Lewis & Clark Bank Event Recap: Building Wealth Through Tax Strategies

On May 7th, at the Oregon Wine Reserve in Lake Oswego, Lewis & Clark Bank hosted an insightful event attended by 24 participants. The evening's focus was on "Building Wealth Through Tax Strategies," presented by Scott Bargaehr, a distinguished CPA from Lewis Group CPAs, and Mark Grubbs, a strategic wealth advisor at WestPac Wealth Partners. These experts shared valuable insights and tax mitigation strategies that are often overlooked due to a lack of coordination among advisors.

At Lewis & Clark Bank, we believe in the importance of connecting our community to industry experts and providing engaging, educational content. This event exemplified our commitment to fostering meaningful connections and enhancing financial knowledge.

Key takeaways from the presentation included the importance of using an advisory team and a CPA as proactive planners rather than reactive analysts. With Tax Day recently behind us, now is the perfect time to plan ahead. The speakers highlighted scenarios such as utilizing accelerated depreciation, maximizing personal property qualifications through cost segregation, and leveraging Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) to reduce tax burdens.

Additionally, business owners were advised on approaches to payroll, managing overpaid Federal and State Income Tax, and avoiding narrow strategies for overall net worth. Options discussed included 401k/PSP, Safe Harbor, Profit Sharing, Cash Balance Defined Benefit plans, or combining these into a "Macro Pension."

The evening concluded with a lively Q&A session, where attendees posed great questions about navigating the tax code, the current state of the IRS, and ownership structures. We look forward to hosting more events like this in the future, so stay tuned for updates!