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Mike Payne JD CPA

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Mesa, AZ
Mike Payne JD CPA

Legal & tax strategy for professionals & nonprofits | M&A deals | Legal structuring | Tax planning

05/28/2025

We're honored to be considered among the top 50 modern accounting firms by !

https://futurefirm.co/the-top-50-modern-accounting-firms-of-2025/

04/18/2025

We're pumped to have Mike McDonald as a partner and CFO! Mike helps business owners stay organized and forward-thinking as a Fractional CFO

04/17/2025

We only take new clients that are willing to work with us on a subscription basis. Why?

04/16/2025

If tax planning is an art, becoming a business owner gives you a full color palette. Here's a glimpse of what we can do!

04/15/2025

If you're a business owner who DIY'ed your business filings BUT are now making $1m +, it might be time to have a business / tax lawyer make sure you still have the optimal structure. Why?

- Risk management - make sure your personal assets are protected
- Tax savings - sometimes a simple election can save thousands
- Administrative ease - take one more thing off your plate

offers a Business Legal Review for a flat fee to make sure you're protected and tax-efficient. Start here:

https://bit.ly/bossadv

04/14/2025

Q1 estimated tax payment is due TOMORROW!

To avoid penalties, anyone who will owe over $500 with their return must make estimated tax payments quarterly. This usually includes:

- Business owners
- Real estate investors
- Employees who don't withhold enough

Note... of course the IRS "quarters" don't match calendar quarters - see chart below!

04/04/2025

The tax deadline is coming up! If you haven't filed yet and think you'll owe, consider making a payment towards any tax due so you don't get hit with late payment penalties.

03/26/2024

Book recommendation:

Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud

Summary:

Setting boundaries entails taking ownership of your own wants, needs, and feelings. It means prioritizing you, but often people feel like it means they are neglecting others. But that’s not true. All it means is that you aren’t solely responsible for other people’s problems.

03/15/2024

"Quick question..." 🙋

Let me just speculate that:

- These are rarely, if ever, quick.
- You get 3 or more of these per day.
- You spend an hour per day answering those 3 questions.
- You do this day after day, during prime working hours.
- The people asking you these questions are not paying for your time.

Do you really want to give away 300 hours a year of PRIMETIME? Nope. 🙅‍♂️

So how do you solve this problem for good?

1. Set up a recurring subscription with your clients that encourages them to ask questions. The fee should be high enough to allow you to cut out other work and make yourself available for these, or even encourage them. The more touchpoints you have with your clients, the stickier the relationship will be. Change your mindset from being annoyed by these questions to looking forward to being helpful.

2. Go back through the most routine "quick questions" you get and write out your responses. Then save these to a central location where you (or ideally, anyone on your team) can quickly access and send out the canned response.

3. Be proactive about feeding answers to these questions to your clients via social, newsletter, etc. The more you directly address the real problems your clients are having, the better your message will land.

4. For clients not on a subscription, tell them you're booked out and send them a link to your calendar that has a paywall. You deserve to be paid for your time. Let them know you offer a subscription service that gives them access to you for these situations for no extra charge, among other benefits (e.g., regularly scheduled meetings, XX deliverables, etc.).

03/14/2024

Our thoughts are like text messages...

We can't control what comes in or when, but we can absolutely control...
.. whether and when we respond.. whether we delete them or keep them.. whether we believe them and internalize them, or challenge them.. how they make us feel.. how that feeling influences our actions.. how our actions influence the results.. how the results then reinforce our original thoughts

If you're looking for a great read on how creating positive thoughts will change your outlook on life, read 's phenomenal book "Self-Coaching 101." Soooooo good!

03/12/2024

If you own real estate, consider these 5 overly simplified strategies:

1. Hold the properties until you pass and transfer to your heirs with a stepped-up basis.

2. Donate appreciated properties to charity instead of selling them and then donating cash.

3. Defer gain through 1031 exchanges to newer properties with less maintenance costs.

4. Conduct cost segregation studies on properties to expedite depreciation expense.*

5. Buy a short-term rental in a place you enjoy vacationing. A portion of your trips to check on the property may be deductible.

*Do this if you're a real estate professional, if you're using the property in your business, or if the property is a short-term rental.

03/11/2024

Employee vs. Independent Contractor - new DOL rules effective TODAY.

TLDR: Misclassifying a worker can cost you A LOT. If you employ independent contractors, read in full.

𝐃𝐎𝐋 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬:

1. The worker's title (e.g., calling someone an IC isn't enough)
2. Issuing the worker a 1099.
3. A signed independent contractor agreement.
4. Where the work is performed.
5. Whether the worker is licensed by a state/local govt.
6. Time / mode of pay.

So what is relevant? The "Economic Realities Test" considers 6 factors with equal weight:

1. 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥

- Does the worker negotiate their own pay?
- Can they decide whether to accept / decline work?
- Can they hire their own workers?
- Do they buy their own material / equipment?
- Do they try to expand business (e.g., marketing)?

2. 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫

- Does the worker make capital / entrepreneurial investments that:

... support the growth of a business
... increase number of clients
... extend market reach
... increase sales
... are similar to investments made by the employer

3. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩

- Work that is sporadic or project-based with a fixed ending date where the worker may make a business decision to take on multiple different jobs indicates independent contractor status.

- Work that is continuous, does not have a fixed ending date, or may be the worker’s only work relationship indicates employee status.

4. 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥

Does the employer:

- Control hiring, firing, scheduling, prices, or pay rates
- Supervise the performance of the work
- Have the right to supervise or discipline workers
- Take actions that limit the worker’s ability to work for others

5. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

- Where the work performed by the worker is not critical, necessary, or central to the potential employer’s principal business, this indicates independent contractor status.

6. 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞

The fact that a worker does not use specialized skills (for example, the worker relies on the employer to provide training for the job) indicates that the worker is an employee.

Additional factors may be considered if relevant.

https://buff.ly/2PXakwk

Address

Mesa, AZ
85206

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm

Website

https://www.bossadv.com/who-we-are/mike-payne

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