Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice - The Legal Tax Moves That Help Rich People Get Richer | Mark J. Kohler

Episode Date: July 10, 2026

Mark J. Kohler joins Ryan Alford on Right About Now to talk about how entrepreneurs, side hustlers, and small business owners can think differently about taxes and wealth. As a tax attorney, CPA, author, and educator, Mark explains why the tax code is not just something to fear once a year, but a tool business owners can learn to use legally and strategically. Ryan and Mark cover the difference between earning more money and keeping more money, including how side hustles, rental properties, 1099 income, and business expenses can create real advantages when handled correctly. Mark also shares why business owners need to stop fully delegating their tax strategy and instead become the CEO of their own tax team. The episode also dives into family payroll, family board meetings, Roth IRAs, self-directed IRAs, crypto, and how small business owners can involve their families while building wealth. It is a practical, high-energy conversation about taking ownership of your money, understanding the rules, and using the same strategies wealthy people study every year. Topics Covered Why small business owners overpay in taxes How the tax code motivates wealth-building behavior Side hustles as a gateway to tax strategy Why business owners need better bookkeeping What your accountant may not be telling you Family payroll and paying your kids through the business Roth IRAs, crypto, and self-directed retirement accounts How to build a tax team instead of outsourcing everything Ryan Alford and Mark J. Kohler on ownership, discipline, and wealth Links Right About Now / Ryan Alford https://www.ryanisright.com/ https://www.ryanalford.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/ Mark J. Kohler https://markjkohler.com/ https://www.instagram.com/markjkohler/ https://www.youtube.com/@markjkohler https://mainstreetbusinesspodcast.com/ https://directedira.com/ Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Stop Blaming the Rich & Own Your Destiny 00:32 – Introduction: Welcome to Right About Now with Ryan Alford 00:53 – Introducing Main Street Tax Attorney Mark J. Kohler 01:31 – Mark's Journey from Lemonade Stands to the 1% 02:31 – Why Taxes Are Law (And Why the "Big Dogs" Afford It) 03:29 – The Side Hustle Revolution & Building Wealth 04:42 – The 1099 Golden Ticket: Write-Offs You're Missing 05:32 – Demystifying Tax Brackets & Effective Tax Rates 06:09 – Real Estate & Depreciation Strategies (The Trump Tax Anomaly) 07:29 – Tax Strategies the Rich Geek Out On (Roth IRAs & HSAs) 08:50 – Understanding the True Purpose of the Tax Code 09:58 – Oil & Gas Tax Credits Explained 11:17 – The #1 Thing Small Business Owners Must Stop Doing 12:35 – Being the CEO of Your Own Tax Team 13:05 – Treat Your Side Hustle Like a Real Business 14:07 – Tracking Expenses: Stop Delegating, Start Documenting 14:51 – Integrating Family: How to Form a Family Board & Family Office 16:17 – Putting Your Kids on the Payroll Tax-Free 18:44 – Why Your Current Accountant Might Fight New Tax Strategies 20:57 – Mark’s Take on the Crypto Bus & XRP 21:38 – The Difference Between a Financial Advisor and an Investment Advisor 23:32 – What Fuels Success & The Ultimate Goal of the American Dream 25:05 – Where to Find Mark J. Kohler's Resources & Network 26:17 – Closing Thoughts: Information Doesn't Change Lives, Execution Does

This is hard hitting. People that don't make a lot of money don't want to look in the mirror and own that, whether it's lack of determination, laziness, or just knowledge. They'd rather blame or put this wealthy person in a box and say, oh, they're unethical and bad. Rather than look in the mirror and go, you know what, I could learn a few things. Maybe I'm not going to watch TV every night for three hours, and I'm going to learn how to digitally market online.

This weekend, I'm going to drive Uber for seven to eight hours and take that money and go buy a rental property next year. Can we get off our ass and do something rather than blame the rich for being determined? You don't win by following the playbook. You win by rewriting it. 700 episodes deep with the people who actually built something real. No theory, no fluff, no shortcuts. This is Right About Now with Ryan Alford.

What's up guys? Welcome to Write About Now. We're always talking about how to get right and what's working now. I can tell you about what the future is. I can tell you about the past is, but we want to tell you how to get ahead now. We're going deep today in business. We're dealing with a one percenter. I'm telling you, we got both a rare breed and we got the main street coming right to you.

It is Mark J. Kohler. He is a tax attorney. He is the main street tax attorney. And he's going to tell us today how to get it all right. You've got to put more money in your pocket, baby. That's what we're here to do. What's up, Mark? Hey, thanks for having me, Ryan.

This is awesome. And love that your focus is on this. So important. We want to give actionable advice ultimately. I have a lot of people on, and our focus is how to get ahead in all things. Small business is the fabric of the U.S. We can talk to high end, we can talk to low. That is what drives America, is small business.

How the hell does you get to 1% lawyer and a tax guy all I want? I was always an entrepreneur. I was the kid with the lemonade stand. You had a small business in high school and hiring my brother's friends and screwing things up. I mean, it was Tom Sawyer, painting white fences, whatever it was. But I just loved entrepreneurship. and when I went on to school, I went into business. And then I thought, hey, this accounting thing, no offense to anyone out there,

marketing class, finance is tough, sure, but I don't want to work for Wall Street. I'm going to go accounting because I can stand out there. If I can just get a C in accounting, hire all the other A accountants. Sure enough, I stood out in the accounting group as the party planner. It was super fun. And then I had this teacher who was a lawyer and an accountant. And I was like, holy crap, this guy can take over the world. So you had all the benefits of understanding the numbers sitting at the table and business.

And then I could freaking file a lawsuit, fight the IRS, do whatever. I want to be that guy. So I went on a law school, kept up out of 100 lawyers, one of them has any tax background. And I freaking said, I'm going to Main Street, screw Wall Street, and here I am. You know how many times I've asked the question of my accountant? You'd have to consult your lawyer on that. I like to push the limit. I can admit it.

It doesn't take long to figure that out about me. But I want to do it legally. I want to get all I get out of it. The moment you said that, I have heard that a thousand times. Consult your lawyer. Taxes are law. It's tax law. and understanding it.

And only the big dogs or big companies have been able to afford taxlers. So I've worked really hard over the last 25 years building a model based on volume and a boutique where we can help clients around the country and been doing that. But the important thing here is the number one cost in our lives are taxes. And people don't want to talk about it. It's too boring. It's too complex. What the hell do I do?

Well, we're going to freaking demystify that. That's my whole career is to say it's not that hard. You're the captain in your ship. Quit looking for an accountant to do it all for you. You can freaking run the ship here. hire the first mate and you can control your destiny. What's the most common thing you deal with, Mark, working with Main Street, working with small businesses, what are some of those key things that you're always tackling or working

with clients on? Since COVID, we've had the great formation. We're pushing up to almost 45% of working Americans have a side hustle. And that's a small business. That's a gateway drug. It's not a burden. We should look at us an opportunity to use those funds to get out of debt, build wealth, create assets and one in five Americans own a rental property in some form or fashion. If I've got a rental

property in a little small business, people, you're not quitting your day job. Let's just tap into that. And so a common, common theme and what we do every day is meet with that community, those people that are the backbone of this country that are starving for simple answers to get their kids on payroll, save some taxes right off their auto. And I love that bread and butter stuff. There's no mystery. It's not like there's this secret thing like, Mark, how do I save tax? It's just doing the basics. knowing it, understanding it, owning it, and there's no sexy secret there except that you really can build wealth that you maybe never imagined with just those simple base hits. It's not about getting rich quick. It's not getting rich slow. I want to get rich slow. Adding them on and saving the most

with that extra time. If you're going to moonlight over and above the daytime job, it's keeping as much of that as possible, correct? Oh yeah. And there's nothing wrong with that W2 day job, work corporate America. That's cool. It's great. Let's go do your taxes. Bend over. I can't do You're screwed. But if you've got that small business, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho. Now that little 1099 some of you were getting, that's a golden ticket. Now I'm riding off home office, auto, dining, computers, electronics, your cell phone, family members, and funding a Roth IRA.

You can set up your own damn 401k. Now we're going to take all that money and start deploying it, and we're going to be fissioned. We're going to be lean and mean. You can pay 30% less in taxes on that money than your day job. Your day job, you're screwed. Let's go get this other money that's a lot cheaper to get. Everybody wants to talk about making money.

Why don't we talk about saving money? It's easier to save money than make money. Yeah, that's true. It's not always easy to make it.