Writing Off Your Life: Tax Strategies of the Super Ninjas with Barbara Schreihans: An EOFire Classic from 2023

What It Covers

Tax strategist Barbara Schreihans of Your Tax Coach outlines specific IRS-legal strategies that allow business owners to deduct personal expenses, reduce self-employment tax liability, build generational wealth through family payroll structures, and maximize home office and vehicle deductions by connecting everyday spending to documented business activity.

Key Questions Answered

• •Business Structure & Self-Employment Tax: Operating as a sole LLC means paying federal tax, state tax, plus 15.3% self-employment tax simultaneously — the highest possible tax burden. Restructuring the business entity (such as electing S-Corp status) can eliminate or reduce that 15.3% layer, potentially saving thousands annually depending on net profit levels.
• •Augusta Rule — 14-Day Tax-Free Rental: Business owners can rent their personal home to their own business for up to 14 days per year, and that rental income is completely tax-free personally. The business deducts the expense, and the owner receives the payment tax-free — a dual benefit that can extract hundreds of thousands from a business legally.
• •Paying Children Up to $13,950 Tax-Free: Business owners with children can place them on payroll and pay each child up to $12,950–$13,950 annually, completely tax-free. Once on payroll, children qualify for a Roth IRA. Contributing the annual Roth maximum for five years during childhood can compound to over $2,000,000 by retirement age.
• •Document Processes from Day One: Writing down every operational task and recording Loom videos of all workflows — even before hiring — creates a training library that scales. When growing from one to 27 employees, this system eliminates retraining from scratch after turnover and continuously surfaces process gaps and customer service improvements.
• •Know Your Numbers Before Strategizing: Tax strategy is only executable when profit, expenses, and income are tracked accurately and consistently. Without clean financial data, no tax professional can identify deduction opportunities or restructuring options. Tracking numbers is the prerequisite step that unlocks every other tax-saving strategy discussed.