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JANUARY 2026 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1
TOPH’S TAX RESOLUTION TIMES
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This is a great time of year to begin new endeavors. In that spirit, I want to share with you an exciting new chapter in my life as a dad. Full-Court Chaos PERILS OF A THIRD-GRADE BASKETBALL COACH
I am the new head coach of my son’s third-grade basketball team.
When I volunteered for the job, it seemed like a slam dunk. Basketball is my favorite sport. I was the best three-point shooter on my high school basketball team. I have coaching experience in college golf and youth soccer. And I love shooting hoops with our kids.
of these kids would get better. Fortunately, I have two assistant coaches to help give every kid the focused attention on skill development they need at their current level. Improving Skills By the time the kids arrived at practice after school, they were in dire need of venting pent-up energy. Before we even got started, they were bouncing off the walls. After only a couple of drills, I realized we need to get them running laps and doing suicides before we start practicing skills, to get some of that energy out. Don’t get me wrong: I am excited for these challenges. But I have to admit I’m also a little stressed. I want to be sure these kids have a great experience. I want to be sure I’m able to make a difference in their lives and help them improve their skills. I want them to have fun learning how to play. And in the fundamentals of the game, the thing that would make me most proud is if, by the end of the season, they understand the positions and where they need to be on the floor, both offensively and defensively. I hope to see all of them working hard and investing effort. And I think it’s important that they know they’re playing to win. If I accomplish those things, I will be really proud.
How hard can it be to teach a bunch of 9-year-olds to run drills?
I have since discovered the answer: No harder than herding cats.
I prepared thoroughly for our first practice. I had a plan worked out in advance. I knew exactly what drills I wanted to do. I also prepped my own third grader, Rex. I try to be a humble parent, but Rex is a really good basketball player. He, his older brother Mac, and I often play together at home and at a local gym. I warned Rex coming into the season that as his coach, “I’m going to be hard on you!” He took it in stride. With the groundwork in place, our team started practices. By five minutes in, I knew I had to change my whole approach. There was no way my plan was going to work. That was my first eye-opener that this was going to be way harder and more challenging than I expected! Running Drills The first drill I had the team do was layups: Dribble in, shoot your layup, and get back in line, I told the kids. I split them into two lines, one with one of my two assistant coaches and one with me, and we started running the drill. Rex dribbled in and shot his layup with no problem. But it soon became apparent that the other two couldn’t dribble, and they didn’t have the strength to get the ball up to the basket. Soon, they started fooling around.
As the season begins … I’m just not sure yet how I’m going to do it.
–Toph Sheldon
Within five minutes, I realized I couldn’t coach all the players on the team the same way. My strategy would have to pivot; otherwise, none
DON’T LIVE IN FEAR - TOPH IS HERE!
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As we enter another new year, there’s no better time to adjust your daily habits to help you become the healthiest version of yourself mentally and physically. Here are three strategies you can incorporate into your New Year’s expectations and resolutions that will help ensure 2026 is your healthiest year yet! Start every day strong. Many Americans fall into the same routines year after year, and most are dangerous for their overall well-being. They stay up too late, wake up to an alarm a few hours later, scramble to get ready, and jump in the car as soon as possible to get to work. Your morning routine sets the tone for your day. If you’re in a hurry every morning, you will feel rushed and exhausted. Give yourself ample time in the morning to take care of yourself and some simple chores. Make your bed, have a glass of water, take good care of your hygiene, eat something, and incorporate some movement into your mornings. It will be hard initially, but you’ll feel the benefits within a few weeks. Diet and exercise matter. This is probably not news to you, but we can’t downplay the importance of diet and exercise. Listen to your body; it will tell you what it needs. Many people fall into the trap of overeating without realizing it or starving themselves when they want to lose weight, but this won’t make them feel good. 3 Daily Habits That Will Transform Your 2026
The long arm of the IRS can reach deeper into your life than you might expect. In the case of a couple who came to us recently for help, the agency even derailed their plans to visit family members overseas. This couple came to us in April 2023 with a total tax debt of $150,000 from the years 2008–2012. The issue had come to a head because the husband had been unable to renew his expired passport. This husband, a salaried employee, and the wife, a food-service employee at a school, were eager to pay a long-overdue visit to the wife’s family in Italy, and the wife had an Italian passport. But they wanted to make the trip together. And if citizens owe more than $62,000 in back taxes (the threshold as of 2024), the IRS can notify the U.S. Department of State, which in turn blocks them from securing or renewing a U.S. passport. This case was unusual in an important way. While investigating their case, I realized the statute of limitations on their IRS debt would expire in October 2025, 10 years after their last assessment or tax filing. After that drop-dead date, the ledger would be clear, and their debt would expire. With luck, if we did nothing, the debt might simply go away. We also had the option of pursuing a proactive solution to resolve the debt sooner. While we might have been able to negotiate a reduction in the couple’s total debt, they probably would still have had to make sizable installment payments to the IRS. So, I asked them: “Do you want to do nothing, hoping that we can cat-and-mouse the IRS for 2 1/2 years and make this go away? Or do you want to try to reach a proactive solution right away, so you can clear up the passport issue and take your trip?” They agreed that doing nothing was the best course of action, to wait out the statute of limitations. Fortunately, that strategy worked, and our clients ended up paying nothing. The IRS notices have stopped, and the $150,000 debt is gone. Free and clear of the IRS, I’m sure the couple will be planning their trip to Italy soon. Based on the last text messages I’ve received from them, they’ll be happy travelers for sure. HOW ONE COUPLE’S WAITING GAME PAID OFF Toph’s Tax Triumphs
Eat when your body tells you to, stick to a healthy diet, and find
time for exercise. You need to find ways to motivate yourself, especially when you want to stay in bed and stick to comfort foods. Your body will thank you.
Drink more water. How much water do you drink each day? The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine determined that men should drink about 15.5 cups of fluids daily and women should drink 11.5 cups. If you aren’t hitting these numbers, it’s time to adjust. Start and finish each day with a glass of water. Walk around with a refillable bottle. Staying hydrated will help your body function much better.
–Toph Sheldon
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ASHLEY’S CORNER Up Late, Up Early, All In: Missing That Fleeting Sleep Window
As a mother of six, I had so many years of disrupted sleep, nursing each of them. But I was always a good sleeper, even when my sleep was disrupted. I would hear the babies, wake up, feed them, and then go right back to sleep. Now, as the Festival of Sleep Day rolls around on Jan. 3, a day set aside for all of us to catch up on sleep, I have to admit: I need some. Even though the kids are mostly sleeping through the night and nobody is waking me up anymore, I am not sleeping well enough. Here’s the thing: The kids used to all go to bed at 7:30 p.m. After that, Toph and I would have a couple of hours to spend together, talking or watching a show, before I went to bed at 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. That was ideal. But now, the kids are getting older and they’re not all in bed until 9 or 9:30 p.m. By that time, I’m tired and ready to chill. If I go to bed right then, at 9:30 p.m. I fall asleep and sleep great. I suspect that time period is this magical thing called a “sleep window,” a period when your body is ready for sleep. But Toph is a night owl, and he’s ready to stay up for a couple more hours. I often stay up, too, because I want to have some time together. But by that point in the day, I’m just too tired to carry on a conversation or watch
a show. Also, if I do stay up later, I miss that sleep window! Then, when I finally do go to bed, I lie there awake, thinking, “OMG, I should be sleeping! Why am I not sleeping? I should have gone to bed when I was tired!”
I’m trying to find a better balance. Sleep and exercise are both so important for my health. I feel so much better if I take a walk or practice yoga, and get some quiet time to myself, even just 10 minutes a day. I’m trying to fit it all in. Toph and I have always loved doing a morning walk together. Where did that time go? I guess we have to re-create it. Maybe we could do that again, one morning a week, when we drop the kids off at preschool and take a walk together before he starts his workday.
I don’t think I’ve found the perfect balance yet. But it’s definitely a work in progress.
Take a Break
JALAPEÑO POPPER SOUP
Ingredients
• 4 bacon slices, chopped into 1/2- inch pieces • 5–6 large jalapeño peppers, minced with stems and seeds removed • 1/2 small onion, chopped • 4 garlic cloves, minced • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp cumin • 1 1/2 tsp salt • 1 lb gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces • 8 oz full-fat cream cheese • 1 cup shredded fresh cheddar cheese • 2 tbsp lemon juice
Directions
1. Place a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, then remove to a plate. 2. Add jalapeños and onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. Add garlic to the pot and sauté for 1 minute. 4. Stir in chicken broth, cumin, salt, and potatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes. 5. Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl and add 1 ladle of hot broth before mixing. 6. Add cream cheese mixture to the pot and stir. 7. Remove from heat and add cheddar cheese and lemon juice, stirring until the cheese melts. 8. Pour into serving bowls, topping with bacon and more shredded cheese.
Solution on Page 4
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Inspired by TheRecipeCritic.com
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Cincinnati Tax Resolution Powered by Toph Sheldon 9200 Montgomery Rd., Ste. 7B Cincinnati, OH 45242
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INSIDE
1
Toph Learns the Ropes as a Third-Grade Basketball Coach
2
Make 2026 Your Healthiest Year Yet Toph’s Tax Triumphs: A Waiting Strategy That Worked Wonders Ashley’s Corner: Finding Time for Her Family and Herself Jalapeño Popper Soup
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Toph’s Tax Nightmares: An IRS Attack Decks 2 Comedy Icons
THE IRS TAKES DOWN 2 COMEDY GREATS TOPH’S TAX NIGHTMARES!
As America went to war in the 1940s, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were among the highest-paid and most popular performers in the world. The stars of the burlesque-era comedy team, Abbott and Costello, were famous for their rapid-fire dialogues. Millions of Americans tuned in to their radio shows during the 1940s. Abbott and Costello were also national heroes. In 1942, they toured 78 cities in a little over a month, at their own expense, selling war bonds to help the government. The Treasury Department credited them with contributing $85 million to the war effort.
and those habits eventually caught up with them. Less than 20 years after their heroic nationwide fundraising tour, the government turned on them. The IRS slapped Abbott with a total tax bill of $750,000, the equivalent of about $8.25 million in today’s dollars. (The top marginal income tax rate in the 1950s was 91%, hitting taxpayers at Abbott’s and Costello’s six-figure income level very hard.) Abbott sold his home in Encino (California), his 200-acre ranch, and his wife’s jewelry and furs to make inroads on the debt, and also pledged his share of profit from Abbott and Costello’s past movies. Costello died in 1959, shortly after the IRS struck, but he also sold off belongings to pay back taxes.
Despite the IRS’s late-in-life sack, the pair left behind an impressive cultural legacy. They appeared in 36 films from 1940 to 1956. In their best-known sketch, “Who’s On First?” straight-man Abbott, a baseball player, tries to explain the day’s lineup to a confused popcorn vendor, Costello. With players named Who playing first base, What on second, and I Don’t Know on third, but the pair’s conversation soon devolves into a hilarious shouting match. In 1999, Time magazine recognized “Who’s On First” as the Best Comedy Sketch of the 20th Century. A clip of “Who’s On First?” from Abbott and Costello’s 1945 film, “The Naughty Nineties,” plays in a continuous loop in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Abbott and Costello were also known as free spenders who loved to gamble, however,
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DON’T LIVE IN FEAR - TOPH IS HERE!
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