The Real IRS Playbook: What To Do Before, During, and After an Audit
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Release Date: 09/25/2026
The Real IRS Playbook: What To Do Before, During, and After an Audit
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Almost everyone gets a little nervous at the word audit, even people who've done everything right. Add in a growing wave of scams pretending to be the IRS, and it's easy to see why the fear is often bigger than the reality. In this episode of Your Wealth and Beyond, Andrew Rafal sits down with Jason Silver, a tax attorney and former IRS trial attorney with 31 years of experience, to separate what's real from what's a scam, and to walk through exactly what to do (and not do) if you ever get that letter. They also dig into what's different when a business owner gets audited, from worker...
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The Owner Benefit Corner: Using Your Business as a Vehicle to Efficiently Build Personal Wealth
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Most business owners have some kind of retirement plan in place. They set it up years ago, they contribute every year, and they move on. What most never do is go back and ask whether that plan is still the right one for the business they're running today. In this episode of Your Wealth and Beyond, Andrew Rafal and Brian Hartstein open the fourth and final corner of the Four Corners of Business Owner Planning series: owner benefit planning. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation, and it's built around one core idea. A 401(k) is just one of many ways to use pre-tax dollars to build personal...
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The Risk Management Corner: Is Your Coverage Keeping Up?
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
The moment you open your doors, you take on risk. Most business owners put basic coverage in place when they started the company and haven't given it a real look since. Meanwhile the business has grown, the exposures have changed, and the broker who sold the policy only calls at renewal. In this episode of Your Wealth and Beyond, Andrew Rafal and Brian Hartstein continue the Four Corners of Business Owner Planning series with the Risk Management Corner. They cover property and casualty coverage, cybersecurity, workers' comp, business interruption, and the quiet items like the 401(k) plan bond...
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The Legal Corner: The Questions Most Business Owners Never Think to Ask
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Most business owners have worked with an attorney at some point. Usually it was to set up the business entity. Then it was done. What they do not always realize is how much gets left behind when the legal piece stays event-driven and disconnected from the rest of the plan. Entity structure, liability protection, exit strategy, benefit plan compliance — the legal corner of a business owner's financial picture touches nearly everything. And if nobody is coordinating it with the accounting, the investments, and the overall plan, the gaps quietly compound. In this episode, Andrew Rafal and Brian...
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The Tax Corner: Are You Asking the Right Questions?
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Most business owners leave their planning meetings feeling good about the conversation. But if nobody follows through on what was discussed — and nobody knows who is supposed to — the whole year gets wasted. In this episode, Andrew Rafal and Brian Hartstein pick up where they left off in Episode 123, going deeper into the Tax Corner of the Four Corners of Business Owner Planning. This time it is about the roadmap — the specific planning areas every business owner should be asking their advisory team about, and the real-world examples that show what happens when those questions go...
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The Tax Corner: Your Team and Knowing Their Roles
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Most business owners have a CPA, an attorney, and a financial advisor on their team. But if nobody is driving the plan, the best opportunities get missed — not because the team is bad, but because nobody knows who is supposed to be doing what. In this episode, Andrew and Brian dig into the Tax Corner of the Four Corners of Business Owner Planning — starting with the question most business owners never think to ask: Does everyone on your advisory team actually know their role? With decades of experience working with business owners across complex planning scenarios, Brian and Andrew...
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The Four Corners of Business Owner Planning (Where You’re Losing Money)
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Most business owners spend their time focused on growth — revenue, employees, and operations. But the biggest opportunities to build wealth often aren’t in the day-to-day. They’re in how the business is structured, how advisors work together, and how efficiently profits are turned into personal wealth. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Bayntree Wealth’s Director of Corporate Development, Brian Hartstein, to introduce the Four Corners of Business Owner Planning — a framework for identifying where businesses are losing money and where untapped opportunities exist. With over three...
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Choosing a CPA: The Questions Business Owners Should Be Asking
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Choosing the right CPA is one of the most important decisions a business owner will ever make, yet it’s also one of the most misunderstood. Many entrepreneurs assume their CPA is proactively looking for opportunities to reduce taxes and improve efficiency throughout the year, only to realize too late that most planning happens in hindsight. Today, I’m joined once again by Bayntree’s Director of Corporate Development, Brian Hartstein, for a deeper conversation about how business owners can evaluate whether their CPA is truly the right fit. We break down the different types of CPA firms,...
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From Hustle to Scale: How a Multi-Generational Arizona Business Built Systems for Growth
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Many business owners reach a point where sheer grit and hard work are no longer enough to keep growing. What once fueled success can eventually become a ceiling if structure, systems, and leadership don’t evolve alongside the business. In this episode, I’m sitting down with Brad Levkowitz, co-owner of , to explore his journey of growing a multi-generational family business. Brad shares how early lessons from working alongside his father and grandfather shaped his work ethic, leadership style, and approach to long-term growth. We dive into the realities of building through economic...
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High Performance Entrepreneurship: Blake Uptain on the Moxie Mindset and Community-Driven Growth
Your Wealth & Beyond: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Many entrepreneurs reach a point in their careers where the traditional corporate path no longer aligns with their values, energy, or passions. For today’s guest, that moment came when he realized the culture surrounding him no longer reflected the performance-driven lifestyle that fueled his passions and motivated him. Today, I’m sitting down with my longtime friend and serial entrepreneur, Blake Uptain, founder of and . Blake shares how his journey began with a passion for fitness, a talent for building relationships, and an instinct for creating environments where people...
info_outlineAlmost everyone gets a little nervous at the word audit, even people who've done everything right. Add in a growing wave of scams pretending to be the IRS, and it's easy to see why the fear is often bigger than the reality.
In this episode of Your Wealth and Beyond, Andrew Rafal sits down with Jason Silver, a tax attorney and former IRS trial attorney with 31 years of experience, to separate what's real from what's a scam, and to walk through exactly what to do (and not do) if you ever get that letter. They also dig into what's different when a business owner gets audited, from worker classification to reasonable salary requirements to digital assets.
This conversation is meant to feel like advice from a friend who happens to know the IRS inside and out, not a sales pitch. If anything here hits close to home, give us a call, we're happy to help.
In this podcast interview, you'll learn:
- How the IRS actually initiates an audit, and the biggest signs that a call, text, or email claiming to be the IRS is a scam.
- The first call to make if you get a real IRS letter, and why calling the IRS yourself is almost always the wrong move.
- Why S corporation owners who don't pay themselves a reasonable salary are one of the most common audit triggers.
- What separates a legitimate independent contractor relationship from a worker classification problem.
- Why documentation, not just having receipts, but showing who, what, and why, matters more than almost anything else in an audit.
- What's changed with digital asset reporting since 2025, and what to do if you can't find the cost basis on old stock.
- Why amending a tax return the moment you spot a mistake can sometimes create a bigger problem than it solves.
Find All Episode Resources Here: www.bayntree.com/128
Jason Silver's Contact Information:
Silver Law, PLC
Website: www.taxcontroversy.com
Phone: 480-429-3360
This episode is for informational and educational purposes only. Bayntree Wealth Advisors and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. Jason Silver is an independent tax attorney and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bayntree Wealth Advisors; his contact information is shared for the listener's convenience only. Nothing discussed in this episode should be construed as legal or tax guidance specific to your situation. Please consult a qualified attorney and/or tax professional before making any decisions about your specific situation. Investment advice is offered through Bayntree Wealth Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor. Insurance and annuity products are offered separately through Bayntree Planning Group LLC.