Case study · 2025

A $62,569 software investment returned +$29,444 net to the agency in year one.

$62,569 invested in qualifying AI software resources. Tax reduction in engagement year one: $92,013. Net cash position: +$29,444.

Case StudyHearth Legacy ProgramTax Architecture

Boulevard Creative

boulevardrva.com

Client

Boulevard Creative

Location

Glen Allen, VA

Engagement

Hearth Legacy Program

Strategy

Software deduction · §179 + §162

A three-person agency was sending $111,057 a year to three separate tax bases. Engagement year one closed $29,444 to the good, and the software investment was paid for out of the savings it produced.
Trevor Dickerson
Founder, Boulevard Creative

Show your work

Where the +$29,444 came from.

First-year total tax liability reduced from $111,057 to $19,045 — a savings of $92,013 across federal income tax, self-employment tax, and Virginia state tax. The $62,569 down payment was covered by the year-one tax reduction, leaving a net Year 1 cash position of +$29,444. The financed balance is retiring through assigned licensing revenue.

First-year tax reduction · scope+$29,444

Federal income

Self-employment

Virginia state

Illustrative proportion across tax bases · source: Meridian 44 tax analysis, June 2026

Situation

A $111,000 annual tax burden with a $325,000 deduction waiting.

Boulevard Creative is a full-service digital marketing agency based in Glen Allen, Virginia. Founded in 2014 by Trevor Dickerson, the firm runs a three-person core team across web design and development, graphic design, marketing strategy, paid media, HubSpot automation, AI integration, and fractional CMO engagements. Combined household income of $430,000 — $340,000 from the agency LLC and $90,000 in W-2 income — carried a combined federal, self-employment, and Virginia state tax obligation of $111,057 annually. The agency's tax position had not been structured to capture available software resource deductions.

Approach

One investment, three tax bases reduced in year one.

Hearth engaged Boulevard Creative through the Hearth Legacy Program. The work centered on a qualifying AI software resource acquisition under the Meridian 44 framework, structured so each election could be defended on its own.

Move 01

Software resource commitment structured.

The agency LLC committed to a $325,000 qualifying AI software resource package — $62,569 down payment, $262,431 financed at zero interest and repaid through assigned M44 licensing revenue.

Outcome · $325,000 deducted in engagement year one

Move 02

Section 179 and ordinary expense combined.

$50,000 Section 179 first-year expensing on the software-product portion; $275,000 classified as ordinary business expense under §162. Both reduce Schedule C net profit, compressing federal income tax, self-employment tax, and Virginia state tax in the same year.

Outcome · Federal, SE, and Virginia all reduced

Move 03

Down payment recovered from savings.

The $62,569 down payment was covered in full by the first-year tax reduction of $92,013. Net Year 1 cash position: +$29,444, with no out-of-pocket loss and the principal balance unwinding through assigned licensing revenue.

Outcome · +$29,444 net · engagement year one

Outcome