TikTok, and other apps like it, are filled with financial advice. Some of it is reliable, some... less so. There are videos about running a business, having a side hustle, generating passive income. And also, there are a lot of tips and tricks, many of them questionable, about saving on your taxes. On this show, we run some of the greatest hits of TikTok tax advice by some bonafide tax experts. We'll talk about whether you can use gambling losses to reduce your tax bill, whether your pets qualify you for tax deductions – and we'll fact check the claim that all rich people own expensive Mercedes G-Wagons... for tax purposes. Along the way, we'll drill down on the concepts like taxable income and the standard deduction. And we'll ask why so many videos on TikTok suggest that you (fraudulently) categorize personal expenses as business expenses. Sometimes with a literal wink and a nod. This episode was hosted by Nick Fountain. It was produced by Emma Peaslee with help from Willa Rubin, who also fact-checked this episode. It was edited by Molly Messick and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's Executive Producer. Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
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Victoria Lee is a lawyer in Los Angeles in a pretty fancy area, Beverly Hills.
And if you've got an appointment with Victoria, chances are you got a problem.
I've been practicing tax controversy and a little bit of tax resolution for about ten years, and that's sort of like a term of art, right?
What is a tax controversy?
So tax controversy is when there is a dispute as to the underlying tax.
In other words, you've been filing your taxes or not in some cases, and the tax authorities are not buying what you're selling.
If people walk through your door, they are already probably in trouble with the IR's.
Yes.
They are being audited.
Yes.
And when you sit down, the first thing she's gonna ask is what's the issue?
And working where she does, people come in with some kinda wild problems.
I've seen people try to deduct their bentleys, jets, Rolls Royces.
Lots of people with normal problems come to her, too.
But no matter who you are, she tries not to judge.
You want them to one not feel stupid for the choices that they've made?