Blind trust is expensive. Trust… but verify.

Every 1099 provider has at least one. For me it was the $20,000 unchecked box I posted about earlier. Before that, it was signing a contract with tail coverage buried in paragraph 14 — found out six months later it was going to cost me $18K to leave. Drop yours below. One sentence or three paragraphs — whatever's useful. We all learn faster when someone else has paid the tuition already. No judgment. These conversations don't happen in hospital break rooms because nobody wants to admit the expensive lesson. They happen here.

Why This Community Has a Citation Standard I want to explain why we have the rule about citations, because it's the reason this community exists. Every free resource for 1099 anesthesia providers — every Facebook group, every Reddit thread, every locked Google sheet passed around at conferences — suffers from the same core problem: confidently wrong advice repeated until it sounds like truth. I've lived this. My own accountant told me I couldn't use the Augusta Rule because I'm not a golfer. That's an actual thing that was said to me by a licensed professional I was paying to handle my taxes. It's also completely wrong — Augusta, Georgia is a zip code, not a qualifier. IRC Section 280A lets any homeowner rent their primary residence to their business for up to 14 days a year, tax-free. If I had accepted that claim without pushing back, I would have lost thousands of dollars every year for the rest of my career. Because he said it with confidence, and because he had credentials, and because I didn't have a framework to verify. That experience is why this community has a citation standard. Here's what the standard actually requires: When you make a claim about tax law, you cite IRC code, Treasury regulations, or IRS publications. When you make a claim about contract law, you cite statute, case law, or published attorney opinion. When you make a claim about regulatory compliance, you cite CMS, DOL, OSHA, or state-level primary sources. When you make a claim about professional standards, you cite AANA, NBCRNA, MGMA, or peer-reviewed nursing journals. When you share your own experience, you label it clearly as experience: "In my situation, in 2024, my CPA and I used X strategy and the result was Y. Here's the relevant IRC section." That last one matters. Personal experience IS citation — as long as you're honest about what it is and include the underlying law or regulation that applies. What the standard does NOT require: You don't have to footnote every sentence. You don't have to cite a source for obvious facts. You don't have to be a lawyer or a CPA to post. You don't have to get every detail perfect.

1099 Anesthesia Advantage exists because misinformation costs 1099 providers real money. Our single standard of admission, and the reason people pay to be here, is that every piece of advice in this community is verifiable. These rules apply to every post, comment, and reply. 1. Cite your source. Every claim about tax law, contract law, regulatory requirements, or financial strategy must be backed by one of the following: A specific IRC code, Treasury regulation, or IRS publication A primary regulatory source (CMS, DOL, state board of nursing, state attorney general opinion) A peer-reviewed publication or professional association guidance (AANA, MGMA) A named, credentialed professional (e.g., "my CPA Jane Doe at [firm] said...") Your own documented first-hand experience, clearly labeled as such "I heard..." "Someone told me..." "I read on Reddit..." — not acceptable. Rewrite or don't post. 2. Educational only. Never personalized advice. You can share frameworks. You can share your experience. You cannot give another member specific legal, tax, medical, or financial advice for their situation. Good: "When I was in Pennsylvania I used the PTET election and saved roughly $4,500 in federal tax. Here's the IRS reference." Not good: "You should elect PTET. You'll save $4,500." The difference matters. One is educational; the other is advisory. 3. No promotion of your own services or products without permission. Members who want to offer professional services (CPAs, attorneys, advisors, insurance brokers) must be vetted and approved before promoting. Contact Richard directly. Unapproved promotional posts will be removed without warning. 4. Disagreement is welcome. Disrespect is not. Push back on ideas. Challenge citations. Ask for sources. That's the whole point. But attacks on members, credentials, or motives are grounds for removal. 5. If you see something unverified, flag it. This community self-moderates by standard. If you see a claim without a source, ask the poster for one. That's not being combative — that's being a good member.

Last year, my accountant told me I was getting an $8,000 refund. Something didn’t feel right, so I asked him to take another look. At first, he reassured me everything was correct. But the next day, he called back — he had missed a checkbox on the return. My actual refund? $28,000. I almost left $20,000 on the table. Not because I wasn’t capable of catching it — but because I didn’t know what to look for or what questions to ask. That’s exactly why this community exists. Most of us hand our taxes to a professional and assume everything is handled. And to be fair, it usually is — at a basic level. Filing correctly avoids penalties. But filing optimally means taking advantage of every legal strategy available. Those are two very different standards — and most accountants are only required to meet the first. I’m curious — what’s the most expensive mistake you’ve ever caught from a professional?