A $29,106 software investment returned +$14,014 net to the partner in year one.
$29,106 invested in qualifying AI software resources. Tax reduction in engagement year one: $43,120. Net cash position: +$14,014.
Critzer Cardani PC
cclawva.comClient
Critzer Cardani PC
Location
Richmond, VA
Engagement
Hearth Legacy Program
Strategy
Software deduction · §179 + §162
Two partners, forty years of combined practice, and a $58,672 tax bill the firm had never had a structure to work against. The first year of the engagement ended $14,014 ahead — the down payment recovered, the balance retiring through assigned licensing revenue.
Scott D. CardaniPartner, Critzer Cardani PC
Where the +$14,014 came from.
First-year total tax liability reduced from $58,672 to $15,552 — a savings of $43,120 across federal income tax and Virginia state tax. The $29,106 down payment was covered by the year-one tax reduction, leaving a net Year 1 cash position of +$14,014. The financed balance is retiring through assigned licensing revenue.
Proportion across tax bases · source: Meridian 44 tax analysis, June 2026
A $58,672 annual tax burden with a $200,000 deduction waiting.
Scott D. Cardani is a founding partner at Critzer Cardani PC, a two-partner Virginia law firm based in Richmond with fifteen practice areas and forty-plus years of combined experience. Partner compensation flows entirely as W-2 income from the firm. Combined household W-2 income of $234,000 carried a combined federal and Virginia state tax obligation of $58,672 annually — with no structural mechanism in place to reduce it through the firm itself.
One investment, two tax bases reduced in year one.
Hearth engaged Scott Cardani through the Hearth Legacy Program via a separate LLC entity. 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.
A separate LLC committed to a $200,000 qualifying AI software resource package — $29,106 down payment, $170,894 financed at zero interest and repaid through assigned M44 licensing revenue.
Outcome · $200,000 deducted in engagement year one
Move 02
Section 179 and ordinary expense combined.
$25,000 Section 179 first-year expensing on the software-product portion; $175,000 classified as ordinary business expense under §162. Both reduce household taxable income, compressing federal income tax and Virginia state tax in the same year.
Outcome · Federal and Virginia both reduced
Move 03
Down payment recovered from savings.
The $29,106 down payment was covered in full by the first-year tax reduction of $43,120. Net Year 1 cash position: +$14,014, with no out-of-pocket loss and the principal balance unwinding through assigned licensing revenue.
Outcome · +$14,014 net · engagement year one
Results from year one of the engagement.
Net cash position · engagement year one
+$14,014
Year 1 · documented
First-year total tax reduction
$43,120
Year 1 · documented
Down payment (self-funded from savings)
$29,106
Year 1 · documented
Scott D. Cardani — Partner, Critzer Cardani PC. Used with permission.
The Hearth modules used in this engagement.
The same engagement, available through your firm.
Hearth Legacy Program runs through partner firms — CPAs, tax attorneys, accountants, and family offices. The firm stays the trusted advisor.
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