, too.

What if you had your own

Mike Pine: IRS agent.

IRS agents have to file their taxes too.

If you had your own agency

levy you- Here's the deal though

you know, that sort of stuff.

So many, they did this, this happened, I
think it was back in, like, 2018 or '19.

There was a, uh, what
are those guys called?

The, the, the investigators attached
to the, each different department.

So the, what are they called?

The watchdogs.

Okay.

Um, did a, uh, the council
office or something.

They, they did an investigation at
Treasury Department, and they found out,

like, something like 18 or 20% of IRS
agents and employees were behind on their

taxes, and they actually ended up seizing,
like, a bunch of their passports- Wow

because they were so behind.

That's crazy.

They're not paying taxes,
but they think they can

Kevin Schneider: reporting them.

They're probably paying them,
but they're not reporting them.

Yeah.

Mike Pine: Yeah.

Kevin Schneider: And w- when we
are, as CPAs, every time we…

So our licenses as CPAs are annual.

They recur every year.

So we have CPE requirements, and
we also have to testify kind of on

paper, "Hey, I'm not, I don't have any
felonies, and I am current on my taxes."

If you are not current on your
taxes, your CPA license could

be, like, you cannot with

Mike Pine: good faith advise a client
to do something if you're not doing

it yourself But if you're working
in the IRS- If you work for the

IRS-

Kevin Schneider: work for the IRS-
If you work for the IRS, apparently

that, you gotta get caught.

Mike Pine: don't

get caught.

So that's crazy.

Isn't it?

That is absolutely crazy.

So the IRS doesn't care
about fair, and it's true.

Two neighbors making the same amount of
income have drastically different taxes.

Guys, please take hold
of your own destiny.

Take control.

It's, it's not as…

I know it seems overwhelming.

All you got to do is call your…

And to be honest with you, we
cannot serve the amount of people,

um, that listen to this podcast.

We can serve some of
y'all, but call your CPA.

Say, "I need some advice.

What can we do differently?"

And don't take no for an answer.

And if, if you can't get in to
talk with Kevin or I, um, or our

team because our capacity's almost
at max at this point in the year,

then find a different strategist.

Don't take no for an answer.

Take control of it.

Don't let, expect the IRS, and
the government, and the law is

just going to treat you fair.

It does in a lot of areas
in our, our country.

In tax, it does not.

Take control of it.

Please like and subscribe, and if this…

If you learn something from this
and you think there's anyone

Kevin Schneider: else

Mike Pine: that you know
that ought to hear it,

Kevin Schneider: that you know
that ought to hear it, please

share this podcast with them.

Send it to your brother,

Mike Pine: If at all, just say,
"Hey, here's the things I'm doing."

But we-

That, that was directed
at one specific client.

That is not fair, and
they've been a client for,

Kevin Schneider: Now, Jeremy,

Mike Pine: 11 years.

I

Kevin Schneider: you mentioned
that you are not there.

It's been like 11 years- Yeah … or
whatever since you joined the firm, right?

Yeah.

So- But also we hear your concerns.

Like, we have hired two people,
two seniors in the past month, and

we're looking to hire two, if…

One at least, but if not two
upper level managers to handle

the capacity coming to us.

We would hire, if they, if they
fit our culture, if they fit our

mindset and our, our mission, we
can train some of the nuances that

we do, but we need the heart there.

So we're looking for very specific
CPAs, so it's not like we can go on the

Mike Pine: open market and
just pull some CPAs into our

Kevin Schneider: firm.

They're not gonna fit.

We're looking for specific
people to serve you guys.

Mike Pine: CPAs.

So

Kevin Schneider: That's
why I asked Jeremy.

So they have to be specific for the
line of work we're trying to achieve.

So we are trying to build capacity.

We're working our hardest.

It's taking, you know, Mike and I are
doing this with our own capital, so

Mike Pine: We're working our hardest.

It's taking, you know, Mike and
I are doing this with our own

capital, so we're, we're, we're

trying to do this wisely.

Bootstrapping it.

So- But, so tax planning, if you're not
doing tax planning for this year, for 2026

tax year, by early to mid-October, you're
probably too late, and we've got just a

few spots to fill, um, that we can fit.

So reach out to us now
if you're interested.

If you can't get your tax person to
help you or you don't have a better

strategist, reach out to us now Again,
we're trying to, to grow that capacity.

And on that note, the only
limit on our capacity is finding

these right team members.

So if you are a tax professional, whether
you're a CPA, enrolled agent, a JD,

tax attorney, if you feel like you're
not able to add the value that you want

to add, you're not getting the support
from your firm, you're not getting

grown, you're not getting, uh, mentored
in ways to truly provide value to your

clients, earn your keep, let them, let
them make 10X over what they pay in

fees with you, please reach out to us.

We are always hiring.

Go to revotaxpayer.com.

Thank you very much, and
we will see you next week

Thank you for listening to this episode.

Revo Taxpayer Advocacy LLC is not licensed
or registered as a CPA firm with the

Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.

I'm a CPA, Kevin's a CPA.

We have a lot of CPAs on staff that are
licensed and held to the same standards.

However, when we decided to be
revolutionary and change our name to Revo

Taxpayer Advocacy, the state board would
not allow that and let us remain licensed.

They say we have to have one
of our names in the firm for

us to be licensed as a firm.

And guess what?

It's not us that's important.

It's revolutionizing the way you feel
about taxes and saving you money.

We are advocates for you, so we were
willing to drop our firm license even

though we're still individually licensed.