At Monotelo Advisors our accountants work hard to free up cash flow by helping you minimize your federal tax liability, giving you more money to reinvest into your future. Simplify Your Taxes with Trusted Experts Accurate, stress-free tax preparation for individuals and businesses. Learn More Schedule Meeting Start your 2024 Tax Return Tax Season Resources Gratitude, Generosity, and the Power to Change Lives 24 hours ago 4 min read The Multiplying Power of Generosity: Feed a Child This Thanksgiving Nov 13 3 min read 7 Money-Smart Principles Every Parent Should Teach Aug 12 4 min read Gratitude, Generosity, and the Power to Change Lives The Multiplying Power of Generosity: Feed a Child This Thanksgiving 7 Money-Smart Principles Every Parent Should Teach Looking for Financial Planning Help? Our values-based retirement planning will give you the quiet confidence that everything is on track for you to achieve your life goals. Get Started Learn More Run your business, we'll handle your finances. Small business owner? Yes, we can help you with your tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs. But there is so much more to having the right financial partner. Get Started Learn More

Monotelo Advisors Privacy Policy Introduction At Monotelo Advisors, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines our practices regarding the collection and use of your data. Information Collection We may collect personal information from you in various ways, including when you visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter, fill out a form, or interact with our services. The types of personal information we collect may include: - Contact information (name, email address, phone number) - Demographic information (age, gender, location) Use of Information We use the information we collect for various purposes, including: - To provide and improve our services - To communicate with you, including sending newsletters and updates - To personalize your experience on our website - To analyze and understand how our services are used No Sale of Personal Data At Monotelo Advisors, we prioritize the confidentiality and security of your personal information. We want to assure you that we do not sell or share your personal data to any third parties. Your trust is of utmost importance to us, and we are committed to protecting your privacy. Data Security We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information. We do not share personal data (phone numbers) with third parties, affiliates or partners Your Rights Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including: - The right to access your personal data - The right to correct any inaccuracies - The right to request deletion of your data - The right to restrict processing of your data - The right to data portability - The right to object to the processing of your data If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided below. Changes to This Policy We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on our website. You are advised to review this policy periodically for any changes. No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties

Welcome to the Big Beautiful Bill Resource Center The Big Beautiful Bill is transforming the landscape of financial legislation and we're here to help you stay informed every step of the way. This page is your central hub for everything related to the bill: expert articles, insightful videos, and in-depth webinars designed to unpack what it means, why it matters, and how it could impact your financial future. Check out our latest webinar. Click here to find a segment that interest you. New provisions for individuals under the Big Beautiful Bill New provisions for business under the Big Beautiful Bill Check out our articles on the Big Beautiful Bill Understanding the New Tax Relief for Seniors and Hourly Workers: Tips, Overtime, and Social Security Explained Jim Richter 25 Takeaways From the Big Beautiful Bill Michael Baumeister Three Sweeping Tax Reforms That Could Impact Your Paycheck Jim Richter

Big Beautiful Bill Webinar Segments Click on the topic you want to learn more about based on our webinar. How the OBBBA has changed exit strategies for business owners Overtime Pay Child Tax Credit SALT Cap No Tax on Tips Senior Deduction Check out our articles on the Big Beautiful Bill Understanding the New Tax Relief for Seniors and Hourly Workers: Tips, Overtime, and Social Security Explained Jim Richter 25 Takeaways From the Big Beautiful Bill Michael Baumeister Three Sweeping Tax Reforms That Could Impact Your Paycheck Jim Richter

At Monotelo Advisors we work hard to free up cash flow by helping you minimize your federal tax liability, giving you more money to reinvest into your future. TAX EXPERTISE Monotelo believes there is a better way to help you secure your financial future. It starts by improving your cash flow, then focusing on the budget and retirement savings to help you take charge of a future filled with peace and financial security. Our mission is to make a difference with meaningful and actionable financial solutions that positively impact our client's lives. We do this by integrating the tax component into all our discussions - freeing up cash flow that allows our clients to live the lives they want to live. SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS If you are a small-business owner, there is a high probability that you are paying more tax than what is required. And the key to lowering your tax bill is not in finding a competent CPA to file your tax returns, it's in finding an expert with a disciplined process to help you plan your future. LEARN MORE REAL ESTATE AGENTS As a real-estate agent you are uniquely positioned to manage how much you pay in taxes. While the new tax code just made things better for you, it made things significantly more complicated. How you organize your affairs and structure your business will have a direct impact on your tax bill come April 15th. LEARN MORE PRIVATE CLIENTS LEARN MORE INDIVIDUALS Click here to access the tools and articles designed to help you manage your taxes and your finances while giving you confidence to take the steps needed to prepare for a future filled with peace, hope and financial security. LEARN MORE

The purpose of this update is to provide clarity on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was passed by Congress and President Trump last week. The Act was intended to provide relief to those suffering from the economic fallout of the Coronavirus. The amount of money each person will receive from the federal government will vary depending on your income, marital status and number of children. Individuals are eligible for up to $1,200 - plus $500 per child under the age of 17 Couples are eligible for up to $2,400 - plus $500 per child under the age of 17 Payments phase out for individuals with adjusted gross incomes of more than $75,000 and for couples with incomes above $150,000. The phaseout will reduce the payment by $5 for every additional $100 of adjusted gross income above your phase-out threshold. Individuals making more than $99,000 will not receive anything. Couples making more than $198,000 will not receive anything. Income will be based on your 2019 or 2018 tax return. The White House hopes to begin distributing cash quickly, but said that it may take a few weeks before the majority of the payments go out. The stimulus checks will be handled by the Internal Revenue Service, and they require you to have filed your taxes electronically to have the money transferred to your bank account via direct deposit. If the IRS does not have your bank account info, it will send out a check to the physical address that was on your last tax return. If you have filed a paper copy of your taxes or have closed the bank account used to receive previous tax refunds, the government will send a check in the mail. If you have moved since you last filed your taxes, remember to submit a change of address form with the IRS. This normally takes four to six weeks to process, and the IRS needs the correct address in order to have the check reach the correct destination. The best way to maximize your payment from the government is to have Monotelo prepare your 2019 tax return. If you made less money in 2019 than you made in 2018, we will file the return immediately. If you made more money in 2019 than you made in 2018, we will wait to file the return. However, there is no way to know this without completing the preparation of your 2019 tax return. Once the return is complete, we will let you know what filing schedule is in your best interest. Taxpayers are supposed to receive a note in the mail informing them of how the payment was made. This notice should arrive no more than a few weeks after the money was disbursed. If you have trouble locating your payment, there will be information regarding how to contact the IRS in the notice. Please reach out to us if we can assist you during these challenging times. ECONOMIC IMPACT PAYMENTS FROM THE CARES ACT Read more articles Failing to order your affairs to minimize your tax burden could cost you significant money - so don't wait to take action. If you have additional questions or need some planning help, please reach out to us.

We all think we know about the cost of health care. According to Fidelity, the average 65-year-old couple in 2020 will need nearly $300,000 for medical expenses over the course of their retirement. And that number does not address the potential for long-term care needs. There is a common misconception that once you get on Medicare, your health care costs will be all taken care of. What most people eventually discover is that Medicare doesn’t cover everything. And what it does cover typically comes with a copay or a deductible. The Costs Behind Medicare There are 2 primary parts to Medicare. Part A covers hospitalization, while Part B covers doctors, therapies, chemotherapy, etc. While Medicare Part A is free, many people fail to realize that Medicare Part B comes with a monthly premium. Part B premiums for most people in 2021 are $148.50 per month and the premiums rise for higher-earners. The premium for higher earners is called the income-related monthly adjustment amount, known as “IRMAA”. If you get hit with IRMAA for Part B, you’ll also have to pay IRMAA for Part D, the private part of Medicare that offers prescription drug coverage if you are enrolled. You could end up paying an extra $434 per month ($356.40/month for Part B and $77.10/month for Part D), depending on your taxable income from two years ago. If you’ve had a life-changing event and your income has gone down from two years ago we can help you. Reach out to us and we should be able to make a difference for you on your IRMAA premiums. Once you’re on Medicare, you will have copays and deductibles for Parts A and B. On top of the copays and deductibles, there is no out-of-pocket maximum with Medicare. You heard that correctly! You can have unlimited expenses with original Medicare. This is where Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement Plans come into play. These plans can help by setting a limit on spending, but this is also where things can get confusing. And this is the point where most couples should turn to a Medicare expert to guide them to a wise course of action. Prescription Drugs It’s relatively easy to find the list of drugs that Medicare does not cover (go to Medicare.gov for this info). But what about drug costs? Many retirees fail to understand the impact that drug costs will have on their long-term financial plans because they fail to understand how the drug plans are set up. While many drugs are covered by Medicare, more costly drugs can cause a balloon payment after several months of coverage, sometimes referred to as the “donut hole.” With the “donut hole” and catastrophic coverage issues, there is no cap on prescription drug expenses. And some manufacturers’ programs become off limits once you go on Medicare. For Example: Part D deductible: $435. Initial coverage limit: $4,130. Catastrophic threshold: $6,550. You have a medication that costs $1,376.67 and your copay is $100. Your first three doses cost you $300, but the total spent was $4,130, and you are now in the “donut hole.” The next time you pick up your medication, your cost goes from $100 to $344.17 because you are now responsible for 25% of the cost of the drug (25% * $1,376.67 = $344.17). You only spent $300 on your first three prescription fillings, you are already into the “donut hole,” and you don’t get out of the donut hole until you’ve spent $6,550. After you’ve spent the entire $6,550, your costs will drop to 5% of the cost of the drug ($68.80 per dose). That means prescribed medications could cost over $10,000 a year, and that’s on the drugs that Medicare includes in the drug plan. So what should you do to help mitigate the costs of medical care today? A traditional asset manager might suggest you hold cash aside for these expenses. An insurance agent might tell you to buy a long-term care policy. An accountant may suggest that lowering your taxable income through medical expenses could help cover some of the costs of Medicare. Our job at Monotelo is to help you develop a Durable Cohesive Plan of Action, and take all of these issues into account to comprehensively address your healthcare needs in retirement. Read more articles THE COST OF HEALTHCARE IN RETIREMENT Failing to order your affairs to minimize your tax burden could cost you significant money - so don't wait to take action. If you have additional questions or need some planning help, please reach out to us.

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Going to an office is no longer a requirement of conducting business in the age of the internet, cell phones, Skype and GoTo meetings. One step away to save on your taxes. Schedule a quick 10-minute, no-obligation consultation. UNLOCKING the Missed Deductions of a Home Office Small-business owners should not miss the benefit of a home office deduction out of fear of a tax audit. Going to an office is no longer a requirement of conducting business in the age of the internet, cell phones, Skype and GoTo meetings. This means an increasing number of small-business owners are working from home, and eligible to claim a home office deduction. When Properly implemented, this deduction can make a significant difference in your tax liability. WHAT CONSTITUTES A HOME OFFICE? In order to claim a deduction for a home office the IRS requires that a designated space be used exclusively and regularly for business. Going to an office is no longer a requirement of conducting business in the age of the internet, cell phones, Skype and GoTo meetings. Exclusively used for business means it cannot ever be used for personal reasons during the tax year, this includes any type of storage for personal items. Although the office is to be used only for business, the tax code does not mandate that it be a separate room, it can be part of a room - walls are not a requirement. The office must also be used on a regular basis for business. HOW TO DEDUCT EXPENSES FOR THE HOME OFFICE There are two different methods you can use to claim a home office deduction, the actual expense method and the simplified method. ACTUAL EXPENSE METHOD The actual expense method allows you to deduct all direct expenses and a portion of any indirect expenses. Direct expenses are any expenses incurred specifically for the home office, such as painting the office or putting in new carpet. Indirect expenses include any expenses incurred for the home such as mortgage interest, property taxes and utilities. To claim these indirect expenses you need to determine the portion of the expenses that relate to the home office. This can be calculated by dividing the square footage of the office by the square footage of the house. You can also claim depreciation or a rent deduction for the part of the home used for business purposes. On the downside, when you sell the home any depreciation taken needs to be recaptured. This can be an unpleasant surprise come tax time. When using the actual expense method, detailed records and supporting documentation must be kept for all expenses. SIMPLIFIED METHOD If you prefer not to maintain records of these expenses, you can still take a home office deduction using the simplified method. The simplified method is calculated by simply multiplying the square footage of the office by $5 per square foot (up to 300 sq. ft.). The advantage to this method is the IRS does not require you to keep any records that are required by the actual expense method. The main drawback of the simplified method is that you will not be able to deduct your actual expenses if they exceed the allowance of the simplified method. The best solution is to keep track of all of your expenses and then determine at the end of the year which method will provide the greater deduction. MILEAGE Regular commuting to and from work is not a deductible expense, however travel between your primary office located in your home to your second office is classified as business miles that are deductible. This does not mean that you can set up a "home office" to deduct your regular commuting miles. It means that if your home office is where you conduct the majority of your business, you can deduct any mileage to a secondary location. Setting up a home office can potentially create several thousands of dollars in deductible mileage each year. TAKE AWAY Even the smallest home office can unlock significant deductions if the expenses are properly accounted for using either the actual or simplified method. It is very important that the space be used exclusively for business purposes. Save as PDF

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When planning your vacation be sure to familiarize yourself with the business travel rules to see if you can qualify some of your costs as business expenses. HOW TO DEDUCT YOUR VACATION TRAVEL As A Business Expense Taking a vacation can be expensive, so naturally the idea of deducting your vacation expenses on your tax return is an appealing idea. However, before you get carried away planning a lavish vacation with the hopes of writing off the entire cost, make sure to familiarize yourself with the requirements to qualify your expenses as business travel. To qualify for a tax deduction the trip needs to serve a legitimate business purpose. Handing out business cards on the beach does not count. There are 5 criteria your trip must meet to be a qualified business expense: 1. Profit motive. The trip must serve a legitimate profit motive. This means that you can reasonably expect the trip to create profit either now or at some point in the future. 2. Stay overnight. You can only deduct meal and lodging expenses when you are away from home overnight. 3. “Rational Businessperson” test. Your trip will only qualify as a business expense if the business motive is strong enough that a rational businessperson would make the trip if business was the only motive. 4. Primary purpose test. You can only deduct your travel expenses when your trip is primarily for business. This is determined by calculating the number of business days vs personal days of the trip. This may sound like a deal breaker, but it is easier to meet this requirement than you think. 5. Maintain good records. If you do not properly document the business purpose of your trip, your travel expenses, or your actual business activities on the trip you will risk losing your entire deduction. Your trip expenses can be broken down into two general categories with different requirements to be deductible: Transportation Expenses Transportation costs include airfare, train tickets, or the cost of a rental car to get to your destination. These expenses are all-or-nothing, if the majority of your trip days are business days you can deduct all of your transportation costs. If the majority of your trip days are personal you cannot deduct any of these costs. Life Expenses Life expenses include your daily meals and lodging. Unlike transportation expenses you do not need to meet the majority of business days threshold to take life expenses. Instead you simply take the life expenses for each business day of the trip. What Counts as a Business Day? It may be easier than you think to qualify most of your trip as business days. Each day of the trip only needs to meet one of these criteria to qualify as a business day: Work more than four hours. You have a workday when you spend more than half of normal work hours pursuing business. Since a normal workday is eight hours you only need to work for more than four. Presence-required day. If you are required to be at a destination on a specific day for a legitimate business purpose. For example, if you have a meeting with a client in another city on Tuesday, then Tuesday qualifies as a business day even if that is your only business activity for that day. Travel day. Days you spend traveling to or from your business destination count as business days as long as you are traveling in a reasonably direct route. Weekends and holidays. If a weekend or holiday falls in between two business days you can count those days as business days as long as it would not be practical to return home in between the two business days. If you live in California and have meetings in New York on Friday and Monday, it would not be practical to return to California for the weekend. Therefore, all four days count as business days. Saved-money-on-travel days. If you arrive at a destination a day early or leave a day late in order to save on your travel expenses you can count the extra day as a business expense as it served a legitimate business purpose of reducing your travel costs. Summary The rules governing business travel allow for some freedom to deduct vacation time as business expenses, but do not provide a blank check to write off an entire vacation simply because you spent a few minutes discussing business. You need to find the right balance between work and relaxation, properly document your work activities, and maintain records of all your expenses.

HOW TO GET FORGIVENESS OF YOUR PAYCHECK PROTECTION LOAN Congratulations to those of you who were able to secure a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program. Now that your loan has been secured, proper steps must be taken to get the loan forgiven. Loans made through the PPP program can be forgiven in-part or in-full – meaning you may be obligated to repay 0-100% of the principal balance plus accrued interest on the loan if certain conditions are not satisfied. MAXIMUM FORGIVENESS To be considered for maximum forgiveness, you must meet all of the following conditions: Use the loan in the first eight weeks from the day you received the funds in your bank account. At least 75% of the total loan amount must be used for eligible payroll expenses. No more than 25 percent of the loan amount can be used for other eligible expenses. The other eligible expenses are interest on a commercial mortgage incurred before February 15, 2020, as well as rent and utilities payments under agreements in effect also prior to February 15, 2020. PARTIAL FORGIVENESS The following items could reduce the forgiveness amount or be excluded from forgiveness consideration: Reducing the number of full-time employees during the eight-week period as compared to certain prior periods or decreasing the compensation for any employee making under $100,000 per year (annualized in 2019) by more than 25 percent of the employee’s salary for the most recent full quarter. However, loan forgiveness will not be reduced to the extent the changes to salaries or reductions in full-time employment made between February 15, 2020 and April 26, 2020 are reversed by June 30, 2020. Using funds for non-eligible expenses. Having unused funds after the eight-week period. Paying amounts to an independent contractor or sole proprietor (other than you as the borrower). Providing compensation to employees whose principal place of residence is outside the United States. You will be required to pay back the portion of the loan that is not forgiven. Payments will not be required on the remaining portion of the loan until after six months from the day the loan was first disbursed to you. It is important to note that during those six months interest will continue to accrue at one percent (1%) per year on the outstanding loan amount. You will have two years from disbursement of the loan to repay the remaining principal and interest on the loan in full in accordance with the terms of your Note. You may pay the loan off before two years without penalty. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW? Keep accurate records and documentation of how you spend the loan funds. You will need to submit documentation and certify the expenses you paid with the loan over that eight-week period. You should consult with your lender to find out what documentation they will be requesting to support your expenses. Do your best to pay out at least 75 percent of the loan for eligible payroll expenses over the eight-week period and use the remainder for other eligible expenses. Toward the end of the eight-week period, you will need to reach out to your lender and fill out a forgiveness application. If you have any additional questions on the Paycheck Protection Program please reach out to us.