All info is provided for illustrative purposes only. There are no implied or explicit guarantees as to the efficacy of info provided, nor should the info be relied upon for any tax or legal purposes whatsoever. We are NEVER attorneys. We are only your CPA if legally engaged to be your CPA. Now, for those blog posts...

How Do I Pay My Tax Without A Bank Account?


pay cannabis tax without a bank account


So you have already done the impossible... you started a cannabis company, it is operating, AND it is making a tax profit. First off, congrats!

Now, how exactly do you pay that stinking tax bill? You don't have a bank account, and you can't just show up with a bag of cash and pay your tax right? Wrong! You not only can do it that way, you will have to do it that way without a bank account unless you are planning on going to 30 post offices to get 100 separate $1,000 money orders to pay that $100,000 tax bill. Doesn't sound like something you will do? That's because you won't, so let's get to reality here.

Remember that "taxes" aren't just one government body, we are dealing with multiple states with varying issues, tax rates (some have no income tax at all). Even though below we will talk about the Federal side of things (since it applies to you all), do not forget that you need to do this same thing for your State and Local taxes, as applicable in your jurisdiction.
1. Go online (https://apps.irs.gov/app/officeLocator/index.jsp) and find your nearest IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC). Not all TAC's are created equal, as some will not accept cash payments. When I search 97267 I get the below result
how to pay cannabis tax
Find the right IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC)

2. Once I click to make an appointment, I am taken to a list of close centers, where I am then able to see which services they provide. This is where you can make sure they take cash payments.

IRS TAC services
Finding Services Provided by the local IRS TAC


WAIT! Look at this below, this TAC doesn't accept cash payments, good thing we checked!

cannabis tax payments accepted
Good thing we didn't just drive over there!


Good thing the Portland, OR IRS TAC accepts cash payments!

Perfect, they take cash so we will make our appointment here


Once complete, you will have an appropriate appointment setup at the correct center where you can pay your IRS tax balance.

Tips for your meeting:

1. Show up on time

2. Do NOT try to get cute and pay in pennies or they will turn you away (yes they can say no to your money).

3. You are going to be in a Federal building, leave your firearms, cannabis, or anything else at home or you may be in a Federal building for a lot longer.

4. ALWAYS walk out with a receipt showing the payment as being applied to your correct account and the correct tax year!


10 Questions to ask before hiring a CPA in the cannabis industry


Questions to help hire your cannabis CPA
Joseph Bailey, CPA


You have likely tried to google "280E CPA", "cannabis CPA", “cannabis tax” etc. and found that your options seem to be somehow limitless and horribly limited at the same time. 

Whether your State is legal for adult use (such as Oregon, Washington, Alaska, California, Colorado, etc.) or medically legal (29 States), the tax implications remain the same, and finding a good CPA can be daunting. Just getting to a good list of questions to ask a cannabis CPA can be impossible. 

We have been in the cannabis industry for years, helped hundreds and hundreds of businesses, and often are asked about what makes for a "good" cannabis focused CPA. 
The list below, while not exhaustive, should help point you in the right direction and at least weed out (pun certainly intended) folks who simply will not meet basic requirements. 

1. What certifications do you hold? 

A lot of the folks entering the industry are doing so out of lack of options versus passion for the industry. As such, does your CPA have an accounting degree, CPA (certified public accountant) certification, EA (enrolled agents), MBA (Master of Business Admin)? Different certifications can provide a certain level of assurance as to expected quality of tax return preparation, and highlights more importantly what someone is NOT certified to do. Make sure your CPA/EA/etc. has the background and certifications you need. 

Beyond this, it is good to check on where someone is licensed, then actually go to that State Accountancy Board website and look up that person's license. From there you will have a good view as to whether they have been disciplined by an Accountancy Board currently or in the past.

2. How many years’ experience do you have? 

This should be obvious, but in this industry, you really don't want your CPA to be learning their craft on your business. There is a GIANT amount of learning curve that CPA's undergo in the first 5 years of practice, let alone the first few years in cannabis. This is even more so when a CPA can achieve employment with a "Big 4" firm (we will discuss this in a later point).

3. What industries have you worked in?

Outside of understanding cannabis specific issues and practices, having a CPA with a varied background will be quite beneficial as they will have insights that someone who has been wedged in one industry for 20 years just won't have. Experience in retail, manufacturing, agriculture industries is an obvious benefit as well. 

4. Have you worked internally for any cannabis companies?

This is a bit of a BONUS style question. You will be able to find CPA's who do not have operational/inside experience working within a cannabis company, that will still be able to help you achieve great success. But if you have two CPA's that are 100% matched against each other, wherein one has managed internally, I would likely utilize the services of the CPA with internal experience as they will have seen things that someone on the outside looking in will not have had exposure from. 

5. Why did you join the industry?

At BCC, we are here to help an underrepresented class of businesses and owners, support a community and culture that we love, and we have a special set of skills and background that can and have greatly impacted business owners. 

Now, you would think a CPA in this industry would be prepared to answer this question, but you will be surprised by the answer you get from a lot of people. If your CPA isn't PASSIONATE about this industry, they will at some point place their cannabis clients at the bottom of the pile. Why? There are just easier ways to make money as a CPA than working with cannabis companies. At this current level of maturity of the industry, there is a lot of hand holding, revisions, and messy clean up that takes place within these companies.

6. Do you use IRC 263A to allocate mixed service costs?

This will not mean much to you now, but it is a VERY important part of limiting IRC 280E impact on cannabis companies. If your CPA is not using 263A, you are overpaying on taxes, plain and simple. 

7. How do you deliver sensitive information to clients?
CPA's tend to be behind the times, which means they are still handling a lot of business via paper, as well as sending a lot of personal information through email. You want to work with someone that can operate paperless (saves time and money) and utilizes secure servers and means of delivering info to you. There is already plenty of risk in this industry, you really don't want to have to worry about sensitive information being stolen electronically due to lax data security protocols. 

8. Have you or any of your staff ever been convicted of a non-traffic related crime? Was that crime directly related to your work?

Do you really need an explanation here? The public tends to think that if someone has a CPA license that it means they have never been in trouble... think again. There are plenty of FELONS that are CPA's, you should probably make sure that your CPA isn't one of them. "Street Cred" isn't something your CPA needs.

9. Do you have experience working in public accounting? Was any of that experience at the "Big 4" level?

A CPA that has only ever worked internally at a company will not have had the opportunity to work on the amount and varying type of issues that someone in public accounting will have seen. Now, that experience may be EXACTLY what you need, but usually that is only the case when someone is looking to hire a CFO, not a CPA. 

Discussing the Big 4 is usually where CPA's without Big 4 experience get upset. Please note, I am not saying that being a Big 4 accounting firm alumnus makes you better than someone without that experience. Remember "Big 4" is simply a reference to the biggest four CPA firms in the US. PwC, Ernst Young, Deloitte, and KPMG. 

When a CPA has a background in Big 4, especially for an extended number of years, that person has been through ten times the number of situations that someone from a small firm has seen. This isn't to say that they aren't as good of a CPA, I am simply pointing out that your chances of finding a high-level CPA are greater with a Big 4 accountant as they have been subjected to a large amount of high level, high stress work with very high expectations of completion and quality. Again, Big 4 experience doesn't mean the CPA will be great, but I personally find that the chances of hiring a good CPA go up when looking at Big 4 candidates versus non-Big 4 candidates (all other things equal of course)

10. Have you successfully defended any clients in the face of an IRS audit?

This will simply help put the cherry on top of the interview as it will get to the heart of the CPA candidate's experience level. "Pump and dump" firms exist all over the place, including the cannabis industry. They are attentive when accepting retainers, attentive to get your e-file form signed, then you never hear from them again. Preparing a return is one thing, defending it under IRS audit is another matter altogether. If you are looking for a CPA to partner with your company for success, having even minor tax audit experience will be beneficial.




For assistance, email info@B-Cconsulting.com and visit BC Consulting website