--- title: Is That Tax Strategy Worth it? description: Is that tax strategy worth the hassle? It's common to come up with obscure ideas that may save a few dollars. First ask if it's worthwhile. image: https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-Return-on-Hassle.png --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.mire.group/blog/is-that-tax-strategy-worth-it#main-content) [![Mire Group CPAs](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/MireGroup%20CPAs%20White%20Logo.png?width=1003&height=497&name=MireGroup%20CPAs%20White%20Logo.png "Mire Group CPAs")](https://www.mire.group) [![Mire Group CPAs](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/1.png?width=1021&height=488&name=1.png "Mire Group CPAs")](https://www.mire.group) - [About Us](https://www.mire.group/about) - [Plans](https://www.mire.group/accounting-and-tax-plans) - [Articles](https://www.mire.group/blog) - [Newsletter](https://www.mire.group/newsletter-signup) Search *Search* [Work With Us](https://www.mire.group/work-with-us) Toggle Menu Search *Search* Toggle Menu [Work With Us](https://www.mire.group/work-with-us) - [About Us](https://www.mire.group/about) - [Plans](https://www.mire.group/accounting-and-tax-plans) - [Articles](https://www.mire.group/blog) - [Newsletter](https://www.mire.group/newsletter-signup) [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/miregroupcpa) [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/miregroup_cpas/) [*LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/company/miregroupcpas/) [*Youtube*](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4dTVwJh9xStWdKY1bPn5Q) 3 min read # Is That Tax Strategy Worth it? [![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing) : Nov 3, 2026, 8:54:02 AM [Newsletter](https://www.mire.group/blog/tag/newsletter) ![](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-Return-on-Hassle.png) ## **The $10,000 a night video** I saw a video where somebody said you could rent your home to your business and treat it like an event rental when you figure the rent you pay yourself. This guy was using 10 grand a night. I’m seeing more and more of these videos from what I’d call tax influencers. Pay your kids. The Augusta rule. Short-term rentals with cost segregation studies. We want to do all the things that make sense from a legal perspective and a tax perspective. We want to take advantage of every loophole, or whatever you want to call it. But before you try a strategy you saw online, make sure it’s worth the trouble. We call that return on hassle. #### Get it in your inbox This is our November newsletter. To get these tax strategies in your inbox, you can [subscribe here.](https://www.mire.group/newsletter-signup)   ## **Is This You?** - You’ve saved tax strategy videos to try later. - You’ve asked your CPA about the Augusta rule, putting your kids on payroll, or a short-term rental. - You’ve bought something in December mostly for the write-off. - You don’t keep a mileage log. - You figure if your accountant signed off on it, you’re covered. ## **What return on hassle means** Make sure you’re taking positions that are worth the trouble. That comes down to two questions. **1. Does it move the needle financially?** **2. Can you document it and substantiate it?** If the answer to both is yes, you’ll be much better off. If you’re not willing to do the documentation, the strategy isn’t worth the hassle. We tell clients to make tax moves that are also good business moves. We don’t do things strictly for taxes, especially things that create other things you have to do, monitor, and check. Here are the three strategies I get asked about most. ## **The Augusta rule** Your business rents your home from you. The rent your business pays you personally isn’t taxable, and it’s deductible to your company. That’s the gist. The issue is the rent. That 10 grand a night is probably not the case. And if you look up the comps in your area and they’re $100 a night, what have you really done with a strategy you now have to document and prove? Is it worth it? Oftentimes not. For the right client, yes. And if it is, document it. Paper it up. ## **Putting your kids on payroll** We see clients all the time who want to employ their kids. We ask how old the kids are. They say 3. What could your 3-year-old do? If you wouldn’t pay somebody else’s 3-year-old 10 grand to model for social media, you wouldn’t pay your own 3-year-old 10 grand either. It’s not worth it all the time. When it is worth it to pay your kid instead of somebody else, document it, pay them a reasonable wage, pay them as a W-2 employee. Paper it up. ## **The short-term rental loophole** The crux of the short-term rental loophole is that your average stay is 7 days or less. The point is to get a cost segregation study, accelerate the depreciation, and create a big paper loss you can use to offset your W-2 or business income. If you’re not willing to document those stays, you’re going to have a hard time proving you have a short-term rental in an audit. You also have to do the work to materially participate, and document that too. And if you sell the property shortly after, you’re going to give a lot of that depreciation right back as income. [We run the actual numbers on a cost seg study here.](https://www.mire.group/blog/is-a-cost-segregation-study-worth-it-on-a-short-term-rental) ## **All three come down to documentation** These strategies have real documentation requirements. They need contemporaneous records, meaning records you keep as you go. Without them, if you get audited, you really have no leg to stand on. If you want to use advanced tax strategies but you’re not willing to do the documentation, you’re in no better position than if you’d never done the strategy at all. You’re left with an aggressive position you can’t document, or won’t. Lots of accountants will go along with it because they’re busy. They’ll take your word for it that you drive 90% for business. But if you’re throwing something at your accountant on the back end to see if it sticks, chances are you’re not in the best position to defend it in an audit. So use strategies that move the needle financially. Then use a reputable professional you’re paying to help you monitor and document that position. ## **Start with being organized** A lot of people miss deductions they already qualify for because they aren’t organized enough to claim them: their home office, their mileage, a business charge on a personal credit card. Those are permanent savings. Most people don’t need a secret loophole. They need solid advice, timely accounting, and their taxes planned and paid. ## **The three strategies compared** **![MireGroup-Table-Return-on-Hassle](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireGroup-Table-Return-on-Hassle.png?width=1200&height=960&name=MireGroup-Table-Return-on-Hassle.png)**   We want to help people with these strategies, but we also want to do it right, so you can sleep good at night. If you want the longer version, [we walk through the whole thing here](https://www.mire.group/blog/are-social-media-tax-strategies-worth-it). Saw a strategy online and want to know if it’s worth the hassle for you? [We’d love to help.](https://www.mire.group/work-with-us) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-Return-on-Hassle.png)](https://www.mire.group/blog/is-that-tax-strategy-worth-it) 3 min read #### [Is That Tax Strategy Worth it?](https://www.mire.group/blog/is-that-tax-strategy-worth-it) ![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) [Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing): Nov 3, 2026, 8:54:02 AM ## **The $10,000 a night video** I saw a video where somebody said you could rent your home to your business and treat it like an event rental when you... [Newsletter](https://www.mire.group/blog/tag/newsletter) [Read More](https://www.mire.group/blog/is-that-tax-strategy-worth-it) [![social media tax strategies](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-4-Social-Media-Tax-Strategies.png)](https://www.mire.group/blog/are-social-media-tax-strategies-worth-it) 3 min read #### [Are Social Media Tax Strategies Worth It?](https://www.mire.group/blog/are-social-media-tax-strategies-worth-it) ![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) [Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing): Oct 27, 2026, 11:20:10 AM Some are, for the right person. The test is whether the strategy moves the needle financially and whether you're willing to do the documentation it... [Read More](https://www.mire.group/blog/are-social-media-tax-strategies-worth-it) [![should your cpa do your bookkeeping](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-1-Should-CPA-Do-Bookkeeping-1.png)](https://www.mire.group/blog/should-your-cpa-do-your-bookkeeping) 3 min read #### [Should Your CPA Do Your Bookkeeping?](https://www.mire.group/blog/should-your-cpa-do-your-bookkeeping) ![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) [Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing): Oct 27, 2026, 11:15:39 AM If you want real tax planning, your CPA should either do your bookkeeping or review the person who does it on a regular schedule. A tax plan is only... [Read More](https://www.mire.group/blog/should-your-cpa-do-your-bookkeeping) [![MireGroup CPAs](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/1-1.png?width=300&height=76&name=1-1.png)](https://www.mire.group) We are a professional, experienced team ready to handle all your accounting and tax needs. ###### Resources - [Podcast](https://www.mire.group/make-it-count-podcast/) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@miregroupcpas5118/featured) - [Blog](https://www.mire.group/blog) ###### Contact Us 1003 S. 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