Cohen CPA Strategies LLC

09/10/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀?

If your employees are using AI to do company tasks, then you want to consider these things when regulating its use:
• Which AI tools you are okay with them using and for which processes those tools should be used
• How to handle entering sensitive company or client information into AI tools (especially ones that train a model or make information public)
• Verifying AI-generated information before it’s used or shared
• Who will handle AI regulation and questions
• Which types of work still require a human review before anything goes to a client or customer

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵? 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸.

09/09/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗦 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗜 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆?

Yes, your S corp can reimburse you through an Accountable Plan, which is a formal arrangement for handling those reimbursements.

For example, say you paid $6,000 in qualifying business expenses personally. Without an Accountable Plan, your S corp gets no write-off for those expenses.

With an Accountable Plan:
• Your S corp claims the $6,000 deduction
• Your K-1 taxable income is reduced by $6,000
• The $6,000 reimbursement isn’t included in your W-2 wages
• The reimbursement goes back into your personal account tax-free

If business expenses keep coming out of your personal account, it could be time to make sure your S corp is reimbursing you the right way.

09/09/2026

AI can give you financial advice, but new Stanford research found that the quality of that advice depends on how you ask for it.

It's okay to ask ChatGPT your tax questions, but you’re better off talking to a tax professional (something even it recommends) before executing any advice you find on there. Because even if it gives you an answer, you might not be asking the right question.

But we do.

A Stanford GSB study finds LLMs nudge users toward smart savings and investing habits – but the guidance skews weaker for women and less financially literate prompters.

09/07/2026

𝗗𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦?

Third-party payment apps report your gross transfers to the IRS.

Say you originally bought a couch for $1,200 and later sold it through Cash App for $400.

If you keep the record showing what you originally paid, you can prove that $400 transfer wasn’t a $400 gain. You sold the couch at a loss.

Don't rely only on PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, or whichever payment platform you're using to track things for you.

Keep the records that show what those payments actually represent.

09/05/2026

What Are the Disadvantages to Sole Proprietorship for Growing DC Metro Business Owners?

Discover the key disadvantages to sole proprietorship once profit hits $40k. Learn how self-employment tax eats into your revenue and when to switch.

09/04/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

Getting paid via Venmo or PayPal doesn't automatically make your side income a business. The IRS looks at how you operate and whether your primary goal is making a profit.

If you keep separate books, set aside regular work hours, and take on ongoing gigs like freelancing or tutoring, you're operating as a business.

If you're just making money here and there from something you do for fun, like streaming or selling a few crafts, that's usually hobby income. You aren't really trying to make a living off it.

This distinction completely changes your tax setup. Business owners report their earnings on Schedule C and can deduct ordinary expenses to lower what they owe. If your side income is more of a hobby, you report the earnings on Schedule 1 as other income, but you can't write off any expenses against it.

09/03/2026

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 “𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗺𝗮𝘅𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴” 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁?

It’s the social media term for getting more value from your money, like cutting expenses or even putting rewards points to use.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸?

09/02/2026

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸?

If you’re operating as a sole proprietor, there’s no legal separation between you and your business.

So if your business can’t pay a creditor or gets hit with a lawsuit, your personal savings, home, or vehicles could be exposed too.

As your business grows, make sure the way you operate reflects that growth.

That may mean forming an LLC or corporation, then moving your business banking, contracts, insurance policies, vendor accounts, and payment processors into the company’s legal name.

The goal is to create a clearer line between what belongs to you personally and what belongs to the business.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.

08/31/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻?

Draw cash strategically across three accounts to keep your tax bill as low as possible.
• Pull just enough from your Traditional IRA or 401(k) to fill up the lowest tax brackets (10% or 12%).
• Cover remaining living expenses with taxable savings or brokerage cash so you don't push yourself into a higher bracket.
• Use tax-free Roth IRA dollars for big one-off expenses with zero tax impact.

Balancing your withdrawals this way keeps your overall tax rate low and can even unlock 0% capital gains rates.

08/28/2026

𝗔𝗺 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜?

You could be. Time to fix that.

(We already make sure all privacy settings are enabled for any AI tools we use here.)

Worried about your personal AI chats being exposed? Here's how to tighten your privacy across several major chatbots.