The Tax and Legal Playbook: Game-Changing Solutions for Your Small Business Questions

by Mark J. Kohler

Attorney and CPA Mark Kohler targets the leading tax and business issues among small business owners, across all stages of business, and delivers a practical guide to the fundamental tax and legal conflicts faced by new and established entrepreneurs. Coached by Kohler, business owners are armed to seek out the right professionals relevant to their concerns, confidently ask the right questions, and ultimately, save time, money, and in many cases, potential heartache. Approaching each chapter the same way he approaches a client consult, Kohler delivers topic- or question-specific solutions illustrating each critical business matter with entertaining, real-world examples to educate flustered business owners, who are then presented with varied, clearly defined solutions and next steps for moving forward. Each "consultation" offers tools such as assessment quizzes, valuable details to know, possible pitfalls and deceptions, what strategies should always be practiced, and what new strategies or tactics are worth considering.

Wowing readers with the clear-cut truths, thoughtful advice, and outside-of-the-box thinking shared in his many Entrepreneur.com contributions, speaking events, and previous books--What Your CPA Isn't Telling You and The Business Owner's Guide to Financial Freedom--Kohler presents a simplified look at the complex FAQs within the areas of legal and tax planning for business.

Genres: Business, Finance, Accounting, Personal Finance, Law, Nonfiction, Money

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Ron]

Well laid out and thorough

The Tax and Legal Playbook is well laid out, and thorough. I wouldn't recommend skipping any chapters even if you think you have a firm grasp on each chapter's content.

I enjoyed Mark's style of introducing concepts and expanding on them in detail as the book progresses. Whether you're just starting out in a business venture, or have several years under your belt, you can pick this book up and find several strategies that can help you.

[Tim Zornes]

Some of the information is a bit dated now, but overall a very helpful and insightful book regarding business tax strategies.

[Mike]

If you are a small business owner and want a great resource that is easy to consume that provides good insight on tax and legally issues, pick this book up. It's the best treatment I have seen to far on what, when, and why on which entity type to utilize.

[Felicia]

Disclosure: This book was a Goodreads giveaway.

It is a fantastic resourse for entrepreneurs and non-entreprenuers alike. It provides valuable advise on tax planning and inorporating a business.

[Joseph]

Really informative; recommended for startups

[Phillip]

Highly recommend for anyone who is a small business owner.

[Samuel Adler]

I think it is a good overview of issues to be aware of and has some great ideas. However, the author seems to be an advocate of over complicating things for the sake of feeling sophisticated. For example, he advocates 'self directing' your retirement funds and investing in real estate. Seems like a silly idea, seeing as most real estate ventures generate tax losses, which would be less than worthless in a tax deferred arrangement. Smells, but does not reek, of a get rich quick type of book. I would still recommend anyone interested in personal financial and estate planning read through this book, but with a grain of salt.

[Christopher]

The chapter on travel write-offs is five stars, so are some of the chapters on other business write-offs.

I love Mark Kohler on YouTube, and he gets geeky about taxes, but some of the content gets dull and less useful for average folks who are trying to run a business or save on taxes. If the money permits, it’s probably best to hire a top-notch and trusted accountant or bookkeeper to handle the finer details, so you can focus on what you do best (i.e., creating products or services that actually matter to people, and that they’re willing to pay for).

The book did sell me on Quickbooks though; will try to implement it in my business going forward.

[J Roberts]

Pretty good read. Informative, good tips and real life examples. While I knew about almost everything he talked about, I picked up a trick or two I can use. The only issue I had was that the basis rules for S Corps weren't fleshed out as much as they should have been... that can lead to a loss of deductions. I would recommend someone start with the LLC then move over to the S Corp once they're past their initial start up expenses.

[Garland Trice]

I didn't know much about where to start around starting a biz, sound tax strategies, etc. After reading this, I'm no pro, but I can at least ask decent questions when I start making moves on the topics covered in this book. I'm sure I'll be referring back to it in the future as my career progresses towards retirement and as I begin to form my own biz. 5 stars simply because I learned a ton, the format kept things interesting, and each topic was covered with just the right amount of depth.

[Shawn]

A very well-written and easy-to-understand book for anyone new to small business setup, taxes, retirement accounts, asset protection, etc.

The chapters are well labeled, so you can easily see and skip sections that do not apply to your situation. The book is also a good reference book to have in your library.

The author also has a YouTube channel and I believe he is both a CPA and a lawyer (or he works so closely with a CPA he has that knowledge).

[James Greening]

By day, I play a tax accountant with almost 200 clients, and this book taught me something new! So I can only recommend it with 5 stars, as there is a lot here that will get you thinking on how you can grow your business from a small operation to a lasting legacy! Great stuff!

[Joseph]

Good handbook. Points our the basics without getting too detailed. Helpful for teaching you what questions to ask your accountant (or what to watch out for in your tax software).

[James Haddock]

Well written easy to understand

This is a well written book and easy to understand through all the legalese. Good starting place for planning, and what questions to ask your CPA.

[Cheri]

Great coverage of basic small business tax questions

[Darren Sapp]

Perfect for anyone starting a business.

[Michael]

Excellent and clear. The only thing I disagree with is the author's insistence on buying rental property, but that's a small objection when the whole book is so good.

[Kelley Linton]

A must read for any small business owner or entrepreneur. Tax strategies to help a business owner keep their money.

[Vivek Gupta]

Learned many new things from the book. Worth reading again after few years

[Chris Ludlow]

Comprehensive, easy to understand, SUPER informative.

[Kay’s Book Nook]

Great simple book for small businesses. Super informational yet easy to understand although at times I found it repetitive.

[Lauren Pride]

This book was so insightful on ways to maneuver taxes and speak with my CPA. I found it very helpful!

[Eugene Balleta]

Gtrear book...

[Harry Harman]

Everyone loves to give free advice over a nice dinner. Don’t underestimate the power of this resource.

They don’t step over the dollar to pick up the nickel.