Former IRS Agent: Why Syndicated Conservation Easements Are About to Blow Up

Former IRS Agent: Why Syndicated Conservation Easements Are About to Blow Up

The IRS just opened a 90-day settlement window — after that, it's 40% penalties and a near-total deduction wipeout. If you or any of your clients have ever participated in a syndicated conservation easement, this is the most important episode you'll watch all year. My guest, Victoria Boon, spent over 20 years as an IRS Senior Revenue Agent and Subject Matter Expert inside the Large Business & International Division. She worked directly on the conservation easement enforcement campaign, helped train IRS revenue agents nationwide, and co-authored updates to IRS publications and Form 8824. Today she runs Boon Tax Group and Boon Tax Educators, where she helps taxpayers and tax professionals navigate what the IRS is doing next. We cover what conservation easements are supposed to do, why syndicated deals went off the rails, what the courts are actually finding wrong, and — critically — what to do if you're sitting in one of these deals right now. 🔔 Subscribe for weekly tax strategy breakdowns: https://www.youtube.com/@taxstrategyplaybook [https://www.youtube.com/@taxstrategyplaybook] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📌 CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 0:00 – Cold Open: 90-Day IRS Settlement Window 0:06 – Show Intro & Why This Episode Matters 2:38 – Meet Victoria Boon: 20 Years Inside the IRS 3:03 – What Is a Conservation Easement? The Basics Explained 4:31 – Where Legitimate Easements End and Tax Shelters Begin 6:09 – What the IRS Saw That Triggered the Enforcement Campaign 8:07 – The 2026 IRS Settlement Offer: 90 Days, Penalties, and the Final Push 11:53 – Syndicated vs. Legitimate: The Valuation Problem Explained 12:39 – What Tax Courts Are Actually Finding Wrong 14:45 – If You Did a Deal 5-6 Years Ago — What Should You Do Now? 18:53 – Audit Defense: The First 3 Things Victoria Looks At 19:46 – The Most Dangerous Assumptions Tax Pros Make 22:48 – Can Conservation Easements Still Work Legitimately in 2026? 23:38 – Rapid Fire: Wait or Be Proactive? 27:27 – The #1 Misconception Real Estate Investors Have 28:15 – Where to Find Victoria Boon and Boon Tax Group 29:43 – Outro & Listener CTA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 💼 ABOUT DAVID WIENER ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ David Wiener is the founder of Cash Flow Strategies and a nationally recognized cost segregation and tax strategy expert. Every week on The Tax Strategy Playbook, he breaks down the strategies real estate investors and business owners use to legally keep more of what they earn. 📩 Work with David: https://www.taxstrategyplaybook.com [https://www.taxstrategyplaybook.com] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwiener [https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwiener] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⚠️ DISCLAIMER ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ This content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult a qualified tax professional before making any decisions related to your tax situation. #ConservationEasement #TaxStrategy #IRSAudit #RealEstateTax #TaxPlaybook

Bad Timing Costs You More Than Bad Investments Ever Will - The Cash Flow Clock

Bad timing destroys more wealth than bad investments ever will. In this episode of The Tax Strategy Playbook, David Wiener (Mr. Cash Flow) sits down with Gary Preisser — Managing Partner of Stonebriar Wealth Advisors and creator of the Cash Flow Clock — to break down exactly how business owners, real estate investors, and CPAs can stop reacting to tax disasters and start designing wealth that works on their terms. 💡 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE: ✅ What the Cash Flow Clock is and how to apply it to your portfolio today ✅ Why bad TIMING — not bad investments — destroys most financial plans ✅ The "Lazy Zone," "Safe Zone," and "Volatility Zone" of cash flow planning ✅ How asset location (not just allocation) could save you hundreds of thousands in taxes ✅ Why deferring taxes forever is a trap — and how to time your tax bracket strategically ✅ The Widow's Tax Trap that blindsides surviving spouses at the worst moment ✅ When Roth conversions make sense (and when they don't) ✅ How cost segregation, bonus depreciation, and big deduction years fit into lifetime tax planning ✅ Why CPAs must shift from tax preparation to tax planning — and how to do it without overhauling their practice ✅ The first 3 steps any business owner or real estate investor should take in the next 30 days 🕐 CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Introduction: Why timing destroys good investments 02:12 – Meet Gary Preisser & Stonebriar Wealth Advisors 03:36 – The real villain: bad timing, not bad decisions 05:04 – Real client case study: $10M portfolio, wrong asset location 07:31 – Tax planning vs. tax preparation (why April 14th is too late) 10:42 – What is the Cash Flow Clock? (Plain English breakdown) 14:06 – Lifetime tax planning for business owners & real estate investors 17:19 – Selling a business, retiring, taking on partners — how to time it right 20:09 – How much do you really need to retire? (The right question) 21:24 – Cost segregation, bonus depreciation & tax lever strategy 24:51 – Roth conversions: who benefits and who doesn't 28:04 – A simple playbook for CPAs to start timing-first conversations 30:35 – How CPAs, financial advisors & tax specialists should collaborate 32:22 – One key takeaway for business owners, real estate investors & CPAs 🔗 CONNECT WITH GARY PREISSER: (See show notes for Gary's contact info and Stonebriar Wealth Advisors) 📩 FREE RESOURCES — Subscribe to the Tax Strategy Playbook Newsletter: 👉 https://taxstrategyplaybook.com/newsletter [https://taxstrategyplaybook.com/newsletter] • 2026 Tax Planning Guide • Updates on every new episode • Free tax strategy resources for business owners and investors 🎙️ ABOUT THE TAX STRATEGY PLAYBOOK: Hosted by David Wiener — Mr. Cash Flow — the Tax Strategy Playbook breaks down real-world tax and cash flow strategies for business owners, real estate investors, and the CPAs who serve them. Every episode delivers actionable insights to help you keep more of what you make, smooth out your cash flow, and avoid the "I had no choice" moments the tax code loves to create. ⭐ If this episode helped you, please leave a rating and review — it helps more business owners and investors find this content! #TaxStrategy #CashFlowClock #RealEstateInvesting #TaxPlanning #BusinessOwner #RetirementPlanning #WealthManagement #RothConversion #CostSegregation #FinancialFreedom #TaxPlaybook #CPAs #PassiveIncome #AssetProtection #TaxReduction

Former IRS Attorney Reveals 7 Real Estate Tax Traps Destroying Investor Wealth

⚠️ Most real estate investors don't lose money on bad deals — they lose it on BAD TAX DECISIONS they didn't even know they were making. In this episode of The Tax Strategy Playbook, host David Wiener (Mr. Cash Flow) sits down with Scott Estill — a former IRS Senior Trial Attorney turned nationally recognized tax attorney, speaker, and author — to expose the 7 tax traps quietly destroying investor wealth in 2026. Scott spent years INSIDE the IRS. He's seen both sides of the audit table. Now he's revealing exactly what the IRS looks for, what trips investors up, and how to legally protect your wealth before that audit letter ever shows up. ### ✅ FREE RESOURCE MENTIONED: Grab the Real Estate Investors Tax Pitfall Checklist & Record-Keeping Playbook — covers all 7 traps, what to audit in your own setup, and Scott's 3-Question Filter. 👉 Subscribe FREE at: taxstrategyplaybook.com/newsletter [http://taxstrategyplaybook.com/newsletter**] --- ### 🔗 CONNECT WITH SCOTT ESTILL: 🌐 Website: scottestill.com [http://scottestill.com] 💼 LinkedIn: Search "Scott Estill" --- ### 📌 TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Introduction: Why bad tax decisions crush investors 02:57 — Meet Scott Estill: Former IRS Senior Trial Attorney 03:30 — Trap #1: Record-Keeping Nightmares 09:22 — Trap #2: Entity Misalignment & Dealer Status Danger 21:33 — Trap #3: Self-Directed IRA Prohibited Transactions 33:40 — Trap #4: Travel & Education Documentation 36:23 — Trap #5: Dealer vs. Investor Status 40:08 — Trap #6: Tax Strategy vs. Exit Plan 44:36 — Trap #7: The 3-Question Filter 51:46 — Your Do-This-This-Week Checklist 52:43 — Where to Find Scott Estill --- ### 🎙️ ABOUT THE TAX STRATEGY PLAYBOOK: Hosted by David Wiener (Mr. Cash Flow), The Tax Strategy Playbook delivers practical, battle-tested strategies for real estate investors and business owners who want to keep more of what they earn and build durable, tax-efficient wealth. 📧 Newsletter: taxstrategyplaybook.com/newsletter [http://taxstrategyplaybook.com/newsletter] 📺 Subscribe on YouTube | 🎧 Apple Podcasts | 🎵 Spotify

How Tired Landlords Are Escaping $1M Tax Bills Using DST 1031 (Without Buying Another Property)

Are you a tired landlord sitting on hundreds of thousands — or even millions — in capital gains and depreciation recapture, terrified of the tax bill that comes with selling? You're not alone. And there IS a better way. In this episode of The Tax Strategy Playbook, host David Wiener (Mr. Cash Flow) sits down with Tommy Olson, Vice President at Kay Properties & Investments — one of the nation's leading Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) advisory firms — to walk through exactly how investors are using DST 1031 exchanges and 721 UPREIT strategies to exit active real estate without writing a seven-figure check to the IRS. 🔑 What You'll Learn: ✅ What a Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) actually is — in plain English ✅ How to defer $800K+ in capital gains AND $300K in depreciation recapture using a 1031 exchange into a DST ✅ Why California landlords can lose up to 50% of their sale proceeds in taxes if they sell outright ✅ The real risks of DSTs that most advisors won't tell you about ✅ How a $3M commercial property sale was diversified across 6 DSTs for stable, passive income ✅ What a 721 UPREIT is and how it can provide a path to liquidity and estate planning advantages ✅ The "swap till you drop" strategy for lifetime tax deferral ✅ Who is (and isn't) a good candidate for the DST-to-UPREIT pathway ✅ The top questions to ask BEFORE you invest — and why your CPA needs to be in this conversation early 💡 Whether you're approaching retirement, burned out on property management, or just want your equity working harder without the headaches, this episode breaks down one of the most powerful — and underutilized — tax strategies available to real estate investors in 2026. 👉 Ready to explore your options? Visit kpi1031.com [http://kpi1031.com] to access free DST resources, recorded webinars, and schedule a one-on-one call with Tommy and the Kay Properties team. 📌 Resources Mentioned: - Kay Properties & Investments: https://www.kpi1031.com [https://www.kpi1031.com] - Schedule a Call with Tommy: https://www.kpi1031.com [https://www.kpi1031.com] (click "Schedule a Call") - Tax Strategy Playbook Show Notes: https://www.taxstrategyplaybook.com [https://www.taxstrategyplaybook.com] 🔔 Subscribe for weekly deep dives on legal tax reduction, real estate strategy, and cash flow optimization for investors and business owners. 📧 Have a tax or deal structure question? Drop it in the comments — it might become our next episode! --- Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. DST investments involve risk, including potential loss of principal. Consult a qualified tax advisor and financial professional before making investment decisions.

Tax Strategy vs TikTok Hacks: 7 Viral Myths That Trigger Audits

Tired of TikTok “tax hacks” and viral write‑off tricks that could actually trigger an IRS audit? In this Tax Strategy Playbook episode, David Wiener (Mr. Cash Flow) exposes 7 social media tax myths and shows you the real 2026 tax strategy wealthy investors use instead. If you’re serious about long‑term tax planning, bonus depreciation, cost segregation, and keeping more cash flow in your pocket, this is your playbook. In this episode, David explains why the IRS added misleading social media tax advice to its 2026 Dirty Dozen list of tax scams and how Americans are losing tens of thousands of dollars to “secret code” refund schemes and bad TikTok tax advice. You’ll learn how to spot the difference between a viral tax hack and a real, defensible tax strategy that will hold up in an audit. What you’ll learn: • Why “I turned my whole life into a write‑off” is audit bait, and what wealthy families do instead with simple, written expense policies • How “secret credit” and “enter this code for a massive refund” schemes really work, and how to build a legitimate credit and incentive strategy around what you already do in real estate or business • The truth about “you’ll never pay capital gains again” promises, and how tools like 1031 exchanges, Opportunity Zones, installment sales, and tax‑loss harvesting actually fit into a real plan • Why “just put everything in an LLC and you’ll pay no taxes” is misleading, and how sophisticated families coordinate entities, asset protection, and self‑employment tax • The hobby‑business trap, the G‑Wagon / heavy vehicle write‑off myth with 100% bonus depreciation back, and why “your CPA is old‑school, just do what the internet does” is such a dangerous mindset David then walks through five key plays for the 2025–2026 tax window: timing income and deductions around the tax cliff, using cost segregation and bonus depreciation on real estate, stacking retirement plans and HSAs, leveraging R&D and energy incentives, and coordinating entity structures so your operating businesses and assets work together. You’ll finish with a simple 7‑question scorecard to see whether you’re a TikTok tax victim, a DIY tax hacker, or a true Playbook Pro. Chapters 00:00 Viral TikTok tax hacks vs real tax strategy 02:30 IRS 2026 Dirty Dozen and social media tax scams 06:10 Hack #1: “Turn your whole life into a write‑off” 11:40 Hack #2: Secret codes and fake tax credits 17:05 Hack #3: “You’ll never pay capital gains again” 23:20 Hack #4: “Put everything in an LLC and pay no tax” 29:15 Hack #5: Hobby “businesses” just for write‑offs 34:10 Hack #6: G‑Wagon and heavy vehicle write‑off myths 39:20 Hack #7: “Your CPA is old‑school, trust the internet” 44:00 Five real 2025–2026 tax plays wealthy investors use 52:30 The 7‑question scorecard: victim, hacker, or Playbook Pro 58:10 How to build your own tax strategy playbook and next steps 🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on legally reducing taxes, increasing cash flow, and building long‑term wealth with smart planning instead of risky hacks.