Financial Planning: Lettuce Talk Money

Most solopreneurs are making three expensive tax mistakes. A CPA panel breaks them down and tells you exactly what to fix this week. Ryan Page (Backpocket CPA), Diane Kennedy (U.S. Tax Aid, 30-year tax strategist and bestselling author), and Elizabeth Gore (Hello Alice, 1.5 million entrepreneurs served) join Lettuce's Kevin Forsyth for a financial planning panel from the Lettuce Solo Summit. What the S-corp threshold actually means. Tax savings start around $60K of net income. But the bigger benefit no one talks about: banks treat S-corps as real businesses. Sole proprietors look like a hobby. S-corps can build business credit lines 10x the size of personal ones. The 1/3 rule for S-corp salary. At $60K profit, pay yourself $20K. Under $20K in total profit, don't put yourself on payroll yet. The IRS cares about reasonableness, and even a small salary beats zero if an audit happens. Bookkeeping is not a tax-time task. If you're running your business off your bank balance, you're already behind. Clean books plus a two-month cash flow forecast give you the runway to make strategic decisions before year end. Three tax mistakes that cost solopreneurs real money. First: skipping your required annual corporate meeting and the deductible trip you could use to do it. Second: not reimbursing yourself at fair market value for personal assets you contributed to the business. Third: not auditing your personal spending for legitimate business deductions. Retirement without an employer match. SEP IRA contributions can be made up to your filing deadline. A Solo 401K must be opened before December 31. High-earning S-corp owners can contribute as both employee and employer, up to $70K total, but contributions are based on your salary, not your distributions. Lettuce handles S-corp, payroll, and bookkeeping so you're always working from clean numbers. Visit https://lettuce.co to set up your Solo HQ. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Intro and Lettuce S-corp offer 2:08 - Panel kicks off: Ryan, Diane, Elizabeth 4:20 - When to elect S-corp: the $60K threshold 5:00 - Why banks see S-corps differently than sole proprietors 6:57 - Pay yourself first, especially women 7:27 - Life plan before business plan 11:53 - S-corp salary: the 1/3 rule 13:38 - Under $20K profit, don't sweat payroll 14:49 - Bookkeeping as a strategic tool, not a tax chore 15:12 - Stop running your business off your bank balance 16:27 - Timely books give your tax strategist something to work with 21:37 - Track margins by offer, not just total revenue 22:12 - The margin math: $5K offer vs. $2.5K offer 24:20 - The three most expensive solo tax mistakes 24:47 - Annual corporate meeting: required, and a write-off 25:57 - Reimburse yourself for personal assets put into the business 26:51 - Audit your personal spending for business deductions 29:54 - The Augusta Rule and where TikTok gets it wrong 35:03 - SEP IRA vs. Solo 401K: what solos need to know 37:24 - Start retirement now, even at $100 a month 40:18 - High-earning S-corp owners can contribute up to $70K combined 43:50 - Three action items to improve your finances this week CONNECT WITH US: Website: https://lettuce.co Instagram: @lettucehq LinkedIn:   / lettuceco   #SolopreneurTaxes #SCorporation #SolopreneurFinance #LettuceCo #SoloSummit #TaxStrategyForFreelancers #RetirementPlanningForSolos #SEPIRAvs401K #SolopreneurBookkeeping #CashFlowForecast #TaxDeductionsForSolos #IndependentContractorTaxes #SolopreneurWealth #BusinessTaxMistakes #SolopreneurRetirement