In this episode of Tax Strategy with Maya Slivkov, also known as The Contractor Tax Blueprint, Maya breaks down the Forty Thousand Dollar Profit Rule for trade contractors and explains exactly when to switch from a sole proprietorship or single member LLC to an S Corporation.

Episode Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Episode 4
00:35 The self employment tax hit for sole proprietors
01:15 How the S Corp split works: salary versus distribution
01:45 The Forty Thousand Dollar Profit Rule break even math
02:30 The two big S Corp mistakes: zero salary versus one hundred percent salary
03:00 The reasonable compensation sweet spot
03:20 Download the S Corp Calculator and wrap up

Key Takeaways:
1. Every dollar of sole proprietorship net profit gets hit with 15.3% self employment tax.
2. An S Corporation divides profit into W2 salary and shareholder distributions. You only pay payroll tax on salary.
3. Below $40,000 net profit, S Corp payroll and Form 1120 S accounting fees eat your tax savings.
4. Setting salary to $0 is the number one IRS audit magnet. Target 40% to 50% for trade contractors.
5. Paid subscribers get the companion Excel S Corp Salary and Tax Savings Calculator.

Connect with Maya Slivkov:
Website: thebookkeepingcomp.org
Vancouver, WA

Welcome to Episode 0 of Tax Strategy with Maya Slivkov.

Maya shares who she is, what she stands for, and why she created this podcast for trade contractors, builders, truckers, and business owners.

Maya is a tax strategist and founder of The Bookkeeping Company in Vancouver, Washington. As a Christian, wife, and mom of four kids, she views money through the lens of stewardship. She breaks down the difference between backward looking tax historians and forward planning tax architects, giving you a preview of practical strategies to legally protect revenue, stop overpaying taxes, and build generational wealth.

Episode Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to the very first episode
00:30 Who I am: faith, family, and stewardship
01:15 Who I help: trade contractors and blue collar owners
01:50 The big problem: tax historians versus tax architects
02:25 Why I created this show and what we will cover
02:50 Wrapping up and how to follow the show

What You Will Learn:
1. Proactive tax strategy to legally keep more revenue.
2. When an S Corp makes sense and avoiding salary traps.
3. Practical ways to hire kids, write off vehicles, and plan equipment purchases.
4. Clean financial systems so you never fear an IRS audit.

Connect with Maya Slivkov:
Website: thebookkeepingcomp.org
Vancouver, WA

In this episode of Tax Strategy with Maya Slivkov, Maya breaks down the recent buzz on job sites: can trade contractors really run off road red dyed diesel in highway work trucks right now without penalty?

Maya explains the reality behind IRS notice IR 2026 125, the temporary relief window through December 31, 2026, and the three massive risks that could cost your business thousands in state fines and disallowed tax deductions.

Episode Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and the job site rumor about dyed diesel
00:45 What the IRS actually said in notice IR 2026 125
01:35 Trap 1: The IRS is not the state patrol
02:40 Trap 2: Income tax deduction rules under Section 162
03:35 Trap 3: Red dye does not vanish in January
04:20 Action steps for trade contractors
05:10 Wrapping up and year end planning

Key Takeaways:
1. Federal excise tax relief does not override Washington, Oregon, or other state fuel enforcement laws.
2. The paperwork break only applies to excise taxes. You still need clean receipts to deduct fuel on your Schedule C or S Corporation tax return.
3. Red dye stains fuel systems for months. Without dated receipts, you cannot prove when fuel was purchased.
4. If you use clear diesel in off road equipment, claim legitimate fuel tax credits on Form 4136 instead.

Connect with Maya Slivkov and The Bookkeeping Company:
Website: thebookkeepingcomp.org
Vancouver, WA

Welcome to Episode 2 of Tax Strategy with Maya Slivkov.

If you are a general contractor, a framer, an electrician, or a plumber, there is one piece of equipment you rely on every single day: your work truck. And when upgrading, someone at the supply house or on social media tells you to buy an eighty thousand dollar truck because it is a one hundred percent writeoff. Then tax time arrives, and your preparer delivers the bad news: your writeoff is capped at twelve thousand dollars.

In this episode, we break down the truck tax trap, the critical six thousand pound weight rating rule, and the three legal methods the IRS gives you to write off your vehicle.

What You Will Learn in This Episode

* The Core Rule: Why purchase price does not equal your tax deduction, and the three factors the IRS actually audits.

* The 6,000 Pound Weight Rule: How heavy duty trucks like an F250, Silverado 2500, or Ram 2500 legally escape passenger luxury automobile caps under Internal Revenue Code Section 280F.

* The Three Deduction Methods Compared: Standard mileage versus actual operating expenses versus Section 179 plus 40 percent bonus depreciation.

* The Audit Killer: Why missing contemporaneous mileage logs mean zero deduction in tax court, even if your truck is wrapped with your company logo.

* Automatic Mileage Tracking: The exact apps to run in the background so you never lose a deduction.

* Reconstructing Past Logs: How to build an audit ready mileage log using your job calendar, Google Maps timeline, and client invoices.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 Introduction: The $80K truck trap at the dealership

00:55 The Core Rule: Purchase price does not equal deduction

01:30 The 6,000 Pound Weight Rule: Escaping luxury caps

02:20 Three Methods Compared: Standard mileage vs actual expenses vs Section 179

03:35 The Audit Killer: Why missing mileage logs mean zero deduction

04:40 Reconstructing your log and summary

04:55 Outro and Next Episode Preview: S Corp forty thousand dollar profit rule

Resources and Links

Read the full article on Substack:

https://mayaslivkov.substack.com/p/the-truck-tax-trap-why-your-80k-truck

Schedule your proactive tax strategy consultation with The Bookkeeping Company:

https://thebookkeepingcomp.org

About Maya Slivkov

Maya Slivkov is a Certified Tax Strategist and QuickBooks Elite ProAdvisor based in Vancouver, Washington. She is the founder of The Bookkeeping Company and a mother of four. She specializes in proactive tax planning, entity structuring, and cash flow stewardship for trade contractors across the Pacific Northwest.