Dave Zook, founder of The Real Asset Investor. Dave’s expertise in tax strategy and investments stems from his journey in navigating tax liabilities and building wealth. Through his venture, he empowers others with educational resources and strategic investments tailored to their needs. As a successful business owner and investment strategist, Dave has placed over $800M in various asset classes, including ATMs, car washes, energy, and self-storage facilities. Recognized as a top ATM fund operator, Dave also advises on digital assets. He shares his insights as a sought-after speaker on platforms like The Real Estate Guys Radio Show. Dave emphasizes proactive planning for financial success. He resides in Lancaster, PA, with his wife and four children.
Episode Highlights Here:
Dave
Look, I don’t like make an investment just for the tax. Just for the tax impact, it’s got to be a great investment, it’s got to be an investment that did either builds your income stream or builds a, you know, equity appreciation over time or, you know, has the potential to really escalate and make some capital gains promise.
Brett
What is the number one maybe not as thought of secret to investing in assets for tax free growth?
Dave
Yeah. So as you can imagine, going from a half million dollars a year to zero while exponentially increasing my income. Tax is near and dear to my heart. And so I’m always looking at asset classes that will deliver me the depreciation that I’m looking for. So early on, and this is probably starting back about 11 years ago, 11 or 12 years ago, I started investing in ATM machines. And I’m, I’m really a serial investor. I am by nature a pretty positive person. So you paint me up a nice story and tell me a great story. I know, I used to fall for all of them fall for much fewer of them these days, because I’ve learned my lesson along the way. But I’m looking for assets that give me a couple of things. I’m looking to build wealth, I’m looking to build my income streams, and I’m looking to keep the money that I’m earning. So let’s break it down for an ATM investment, then we’ll I’ll talk about carwashes as well, because they they’re they’re pretty unique as well. But when you invest in an ATM machine, we’re, by the way, we’re we’re top four in the country in the ATM world. So if you see an ATM out there in a in a convenient store is good chance it might be one of ours. So we’re one of the top four ATM operators in the country. So when you invest in an ATM machine, you’re buying a equipment. And then then you got to look at the tax code. Okay, what does that mean? What what does what does buying equipment mean? For me from a tax perspective? You know, up until last year, you know, up until the beginning of this year, you can write off 100% of that in year one. Now, it’s 80, as you know, but you get to write off 80% of that in year one. So if you invest $100,000, you automatically get an $80,000 loss in year one that you can use the to protect yourself from, let’s say you sold a building and made a profit or let’s say you’ve got some other passive income or let’s say you got depreciation recapture. That’s a big one. 80% and your one is the is a big deal.
Brett
Yeah, ATMs. Wow, top for operator, that’s awesome. So right do neck with section 179 accelerated depreciation and during the bonus part of that to be able to write that off. So you can put $100,000 in offset, you know, $80,000 in year one, and that can also carry for day talk about that, or the next next best secret to tax flow, free investing.
Dave
Yeah, so what you don’t use? Okay, so let’s say you made the investment and look, I don’t like make an investment just for the tax. Just for the tax impact, it’s got to be a great investment, it’s got to be an investment that did either builds your income stream or builds a you know, equity appreciation over time or, you know, has the potential to really escalate and make some capital gains profit. But really, what what we do is we, we take that tax impact, and we use it to offset other income, you align it with other income streams, and if you can’t use all of it, or any of it, you know, there’s no way there’s no bad way to use depreciation. Like if you can’t use it in year one, it doesn’t roll forward and keep rolling forward until you get to use on it. Think you got like 24 years to roll it forward. So what I usually tell people from an ATM investment, if you did nothing, and it just sat there and in your depreciation bucket, you can wipe out the tax liability on the income coming from that investment. So it doesn’t go to waste even if you don’t use in the year one.
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About Dave Zook
Dave Zook founded The Real Asset Investor in 2015 after growing a handful of successful businesses which resulted in significant tax liabilities. At that time, he became intrigued with how to legally reduce his tax liability and dedicated himself to learning the intricacies of the tax code. He educated himself on this topic, surrounded himself with experts in this field and sought investments in asset classes and with operators that would not only benefit his tax situation but also provide strong returns to protect and build wealth. Dave has become an expert in tax strategy and investments after years of education and experience and founded The Real Asset Investor to help others through education and by offering investments that help achieve their financial plan and goals.
“One needs to be proactive, strategize and create a plan to achieve a tax and investment plan that fits your situation and objectives. Create a plan, stay ahead, and surround yourself with the right people to help you execute on that plan.”
Dave is a successful Business owner, Syndicator and an Investment and Tax Strategist. Dave and his team at The Real Asset Investor have placed more than $800M across various asset classes which offer Cash Flow, Tax Impact and Equity Growth for investors. These asset classes include ATMs, Car Washes, Energy, Self-Storage and more. He and his team are one of the Top 5 ATM Fund Operators in the country. Dave was an early investor in Bitcoin and Digital Assets, and he holds an advisory role at Off the Chain Capital, one of the top performing funds in the world for the last 5 years. Dave is a sought-after speaker and has shared his knowledge across various media platforms such as The International Business Conference, The Real Estate Guys Radio Show, Cashflow Ninja and others. Dave and his wife Susan along with their 4 children live in Lancaster, PA
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