In this episode of The Divorce the IRS Podcast, Jimmy Miller pulls back the curtain on the many hidden taxes quietly draining your money every day. While most people are familiar with the taxes that come out of their paycheck, few realize how many additional taxes and fees are layered into nearly every aspect of daily life.

Jimmy begins by breaking taxes into two main categories. The first includes federal, state, and local income taxes, which are progressive and increase as income rises. The second category covers payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare—taxes most people sign up for without much thought when they fill out a W-2. This podcast focuses primarily on income taxes, with the goal of helping you eliminate or dramatically reduce them in retirement.

While payroll taxes technically stop when you stop working, Jimmy explains that they don’t disappear entirely. In retirement, higher income can trigger taxes on up to 85 percent of your Social Security benefits and lead to increased Medicare premiums through income-based surcharges. These outcomes surprise many retirees, especially since they already paid into these systems for decades. With proper planning, however, these taxes can often be minimized or avoided altogether.

From there, Jimmy expands the conversation beyond income taxes to reveal just how widespread hidden taxes have become. Taxes and fees are built into everyday necessities like fuel, transportation, utilities, cell phone bills, airline tickets, and cable services. Even leisure activities—dining out, entertainment, alcohol purchases, and pet registrations—carry layers of taxation that most people barely notice.

Many of these taxes are disguised with vague names like “service fees,” “documentation charges,” or “equalization fees,” making them easy to overlook and hard to question. Because they feel small in isolation, most people don’t object—exactly what makes them so effective. Jimmy emphasizes that these charges can add up to an enormous, ongoing drain on your finances, often without you ever realizing how much you’re paying over time.

Because many hidden taxes are unavoidable unless you radically change your lifestyle, Jimmy explains why it’s even more important to focus on eliminating the taxes you can control in retirement. Reducing federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare-related taxes can make a meaningful difference during the years when income matters most.

This episode lays the groundwork for understanding why tax planning must extend beyond paycheck withholding and into a broader awareness of how money is siphoned away over a lifetime. In the next episode, Jimmy tackles a common misconception about how the progressive tax system really works and why misunderstanding it can lead to costly mistakes.

Resources (mentioned in the episode)

• How Do I Tax Thee?: A Field Guide to the Great American Rip-Off (Kristin Tate) - Click HERE.

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In this second episode of The Divorce the IRS Podcast, Jimmy Miller expands on what it really means to “divorce” the IRS and why taxes play a much bigger role in your financial life than most people realize.

Jimmy begins with a simple truth: no one enjoys paying taxes—especially surprise tax bills. While many people celebrate refunds, few realize refunds are often just their own money returned without interest, or even a loan they’ll repay later. This episode tees up future conversations that challenge common assumptions about taxes, refunds, and wealth.

One of the biggest reasons Americans struggle to build lasting wealth isn’t lack of effort—it’s lack of planning. Jimmy explains how taxes quietly undermine wealth creation over time. On average, Americans work more than 100 days each year just to cover their federal tax burden, even more when state taxes are included. This reality helped create “Tax Freedom Day,” when the nation has earned enough to pay its total tax bill.

This episode introduces the core philosophy of the podcast: real financial success requires modern, forward-thinking planning that looks beyond this year or next. It means saving and investing with a lifetime tax lens, deliberately minimizing what you owe the IRS during your life and even after it.

Jimmy explains that the show is built to help listeners identify and avoid “tax time bombs”—hidden traps in the tax code that can derail retirement plans, reduce income, and create painful surprises later in life. These traps often come from well-intentioned but incomplete advice and rules that quietly benefit the IRS more than the individual.

Listeners get a preview of what’s coming, including:

• Hidden taxes beyond income tax
• The three tax buckets and common misconceptions
• Why tax deductions and tax-deferred accounts may not always help
• The myth of being in a lower tax bracket in retirement
• The eight biggest tax time bombs and how to diffuse each one
• Roth strategies, conversions, and backdoor options
• Finding your “ideal number” for tax-deferred savings
• How this applies to F.I.R.E., real estate, and “die broke” strategies
• Planning for expats, cross-border families, and foreign nationals in the U.S.

Jimmy also emphasizes that while strategies can be implemented at any stage, time is your greatest advantage. Contribution limits and tax rules reward early planning—the sooner you start, the more control you can have over your tax future.

The episode closes with tax facts, including total taxes collected annually, money left unclaimed by non-filers, and the reality that U.S. citizens are taxed on worldwide income—even when living abroad.

This podcast is educational and designed to give you the foundational knowledge to make better decisions and avoid preventable mistakes. With the right planning, Jimmy believes many people can approach—or even achieve—a 0% federal tax bracket in retirement.

If you want to understand how taxes truly impact wealth and learn how to take control of your lifetime tax picture, this episode sets the foundation for everything that follows.

• Visit Divorce-the-IRS.com
• Visit Baobab Wealth
• Visit Baobab Wealth Abroad
• Buy a copy of Jimmy's book, Divorce the IRS
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In this episode of The Divorce the IRS Podcast, author and retirement income specialist Jimmy Miller shares the mission behind the show and why tax planning—not just investing—is the foundation of a better retirement.

This podcast is designed for people who want to keep more of their hard-earned money, reduce unnecessary taxes, and build a retirement income strategy that lasts. Jimmy explains why strategic tax planning is not something you start on the day you retire, but a journey of decisions made years in advance. With proper planning, it may even be possible for many retirees to pay little to no federal income tax in retirement.

Throughout the episode, Jimmy introduces the concept of “tax time bombs”—hidden tax traps that catch retirees off guard and quietly erode wealth. The purpose of this show isn’t just to help you understand those traps, but to help you avoid them entirely by building a lifetime tax plan that puts you back in control and allows you to officially “divorce” the IRS when you retire.

Drawing from the bestselling book Divorce the IRS (now in its second edition), this podcast expands on the book’s core ideas with timely updates, real-world examples, and episodes that reflect tax law changes. Jimmy also previews future interviews with experts and individuals who share lessons learned—from both smart planning and costly mistakes—so listeners can benefit from real experiences.

Jimmy also shares his personal story and why tax planning became central to his work. With over 20 years as a fiduciary, fee-based financial advisor and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, he has seen firsthand how taxes can either build or destroy wealth. As his practice evolved, he realized that proactive tax planning often makes a bigger difference in a client’s life than almost any other financial decision.

Born overseas and having spent much of his life living abroad, Jimmy brings a global perspective to wealth planning and taxation. His experience working with Americans both in the U.S. and internationally has shaped his understanding of how taxes impact long-term financial independence. Those experiences—and the regrets he’s seen from people who planned too late—ultimately led him to write Divorce the IRS and launch this podcast.

If you’ve never been a fan of paying taxes and want to learn how to structure your retirement so you keep more of what you’ve earned, this podcast is for you. The goal is simple: help you make smarter decisions, avoid preventable tax mistakes, and retire with confidence and clarity.

Resources & Next Steps
Explore tools and resources at Divorce-The-IRS.com
Learn more about retirement income planning at BaobabWealth.com
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Disclosure
Baobab Wealth and Baobab Wealth Abroad are DBAs of Baobab Wealth, LLC, a Florida Registered Investment Advisor. This podcast is for general educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, or investment advice. Always consult a qualified tax professional or licensed financial advisor regarding your personal

• Visit Divorce-the-IRS.com
• Visit Baobab Wealth
• Visit Baobab Wealth Abroad
• Buy a copy of Jimmy's book, Divorce the IRS
• Follow us on Facebook
• Subscribe to us on YouTube
• Connect with us on LinkedIn