ClearPath - St. Joseph

ClearPath - St. Joseph Friendly, tax-savvy advice. Visit: www.clearpath.company
Or call: (913) 336-3500 We make customer service a top priority, and treat our clients like family.

A total tax firm offering financial planning, tax, and accounting with proactive solutions for individuals and businesses. Our team of professionals will leave you with a sense of empowerment and understanding. ClearPath cares about what is best for you, and not how to impress you with complex lingo and jargon. Letโ€™s take the confusion out of tax season, and put focus into your financial planning and account as well so you can get the best results legally possible.

05/08/2026

Cash flow gaps happen to the best of us. Aside from a bank loan, whatโ€™s the most creative way youโ€™ve ever bridged a financial gap?

Letโ€™s share some ideas for the community.

๐™ƒ๐™ค๐™ฌ ๐™™๐™ค ๐™„ ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™–๐™˜๐™  ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™—๐™ช๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ž๐™ก๐™š๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ง๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™ฉ ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ฎ?For 2026, the mileage rate is ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿฎ.๐Ÿฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฒ. So if you drove 12,000...
05/07/2026

๐™ƒ๐™ค๐™ฌ ๐™™๐™ค ๐™„ ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™–๐™˜๐™  ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™—๐™ช๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ž๐™ก๐™š๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ง๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™ฉ ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ฎ?

For 2026, the mileage rate is ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿฎ.๐Ÿฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฒ. So if you drove 12,000 business miles, thatโ€™s an $8,700 deduction.

But to claim it, you have to keep a log that proves it. Your log must include:
โ€ข Date of the trip
โ€ข Where you went
โ€ข Business purpose
โ€ข Miles driven

And make sure you track this as you go rather than trying to rebuild it later.

Also worth knowing:
โ€ข Commuting from home to your regular office isnโ€™t deductibleโ€ฆ
โ€ข Driving between work locations or to client meetings is!

Comment MILEAGE below if you want help figuring out the right mileage tracking method for your business.

๐™„๐™› ๐™„ ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ง๐™ฉ ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™ฃ ๐™—๐™ช๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ, ๐™–๐™ข ๐™„ ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ญ๐™š๐™™ ๐™ค๐™ฃ ๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™ง๐™ฎ๐™ฉ๐™๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™—๐™ช๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐™—๐™ง๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™จ ๐™ž๐™ฃ?If you do make the leap to leave your 9-to-5...
05/06/2026

๐™„๐™› ๐™„ ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ง๐™ฉ ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™ฃ ๐™—๐™ช๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ, ๐™–๐™ข ๐™„ ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ญ๐™š๐™™ ๐™ค๐™ฃ ๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™ง๐™ฎ๐™ฉ๐™๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™—๐™ช๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐™—๐™ง๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™จ ๐™ž๐™ฃ?

If you do make the leap to leave your 9-to-5 and start your own business, tax obligations do change. Though youโ€™re not taxed on EVERYTHING, you are taxed on your net profit (your revenue minus deductible business expenses).

So if you earn $100,000 and have $20,000 in valid expenses, youโ€™re taxed on $80,000โ€ฆbut only if those expenses are actually tracked.

That means filing:
โ€ข Receipts
โ€ข Business bank and credit card statements
โ€ข Mileage logs, if you drive for business
โ€ข Records that show the business purpose

When youโ€™re self-employed, the burden of proof is on you.

If you canโ€™t show it, itโ€™s much harder to claim it.

If you want a tax consultation for setting up your business in a tax smart way so you're compliant with the IRS's requirements, DM us.

๐™’๐™๐™ฎ ๐™™๐™ค๐™š๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ญ ๐™—๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก ๐™›๐™š๐™š๐™ก ๐™จ๐™ค ๐™ข๐™ช๐™˜๐™ ๐™๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฌ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™„โ€™๐™ข ๐™จ๐™š๐™ก๐™›-๐™š๐™ข๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฎ๐™š๐™™?Because youโ€™re paying both sides of Social Security ...
05/05/2026

๐™’๐™๐™ฎ ๐™™๐™ค๐™š๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ญ ๐™—๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก ๐™›๐™š๐™š๐™ก ๐™จ๐™ค ๐™ข๐™ช๐™˜๐™ ๐™๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฌ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™„โ€™๐™ข ๐™จ๐™š๐™ก๐™›-๐™š๐™ข๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฎ๐™š๐™™?

Because youโ€™re paying both sides of Social Security and Medicare now.

At a W-2 job, you pay 7.65%, and your employer matches it.

When youโ€™re self-employed, you pay the full 15.3%.

On top of that, youโ€™re also responsible for:
โ€ข Paying tax on your profit, not revenue
โ€ข Making quarterly tax payments
โ€ข Tracking your income and expenses yourself

You can typically deduct half of your self-employment tax, which helps lower your taxable income.

But no one is withholding taxes for you anymore.

Thatโ€™s the shift that catches people off guard.

A practical next step: estimate your monthly tax set-aside based on your last few months of income, then automate that transfer before the money gets absorbed into everything else.

"Remember, diamonds are only lumps of coal that stuck to their jobs." -B.C. ForbesWhether you're trying to stick to a bu...
05/04/2026

"Remember, diamonds are only lumps of coal that stuck to their jobs." -B.C. Forbes

Whether you're trying to stick to a budget, a business plan, a parenting strategy, or an exercise plan, envision the end result and keep at it.

๐—ช๐—ต๐˜† ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ด ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ?Because it means you gave the government too much of your paycheck all year.We get i...
05/01/2026

๐—ช๐—ต๐˜† ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ด ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ?

Because it means you gave the government too much of your paycheck all year.

We get it. A refund feels good when it hits your account.

But that money was yours the whole time! So, with a few adjustments, you could make that money work for you now.

1. ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ต๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด
This is the amount your employer takes out of each paycheck for taxes. If too much is coming out, updating your W-4 can help bring that number closer to what you actually owe.

2. ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ
If you freelance, drive for an app, sell online, or earn income outside your W-2 job, itโ€™s better to plan for those taxes during the year instead of being surprised later.

3. ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ต
Money sitting with the IRS all year could have been in a savings account, retirement account, HSA, or another place where it had a chance to work for you.

True or false: Iโ€™d rather get a smaller refund if it meant keeping more money in my paycheck each month.

04/30/2026

๐˜ฟ๐™ค ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™—๐™ค๐™ค๐™ ๐™จ ๐™ข๐™–๐™ฉ๐™˜๐™ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™—๐™–๐™ฃ๐™  ๐™–๐™˜๐™˜๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™ง๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™ฉ ๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฌ?

We donโ€™t mean โ€œclose enoughโ€โ€ฆ Do they actually match?

Because if they donโ€™t, expenses never make it into your books, income can get counted twice, your profit ends up looking higher (or lower) than it really is, and you wind up paying taxes based on the wrong number.

We see this more than youโ€™d think. It comes down to having regular reconciliation.

A simple monthly check fixes most of this, soโ€ฆ
โ€ข Do it the same day each month
โ€ข Match your bank balance to your software
โ€ข Review anything that hasnโ€™t cleared
โ€ข Clean up old or duplicate transactions

If you waited until tax time to sort things out this year, this is your chance to stay ahead of it for next year.

04/28/2026

๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—œ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ฑ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜…๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ?

To answer that, you have to look at the return you just filed. Itโ€™s the primary place where you can see exactly how your financial decisions translated into your tax bill.

Here are the two areas you should audit immediately:

1. Your Effective Tax Rate -- This is the actual percentage you paid after credits and deductions were applied. If this number is higher than you expected, you likely aren't utilizing the right tax-shifting strategies or accounts to protect your income.

2. Your Refund Amount -- If you received a large check, you essentially gave the IRS an interest-free loan for up to twelve months. That is capital you could have been deploying into your own investments or savings every single month.

If you want us to review your 2024 or 2025 return and identify exactly where you can keep more of what you earn in 2026, comment ๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ฉ๐—œ๐—˜๐—ช below.

04/27/2026

๐™’๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™› ๐™„ ๐™˜๐™–๐™ฃโ€™๐™ฉ ๐™ฅ๐™–๐™ฎ ๐™ข๐™ฎ ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ญ ๐™—๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™›๐™ช๐™ก๐™ก?

First, and most important, donโ€™t ignore it. Itโ€™s easy to put off a tax bill when you know you canโ€™t pay it. But that usually makes the problem more expensive.

Hereโ€™s what we generally recommend to our clients:
1. Pay as much as you can right now. Even a partial payment helps reduce the interest and penalties that continue to accrue.
2. Look at short-term IRS payment relief. In some cases, the IRS may allow additional time to pay in full.
3. Set up an installment agreement.
4. If paying would keep you from covering basic living expenses, see if you qualify for Currently Not Collectible status.
5. See if an Offer in Compromise is an option for you.
6. Avoid using credit cards, private loans, or home equity to pay the IRS, as this can put you in a much more difficult (and higher interest) position.
7. If necessary, consider selling assets you no longer need.

If you want help sorting through the options, comment ๐—ฃ๐—”๐—ฌ below.

๐™„๐™จ ๐™จ๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฎ๐™š๐™–๐™ง๐™จ ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ช๐™œ๐™ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ ๐™š๐™š๐™ฅ ๐™š๐™ข๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฎ๐™š๐™š ๐™ง๐™š๐™˜๐™ค๐™ง๐™™๐™จ?Sometimes. But itโ€™s not a complete retention policy.Some employee re...
04/24/2026

๐™„๐™จ ๐™จ๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฎ๐™š๐™–๐™ง๐™จ ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ช๐™œ๐™ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ ๐™š๐™š๐™ฅ ๐™š๐™ข๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฎ๐™š๐™š ๐™ง๐™š๐™˜๐™ค๐™ง๐™™๐™จ?

Sometimes. But itโ€™s not a complete retention policy.

Some employee records can be cleaned up sooner. Others need to be kept much longer. Thatโ€™s why using one general rule for everything can create risk.

The better approach is to sort records by type and apply the right timeline to each one.

Worth a quick review if your retention system has been running on autopilot.

Address

3715 Beck Road Ste B203
Saint Joseph, MO
64506

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 12pm

Telephone

+18162331131

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