RLJ Financial Services, Inc.

08/26/2026

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!

08/25/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺?

Two things you need to do:
1. Separate employer contributions from employee deductions in your systems to keep funding sources clear and prevent messy manual journal entries later.
2. Run test transactions to confirm your payroll software maps custom benefit codes and sends funds straight to each child's trustee without glitches.

Building this structure upfront gives you a clean audit trail on your Profit & Loss statement, saving your team hours of digging during month-end closing.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗘 if you want help figuring this out for your business.

08/25/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗼𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀?

Yes, if your total debt is over $66,000. However, you don't need to pay off your entire balance in cash overnight to keep your passport active. Entering an approved payment plan, Offer in Compromise, or hardship status will automatically lift/prevent the restriction.

To protect your freedom to travel, pull your current IRS balance and secure a formal resolution agreement before booking international trips or renewing your passport.

08/25/2026

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲?

Yes, because your tax status has changed, and if you don't note that, you could end up paying more in taxes than you should.

Do these two things as soon as possible:
1. Update your W-4, switching to Single or Head of Household
2. Assign child tax credits to whichever parent qualifies for the full dollar amount.
(𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦-𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴.)

08/20/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?

We genuinely want to know.

08/19/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀?

The IRS gives the default claim to the custodial parent, who is the parent the child lives with for at least 183 nights during the year.

When both parents claim the same child, the situation unfolds in three main stages:
1. The first return gets accepted by the e-file system, while the second return gets rejected because the child's Social Security number is already marked as used.
2. The second parent must mail in a signed paper return to force an IRS review, triggering Notice CP87A where both parents must submit residency proof like school or medical records.
3. The IRS awards the claim based on night counts or higher income if custody is an exact 50/50 split, forcing the non-qualifying parent to pay back credits with interest and penalties.

A practical way to protect yourself is to keep third-party residency records on file if you are the custodial parent, or secure a signed IRS Form 8332 from the custodial parent before filing if you are the noncustodial parent.

𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 183-𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺?

08/18/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹?

Even though 61% of small business owners operate without one, an annual budget is the exact tool that helps you promote growth.

You can start small: base your revenue goals on your last 6 months of actual sales, and allocate 5% of monthly expenses toward an emergency cushion.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵: 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵?

08/18/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿?

In most cases, no. The IRS considers nannies household employees because you control how and when they perform their work in your home.

Trying to issue a 1099 or pay under the table opens you up to IRS tax evasion penalties, liability for unpaid employment taxes, and state labor law violations.

Here is how you should set up your nanny pay:
• Both you and your nanny contribute 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare taxes once you cross the annual earnings threshold.
• You pay federal unemployment tax on the first $7,000 of wages if you pay $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter.
• You need to get an Employer Identification Number, issue a W-2 by January 31, and report household taxes using Schedule H on your tax return.

If hiring a nanny allows you and your spouse to work, you can take advantage of the Child and Dependent Care Credit to offset some of those care costs.

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯-𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘺?

08/14/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝘀𝗲𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀?

If you owe money to the IRS, it's completely normal to worry about them going after your family's savings. But when it comes to your child's account, the short answer is no.

Here's why that money stays safe from collection action:
• Your child is the legal owner. Under federal tax law, an IRS lien only attaches to property that actually belongs to you. This account belongs to your child and is tied directly to their Social Security Number.
• The account has built-in lockout protection. Federal rules strictly forbid early cash-outs or liquidations during the growth period. Because of this, the IRS has no legal ability to issue a bank levy against the account.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: Moving cash out of a bank account that already has an active tax lien into your child’s account to dodge the IRS is a huge risk. The IRS sees that as an attempt to hide assets and can use a Nominee Lien to target those funds directly.

As long as you aren't moving funds to dodge an active lien, your child's account stays safe. You can even keep building their savings using outside sources like employer matches up to $2,500, the $1,000 federal starter credit, or gifts from relatives while you address your back taxes.

If you have an active tax balance and want to make sure your family's assets stay clear of IRS collection action, comment below with the word PROTECT. We'll walk you through your options.

05/06/2026

Want a lower tax bill? Your tax planning needs to start now!

With so much uncertainty in the economy, the tendency is to step back and wait until things settle down. On the other hand the early bird catches the worm. Now is a great time to be thinking about steps to reduce your tax obligations, both this year and into the future. This month an article is pres...