Your K-1 Item L Capital Account: Negative Balances and Why It Never Matches Your Basis
Item L reports tax-basis capital, not your outside basis — the IRS excludes partnership debt, so a negative ending balance is usually arithmetic, not alarm.
Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
Which Labor Law Posters Do You Actually Have to Hang?
Every required federal labor law poster is free from the DOL, so the $90 compliance mailer is a scam. Which sheets you owe, plus state and remote rules.
Your Refund Never Arrived? How to Trace a Lost, Stolen, or Misdirected IRS Refund With Form 3911
IRS Form 3911 traces a missing refund after 5 days for direct deposit or 4–9 weeks for paper checks; BFS then cancels the original or investigates the forgery.
Louisiana Folded Its Plumbing Board Into the Contractors Board: What HB 953 Means for Your License and Your Shop
Louisiana's HB 953 dissolves the State Plumbing Board on January 1 — journeyman hours drop from 7,000 to 2,500 and the apprentice ratio rises to 1:3.
The Mid-Quarter Convention Trap: How Q4 Equipment Purchases Can Slash Your First-Year Depreciation
More than 40% of your MACRS basis placed in service in Q4 forces the IRS mid-quarter convention on every asset — a 5-year purchase falls from 20% to 5%.
Workers' Comp in Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming: Why You Can't Shop for Private Coverage
Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming bar private workers' comp, and the state fund sells Part One only — stop-gap coverage closes the liability hole.
Montenegro's 2026 VAT Overhaul: How to Reclaim the Tax on Invoices You Never Got Paid
Montenegro's 2026 VAT amendments let you reclaim output VAT on uncollectible invoices — but only with a court decision, and only if you sued first.
Are You Leaving the New $6,000 Senior Deduction on the Table?
The new US senior deduction gives filers 65+ up to $6,000 through 2028, shrinking 6 cents per dollar of MAGI over $75,000 single or $150,000 joint.
That Thank-You Letter Is a Tax Document: What Your Nonprofit Must Put in Every $250-Plus Donor Acknowledgment
A gift of $250 or more needs a contemporaneous written acknowledgment before the donor files — five IRS-required elements, or the deduction fails.
North Carolina's Corporate Tax Is Going to Zero. Your S-Corp Was Never Paying It.
North Carolina's corporate rate hits 0% in 2030, but S corporations never paid it — and the state imposes no built-in gains tax. Here's what actually changes.
Powder Coating Shop Bookkeeping: Job Costing by Square Foot, Rack, and Cure
Powder runs $0.25 per square foot at 50% transfer efficiency — quote from that floor, allocate oven energy per cure, and reserve 2–5% of revenue for redos.
You Paid Customers to Send You Customers: When Referral Rewards Trigger 1099-MISC Reporting in 2026
IRS referral rewards are taxable income with no purchase required; for 2026 you must file Form 1099-MISC once one customer tops $2,000.