CO-HOST | Make Money by Understanding Taxes, Refunds, and Smart Financial Decisions

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What's going on everybody? Welcome back to the Travis Makes Money podcast where it's a mission to help you make more money today on the show

My producer Eric is in studio. What's up, man, bro? I'm in pain

taxes just

Mess me up this year brother. Did they actually yeah, I mean not I'm sorry to hear that. I mean not that bad

You should get a CPA just not getting just not getting a refund feels like painful

Here's the thing when when the more money you start making it starts making a lot of sense to have an actual

CPA look at your look at your taxes. They are worth their waiting goal

Hey, I love that I'm friends with the host of Travis Makes Money

He's never told me this before. He's literally never advised me to do this ever in my life

And I'm suffering every day because Travis holds all of his gems for you the listener and not me his closest of friends makes no sense

We've talked about this before. Yeah, he's actually mentioned this before. He's big on CBAs

Well, yeah, the thing it like if you only have W2 income then it may not make sense

But the more you start you know doing side hustles and you have some contractor income and you have your own

Business set up regardless of how much money that business makes or how much you don't make

It's good to have a CPA because then they can help you find all of the things that you can write off and bring your tax below

Last year when I filed I had like 10

1099 forms I had to upload yeah, and I was like

This last year I didn't use used like

Turbo's not a block or something. Turbo tax turbo tax. Yeah, it's time to do the CPA bro

And you know what turbo tax does they spend a lot of money so the government can't make it easier to pay your taxes

Did you know that no really?

Oh, that's exciting so you know why okay, so the government knows how much you owe

Okay, right theoretically

Yeah, theoretically the government knows what they're doing so

Turbo tax

pays like millions of dollars to lobby the government the company is a long well documented history of lobbying the government to keep tax filing

privatized and to block an easy free government run system

So for years into into it who owned Turbo tax led the free file alliance a deal where the private companies offered limited free filing to some tax payers

And that's the only reason I did this it was in exchange the IRS agreed not to build its own easy free filing system

Into it has spent millions on federal lobbying to oppose a direct free irse file system

Arguing the government shouldn't be both tax collector and prepare at the same time into it benefits from federal tax breaks

Like the research and experimentation tax credit which reduce the corporate income tax it pays to the government

So it has a financial relationship with the federal government through lobbying tax treatment and policy details

So in 2022 just to add on this all 50 states reach a settlement with into it over misleading free as that push low income tax payers into paid products

When they actually qualified for true free filing options

So yeah, so ideally the government would send you your like bill at the end of the year and say you owe this right

But the reason it's complicated is because Turbo tax and other groups like them were strict that from happening

I mean honestly a good move

It doesn't make sense for the person collecting your taxes to be the one who's also preparing it

How much did Turbo tax pay to say that?

I

Can't say

But yeah, the fact that the fact that they're like pushing people who could freely

File their taxes easily. Yeah, and they're manipulating them to pay for free

Yeah, yeah, there's like the upside of capitalism contrast with the downside. Yeah, all in one story

Yeah, but we love well. I know you love three things big corporations

Late siege capitalism and Donald Trump

Those are the three things you love they fire you up right talk about them all the time. Yeah, you know me

Okay, well, here's some good news for tax season. Okay, okay, you ready for this? Yep, and I've never showed this to the before

CNBC reports

Friday, April 17th, 2026 at

256 p.m. Eastern time that average tax refund

In the United States is 11.2% higher

latest iris filing data shows

Does it go into why it sure does Travis? Okay, the average tax refund is 11.2% higher the season as of April 10th

The average refund amount for individual filers was $3,397 up from

355 about one year ago the iris reported on Friday the iris data reflects about

114 million individual returns received out of about 164 million expected through tax day

next week's filing update is expected to include data through the April 15th deadline

President Donald Trump's 2025 legislation rebranded to the working families tax cuts

Was a key talking point for Republicans on tax day was going to say so our Republicans

But we're going to keep this about the money with the November midterm elections approaching in Republicans defending slim

Majorities in Congress many GOP lawmakers have highlighted Trump's tax breaks and higher average refunds

Meanwhile affordability has been top of mind for many Americans amid rising cost of gas electricity food and other living expenses

Any thoughts so far? No, no

That's a little surprising to me that they're so so who who wrote this article, do you know does it say?

CMBC

so

you would assume that if

They if there were other reasons for this that they would probably include it in the article right they don't go into anything besides

It no it's Trump's big beautiful bill

Trump's big beautiful bill

That was good. That was good. So he so so was in Vegas

Yesterday. Yeah, it was yesterday. He talked about this

We had a one of a friend of ours works for the city of Vegas

And she was working on this big project for like months on end and then it got

Everything got derailed because it was just like they can't give them any details about

Like timing and you know, he's gonna come in but it basically just

slows everything to a halt when the president comes to town

So yeah, he was he was in Vegas yesterday talking about this. Yeah, you sure was. Let's listen. We had to say

We got a lot of great people here. Thank you very much. And thank you for that. This is actually trying not to add a great

I'm not doing an impression. Yeah, this is actually him

You got a lot of people

We got a lot of great people here. Thank you very much. And thank you for allowing me to win this

state by so much it was

Gotta throw that in there is the important issue with the toughest

But it was competition nevertheless and we appreciate it very much and

We're gonna be talking about no tax on tips. We're also talking about the fact that everybody is

Looking at their tax return. They're getting tremendous amounts of money back much more than they thought

So

But it's great to be back in a place. I love Las Vegas

Did a lot of businesses here. We had great success here

That's where you started that casino that wasn't right. Is this at trump tower? No, I don't know where this it's I forget the name of the hotel

Yeah, remember you did business here. You started that hotel

We should go no, there it only started another hotel. Wasn't it the the Taj or the such? Yeah, I don't know

We should go visit it. Oh wait, it went bankrupt

Mm-hmm

Before politics, it was fantastic and this is the birthplace of a little idea known as no tax on tips. This is the birthplace

A lot of hospitality people here

A young waitress came up to me during dinner and she said sir

We should have no tax on tips. I said what? Say it again. We should have no tax on tips

I said that's the greatest thing I've ever heard I walked outside to the fake news media

See ladies and gentlemen

It would be no tax on tips. That was it. It was not an expensive consultant

Las Vegas is the home of the largest concentration of tipped workers

Anywhere in the country anywhere in the world actually and tipsy customers

Ah, okay

And thanks to our tax cuts this week thousands of

Nevada waiters waitresses casino dealers bar tenders bellman

Bobber's caddies, so I love those caddies very good if you have the right can

And valets receive the biggest tax refunds of their entire lives and you see it

And I just want to say you're welcome you're welcome

No, it's all over there. There's so many even in the factors where they have the you know, dude

He's different you always want to watch the enemy a little bit

You don't want to watch too much. You want to find out where they're coming from and they come from dark places

But even there people are saying wow this is really amazing. It's a great big beautiful bill

It came in and you know, we should go at the great big beautiful tax cut bill because that's really what it is other things

Also, but regulations, but it's really the tax cuts are enormous

The only one who likes Trump more than you is good old DJT

Like if I had to rank Trump's fans it would be Travis Chappell

Anyway, so yeah, so it's the big beautiful bill the big beautiful bill

They should call it the big beautiful tax bill

That's what it is

Some other things too, but mainly that

Anyway, so Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, which I don't know what he sounds like so I cannot unfortunately do an impression of him

He did a White House press briefing and he said it's been a great season for the American people

More than 53 million filers claimed at least one of Trump's signature new tax cuts. That's not small potatoes 53 million

filers

The detections for tipping come no tax on tips as yet. That's beautiful. It's a beautiful idea

Over time earnings seniors they just get all the breaks

Seniors get everything they get cheaper denies they get bigger tax cuts

And not good on stairs

But other than that they get it they haven't made totally. I wish I was a senior. I wish I was

Okay, and auto loan interest the Department of the Treasury also announced on Wednesday those filers who claim the deductions on schedule 1A have seen an average tax cut of over

Drumroll okay guess guess how much

I don't know eight hundred dollars

According to the Treasury tax cuts can trigger a higher refund or reduce taxes owed depending on the filers situation

Some filers you itemize tax breaks have also seen benefits from the bigger federal deduction limit for state and local taxes known as salt

Trump's legislation raised that capped 40,000 up from $10,000 for 2025

They named this salt because it's salt in the wound of the losing Democrat

The latest salt deduction limit change I just spit on my computer

Limit change is expected to primarily benefit higher earners

Let me read that again. The latest salt deduction limit change is expected to primarily benefit higher earners

Are you telling me the top 1% I'm gonna benefit the most

You're telling me well, you just made a big jump there. I know I'm higher earners. It doesn't necessarily equate to the top 1% fake news

People that are higher earners. It'll primarily benefit them. Yeah, okay

According to a May 20 25 analysis of various proposals from the tax foundation

Let me ask you this really quick. Okay

Don't you agree I

I think for the most part. I do think there's interesting banter on both sides about like the people that make like billions of dollars

Sure

But I think for the most part I like that you have just a flat tax

I actually do agree with that because I don't understand like that's one thing

I will say as I said down to taxes and then I was telling Terry like oh we have this much

She's like that's so dumb that we're making more

And so now like you get paid for making like we have penalties basically for making more and I was like yeah

Like because I'm not I'm not opposed obviously the type but it's also like it should just be flat like 10% yeah

Was that was that a

Romney that proposed that he's like the Bible it's 10% didn't he don't know if he did but I think uh

Rand Paul was running on flat tax Rand Paul wants us to be trading goats and chickens the Ron Paul revolution is coming

Is that I don't know he's just he's just like the very like the head of like the libertarian like I don't want the government to do

There was some libertarian that was really pushing I think it was Rand Paul that was pushing the flat tax

I do like the idea I like the concept of flat tax it also eliminates all of the complications of tax season

Yeah, it's I made this much I owe this much right done easy right

Yeah, you you would think that that would be better, but

It also is tough for business owners

Who

It's not necessarily like this. It's not it's not the big the billionaire people that I would be more worried about in that

It's the small business owner who's

You know lucky to pull out a 120 grand in profit from their

$800,000 a year business who

Needs like needs the ability to write off expenses against income and things like that

So it's probably much more complicated than then I've personally gotten into but I like the idea of it

Because it just simplifies things and it seems like it should be more simple than it is

It doesn't it doesn't feel like you should have to hire a professional who only studies tax code

It's again able to those companies advocate heavily for you to have to use them of course that's you know, yeah

Here's been really quick before I just yeah, those are the people like it's it's the middle class that suffers the most in those scenarios

Because it's like again, you're if you're filthy ready. You're not you're not making millions and millions of dollars

But you have to pay more money to people don't know that Travis okay people are under the impression I make millions

You know what honestly though some nice people leave certain comments. I'm like how much maybe think right exactly

Yeah, I was talking to somebody the day it was a friend of ours from high school who started making a bunch of content online

And one of my friends had something about like I mean good for them

They're probably making more money than all of us and then I was looking at their page

And I was like oh they're probably working a full-time job and making like 300 bucks a month in creator income

Because following does not actually equate to income

Which is a misnomer, but my point is to say that like

The people who get hurt the most are the people they they don't have millions of dollars, but they

You know to me, but they also are not

In poverty, but it's like they're the ones that that carry the bill for a lot of people who

Either can't afford to pay or or not making enough or whatever

And that's true across like even like medical bills and things like that

Like the amount of the amount of money that we pay for medical insurance and then still have to pay for everything on top of medical insurance

And then the the amount of taxes that she have to pay

It's like you do all this extra work to make all this extra income and then you get

Damed for it dude, which is strange the best time of my life to be broke

Was when we had our child?

Because we were on medical

He now much I spent on the birth of our child. I assume nothing

Guess something

Guess the number 500 but no nothing

My first guess was right. Yeah, but I went there. I wanted to be like I want to pull the rug

Yeah, we spent more than nothing on both of our kids. How much should you spend per kid honestly? It's been you regret it

Let's get into it. It's been it's been a while. I don't remember the exact amounts. I would be so wasn't bad

I would be guessing but it was more than I thought 10,000. No less than that. Oh, that's easy dude

I've heard people talk about burst words that we had to pay anything

I was just like oh, we have to we have to like come out of pocket like listen Jackie. Can we do this at home?

We do a home delivery. It's a higher edula

You know get you in the bathtub

God dude. I would never do that. There's all the things that can go wrong

Too many potential compliments. That's actually this is not a topic that two men should talk about correct because

I'm not even a clip that yeah, no me and Tara have talked about I'll say that I'll put her in there

Me and Tara talked about where it's like there's so many things where it's like you need emergency C section

It's like what do you do if you're at home? That's what my wife said don't

Don't don't come after me

Anyway, so before we share really quick what people plan to do with these this extra money

Really quick. I found this clip of Ben Shapiro talking about flat tax first progressive tax

Let's see what he says if anything it's reaction plotter it's a minute 23 seconds. Let's go

I'm doing research currently on whether or not flat tax better or marginal tax rate for income taxes

So I would like to hear from you for why we should have a flat tax loss for aggressive tax or the argument for that

Okay, so I have a basic moral argument against the progressive tax rate

Which is that just because I am making more money does not mean that you should be able to take more of a percentage of my money

percentage is by nature

A percentage is by nature fair. I mean 20% of my money is more than 20% of your money unless you're making an enormous sum of money

You know, so the so the fact that

There are people who think that you ought to pay more money just as the more money you make

There's no real moral argument for that other than I want your money and you make a lot of it

So I have a problem with that just on a moral level on an economic level

It seems to me that as you penalize people for making more more money

They're going to be gaps right and you see this you see that there are certain income cliffs where people are afraid that if they make more than a certain amount of money

That the next dollar they make is now going to be taxed at a higher tax rate

And so why would you bother hiring 20 new employees to get you past that mark if you're then going to have to pay a higher tax rate

It doesn't it's not a steep cliff depending on how large the marginal tax rate increases

But if you have what you used to have in the United States again 91% tax rate for people who are making like 5 million bucks a year

Once you get up to that point what's the point of making another dollar you may as well just save your breath

Not hire the employee and and keep your money

Okay, thank you. So

So he's saying he's four flat taxes. Yeah, yeah, I like I like the idea. I like the concept

Again simplifies everything, but it also

I agree with I agree with that that like it doesn't make sense

Like you're you're by definition going to pay more taxes. Yeah, because you make more money if it's tax the same percentage

but

Increasing the percentage at which you get taxed because you make more money again like anything to me that disincentivizes

Growth and betterment

Seems strange. Yeah, like saying like you why why you're not super incentivized to hire the additional doesn't employees to get to this next income level

Because you're going to be dinged for it and then there's 10 people who could have had a great paying job

Who now are not going to because it doesn't there the system does not incentivize the person to continue growing

Which is a weird a weird system to have

Yeah, but I will point out though. I believe that the

increased percentage that you pay is only on the income that is greater than the cliff

Yeah, yeah, see additional income is taxed at that not all of your income

Which I used to I did not know that like you know a few years ago

And I and I thought that it was like that there was one year in particular where we were like really close to this

This bump on taxes and like at the end of the year

I asked like for deferred payment almost is like I don't want to get my payment up

I don't want to get my income up to this level

I didn't really I thought it was like a retroactive tax

Yeah, you get now you're getting taxed at 32% or whatever instead of 26% over the entire amount that you made

But it's just the the income that you make in addition to that that income gets taxed at that level

And the other income gets taxed at this level

But again still doesn't really make much sense to me right right

Yeah, so we'll do an episode on this

But for fathers who expected to refund the season nearly one quarter or 23% plan to use the funds to pay down credit cards

And the same said they would save the same share so they would save the payment

It's for three thousand four hundred ninety four U.S. adults at the end of March

I was a CNBC and survey monkey collaboration there

Reputable news source survey monkey

I'm just kidding they actually yeah actually do a lot of what it says but it sounds funny like

CNBC and survey monkey

With survey monkey the survey monkey

Respondee said they'd be spending their money on bananas

Win press for comment. They simply said

Uh-uh

If that's good. That's a funny joke

I don't even want to hear anybody said it's not funny. All right go ahead and close up. There's only one way to find out

Open mic night

Anyway, that's hit for this episode of the show remember money only solves your money problems

But it's easy to solve the rest of problems with money in the bank

So let's start there here on the Travis makes money podcasts. Thanks for tuning in catch you next time peace