Hidden Money Podcast

For every job Goodwill posts, 54 people apply. Now, with the Refresh app, every one of them leaves with job leads, benefits and local resources, and that connection stays in place long after a program or a job ends.We had the privilege of sitting down with Logan Sugarman (Founder and CEO of Refresh), and two Goodwill leaders, Michelle Roberts (President & CEO, Marion Goodwill) and Adrian Gessen (SVP Organizational Development, Goodwill Northeast Texas), who are putting the Refresh app in the hands of the people they serve. What We Cover in the EpisodeThe app sprawl problem. The average corporation runs 200 to 300 apps, tools and channels, and typical HR tools see 10 to 15 percent usage. Refresh sits above all of it and delivers the right resource to the right person.Tearing down Goodwill's digital wall. With 54 applicants for every opening, most people used to hear "we'll call you." Now everyone who applies gets the Refresh app, and one IT applicant called within 48 hours to say thank you after landing a job in Dallas.A housing program nobody knew existed. The Goodwill team used Refresh to find a brand-new rent-assistance program that kept a man over 55 from homelessness.No more benefits cliff. Leaving a program or a job used to cut people off. With Refresh, the relationship, the resources and the community stay.Scale that's already real. More than 1.6 million licenses are distributed, roughly two new Goodwill territories come on every month, and Catholic Charities, YMCAs and food banks are asking to join.Get in TouchReach out to us to hear more about the opportunity to partner with Refresh and Goodwill: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/?utm_source=revo-taxpayer&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=s4e29-tax-play-employee-benefits-app&utm_content=show-notes.Interested in Refresh for your organization? Book a demo at https://www.refreshplatform.com. Know a charity that could benefit? Refresh has more licenses coming next year.Connect With UsWebsite: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/revotaxpayer/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revotaxpayer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revo-taxpayer-advocacyYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HiddenMoneyPodcastChapters[00:00] Introduction: meet the team behind Refresh and Goodwill's rollout[00:58] Logan Sugarman: 200 to 300 apps and 10 to 15 percent usage[03:33] What Refresh actually does: sits above it all and delivers it[04:45] The Google Home analogy: "15 apps to walk into my house"[06:40] How the HR role got reduced to admin[08:37] The 401(k) match our own team didn't know about[09:34] Michelle Roberts: "If I could have all of these things in one place"[11:19] Goodwill is so much more than a donation drop-off[12:41] Adrian Gessen: the digital wall and 54 applicants for every job[14:15] The IT applicant who called within 48 hours to say thanks[14:43] A warm off-boarding, and no more benefits cliff[16:11] Learning from Catholic Charities, the YMCA and the Salvation Army[18:03] Resource guides that were outdated the day they were published[19:42] One question, a ladder of resources[21:02] Mimetic drive, repurposed for good[23:06] "I would like to thank me": gratitude and community in the app[24:36] Covered vs. uncovered employees, and who gets left out[27:53] A helper bot, not a DOS prompt[29:16] The church rent program nobody knew existed[31:34] Why one case manager, or one book, can't keep up[32:33] Case managers, financial coaches and legal advice on demand[32:56] 1.6 million licenses and a queue forming[35:04] Armed forces, first responders and the wider charitable space[37:28] How Refresh serves nonprofits and corporations alike[41:54] Where to learn more about Refresh[42:49] When people don't know help exists[45:57] The compounding effect: 14 questions, and data that serves back[47:43] Caseworker compassion fatigue, and what changes[49:39] The rollout: about two Goodwill territories a month[50:40] The 14 social determinants of wellbeing[52:01] Closing thoughts: "We are so much more than a store"Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Always consult a qualified tax professional for your situation.

On this week's episode: most people assume tax deductions come from spending money you don't want to spend, and never ask what the tax code has already built in for anyone willing to take on real risk.The math nobody walks you through:1. Every other investment keeps active and passive income in separate buckets — but a working interest in oil and gas gets treated as active, even when you're 100% passive. That's not a workaround. It's written directly into the tax code.2. Buy $100,000 of Apple stock and you get zero deduction, just a higher basis for later. Put that same $100,000 into oil and gas, and you deduct it this year, against your active income — a difference no other asset class offers.3. Intangible drilling costs can turn a $100,000 investment into a 90%+ first-year deduction, not a rough estimate but a calculated share of what actually goes into the well.4. Six out of ten retail oil and gas investments lose money. The fix isn't avoiding the asset class — it's buying leases that are already producing, which removes the industry's biggest failure point, the dry hole, almost entirely.Get in touch: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/?utm_source=revo-taxpayer&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=s4e28-oil-gas-tax-plan&utm_content=show-notes#contact-1Connect With Us• Website: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/revotaxpayer/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revotaxpayer/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revo-taxpayer-advocacy• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HiddenMoneyPodcastChapters[00:00] Introduction: oil and gas, and the tax code's best-kept secret[00:02] Why "don't let your tax tail wag the dog" is bad reasoning[00:03] Tax 101: active, passive, and portfolio income[00:08] The exception: how oil and gas becomes "active" even when you're passive[00:12] Real numbers: turning a $100K investment into a 90%+ deduction[00:16] The Apple stock test: why this deduction is unlike any other investment[00:17] The real risk: why most retail oil and gas investments lose money[00:19] De-risking with insurance and the year-two flip to limited partner[00:35] The strategy with zero dry-hole risk

On this week's episode: high earners often assume the more they make, the more they owe, and don't ask what the tax code already has built in for them.Four things hiding in plain sight:$50,000 into the right strategy can come back as a $250,000 deduction — a five-time return, backed by an independent valuation, not a guess.If you clear $500,000 a year and skip tax strategy, your biggest expense isn't your mortgage. It's the IRS, and withholding hides the number so well most people never add it up.That same $50,000 contribution saved $86,000 in federal tax in a single year. No property to manage, no material participation, no time required.Overpay your taxes by $36,000 instead of investing it, and in 20 or 30 years you're down $144,000. The real risk was never the strategy. It's doing nothing.Chapters[00:00] Introduction: high income, no time for tax strategy[00:01] The hamster wheel: why working harder doesn't fix a tax bill[00:05] The real cost of not planning: your biggest expense at $500K+[00:07] Why Q4 is the worst time to start (and the best time to act)[00:08] Strategy one: the zero-time-commitment charitable deduction[00:12] Real numbers: how $50K became an $86K tax save[00:17] The biggest risk is doing nothing[00:20] Buyer beware, and why "more likely than not" still isn't a guarantee[00:25] Next week's cliffhanger: a passive deal with cash flow and ROIGet in touch: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/?utm_source=revo-taxpayer&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=s4e27-if-you-have-high-income-but-no-time&utm_content=show-notes#contact-1Take our 5 minute tax assessment: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/?utm_source=revo-taxpayer&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=s4e27-if-you-have-high-income-but-no-timeutm_content=show-notes#taxassistant Connect with us:• Website: revotaxpayer.com• Facebook: @revotaxpayer• Instagram: @revotaxpayer• LinkedIn: @revo-taxpayer-advocacy• YouTube: @HiddenMoneyPodcast

On this week's episode: two people can have the exact same income and still land tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars apart at tax time — and the IRS will never tell you why.Four things we unpack this week:Two employees with identical stock option packages can land 31 points apart on their effective tax rate. One paid under 1%. The other paid over 32%. Same income, same year, same opportunity.Sell "non-covered" stock without documenting what you originally paid for it, and the IRS doesn't ask — it assumes your basis is zero and bills you as if the entire sale was pure profit.Fall behind on filing for a few years, and the IRS assumes you had zero deductions and a 100% profit margin on every dollar reported to them — even after 50 years of clean returns.An $80,000 vacation, taken past your tax-plan deadline, can quietly become a $600,000 line item once you count what the delay actually cost.Chapters[00:00] Introduction — Why two neighbors with the same income pay wildly different tax[00:01] The IRS default: guilty until you prove yourself innocent[00:04] Same income, same options, two Nvidia employees — one pays under 1%, one pays 32%[00:08] Why the IRS actually helped fund Mike and Kevin's own commercial property purchase[00:12] The $600,000 vacation — what it really costs to skip your tax plan[00:15] Covered vs. non-covered stock transactions — why the IRS assumes your basis is zero[00:17] The dementia case — five years of unfiled 1099s and the IRS's worst-case-by-default rule[00:20] Why the IRS "works for us," and what that means when you push back[00:23] Take control: don't let the IRS write your story for you[00:24] Revo is hiringGet in touch: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/?utm_source=revo-taxpayer&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=s4e26-the-irs-doesnt-care-about-fair&utm_content=show-notes#contact-1Connect with us:• Website: revotaxpayer.com• Facebook: @revotaxpayer• Instagram: @revotaxpayer• LinkedIn: @revo-taxpayer-advocacy• YouTube: @HiddenMoneyPodcast

On this week's episode: owners focus on their personal return and never ask what could be done inside the business itself. Four things we constantly see missed:1. Your spouse already approves every big decision you make. They can be on the company 401(k) too — one business, two maxed-out retirements.2. Twenty percent of your income, deductible, without spending a dollar. Most owners get a fraction of it and never find out why.3. A swimming pool that was 100% deductible and the home office rule that made it hold up.4. 76 cents a mile for driving you already do. Many people leave it on the table because they don't want an app on their phone.Get in touch: https://www.revotaxpayer.com/?utm_source=revo-taxpayer&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=s4e25-tax-planning-in-business&utm_content=show-notes#contact-1Chapters[00:00] Why business owners plan on the wrong return[04:20] Your spouse is an officer: doubling 401(k) contributions through the business[07:00] "Have you strategized your QBI deduction with your CPA?"[09:40] How QBI works: twenty percent, without spending a dollar[11:00] The wage limit, and why contractor pay doesn't count[12:00] The S corp advice that reversed in 2017[15:50] The home office deduction without the red flag form[17:50] What a red flag actually is[21:50] The pool builder whose backyard was a showroom[26:00] Business mileage, the new rate, and Big Brother[30:40] Be proactive — tell us before, not afterConnect with us:• Website: revotaxpayer.com• Facebook: @revotaxpayer• Instagram: @revotaxpayer• LinkedIn: @revo-taxpayer-advocacy• YouTube: @HiddenMoneyPodcast