Garrett & Associates, CPA

08/31/2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the OBBBA, passed July 4, 2025. You've already filed a return under it and you probably still don't know what it changed.

That's not on you. It's hundreds of pages and the coverage was all politics, no arithmetic.

So I'm going through it one piece at a time. Already covered: the senior deduction everyone's misreading, and why your relocation package is taxable.

Which one do you want next, tips and overtime, the SALT cap, or business deductions?

08/31/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻?

Draw cash strategically across three accounts to keep your tax bill as low as possible.
• Pull just enough from your Traditional IRA or 401(k) to fill up the lowest tax brackets (10% or 12%).
• Cover remaining living expenses with taxable savings or brokerage cash so you don't push yourself into a higher bracket.
• Use tax-free Roth IRA dollars for big one-off expenses with zero tax impact.

Balancing your withdrawals this way keeps your overall tax rate low and can even unlock 0% capital gains rates.

08/28/2026

“Consistency is key” is the most useless advice in business.

Consistent at what? You can be consistent about losing money and call it “discipline”, but that won’t grow your business.

Track one financial number, tweak based on the results, then be relentless about improving that metric.

What’s the one number you actually track every month?

08/28/2026

𝗔𝗺 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜?

You could be. Time to fix that.

(We already make sure all privacy settings are enabled for any AI tools we use here.)

Worried about your personal AI chats being exposed? Here's how to tighten your privacy across several major chatbots.

08/27/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆?

Consider looking into the R&D tax credit.

Eligible small businesses can apply up to $500,000 per year of their R&D credit directly against quarterly payroll taxes. That cuts your quarterly payroll bills almost immediately, keeping extra cash in your bank account to hire talent or fund new projects.

To prepare for claiming it, build your paper trail early:
• Flag projects as they start
• Keep basic project logs
• Make sure contractor agreements state your business owns all the work

08/26/2026

Heads up! Moving reimbursements just became taxable, and it’s permanent.

Under the OBBBA, employer-paid moving expense reimbursements are now taxable for everyone except active-duty military, so employers must report them as wages and withhold payroll taxes. That means updating offer letters, payroll settings, and thinking about grossing up if you still want to help employees with the cost.

Have moving reimbursements at your company? DM me and I’ll help you update your payroll and policies.

08/26/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆?

A core strategy we suggest during this retirement gap is a Roth conversion staircase:
• Move funds from your traditional IRA into a Roth IRA when your income sits in lower tax brackets.
• Pay taxes today at low rates so that money and its future growth stay 100% tax-free.
• Convert in stages each December to fill your target bracket line, instead of moving a single lump sum that spikes your tax bracket.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦: Pay the taxes using cash outside your IRA, such as a high-yield savings or taxable brokerage account. Withholding tax money directly from the IRA reduces your tax-free shelter and triggers a 10% IRS penalty if you're under age 59½.

If you recently left your job or plan to step away soon, DM us to find out how to map out your retirement gap.

08/25/2026

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥&𝗗 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿?
You don’t need scientists on staff, but the IRS requires your project to hit four specific benchmarks:
1. You set out to build or improve a product, process, or software.
2. The work relied on hard science, engineering, or software development.
3. You faced technical uncertainty about how to achieve the end result when you started.
4. You used a process of trial and error to figure it out.

If you spent time and payroll working through those kinds of technical hurdles this year, you likely qualify. That includes projects that were ultimately scrapped.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥&𝗗 if you want to find out if any projects in your business would apply for 2027 filing.

08/24/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹?

Whether it's how W-4 withholdings work, how interest adds up, or how credit scores are calculated, we've all had that moment. Drop yours below!

08/24/2026

Everyone's talking about the $6,000 senior deduction as a Social Security thing.

It isn't. You qualify at 65 whether you've claimed benefits or not, and it applies against any income, not just your benefits.

That makes it a Roth conversion window. Four years, then it's gone.

If you're 63 or 64 right now, this is worth a conversation. DM me.