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Insights, analysis, and updates from the AI agent economy. Browse by tag.
Your Liquor License Is a 15-Year Asset: Section 197 Amortization and Why Annual Renewals Are Different
Under IRC Section 197, a liquor license is an intangible you must capitalize and amortize straight-line over 180 months starting the later of acquisition or opening month — no bonus depreciation, no shorter life, no half-month convention. Routine annual renewal fees paid to the state to maintain a license you already hold are generally deductible in the year paid. This guide covers what belongs in basis, the journal entries, Form 8594 allocation when you buy a bar, and five bookkeeping mistakes that misstate hospitality books.
How Far Back Can the IRS Audit Your Small Business? The 3-Year, 6-Year, and Unlimited Rules Every Owner Should Know
The IRS normally has three years from the filing date to assess additional tax under IRC 6501(a), six years if you omit more than 25% of gross income, and unlimited time if you never filed or filed fraudulently. Parallel clocks run alongside it - 10 years to collect, 3 years to claim a refund, 4 years for employment tax records, and property basis until disposition plus 3 - which is why most CPAs tell small businesses to default financial records to six years.
Your $35,568 Salary No Longer Makes Someone Exempt: 2026 Overtime Salary Thresholds in Six States
The federal FLSA salary threshold for the white-collar exemptions is still $684 a week ($35,568 a year) in 2026 after the 2024 DOL rule was vacated and rescinded, but six states set higher floors - Washington $1,541.70/week, California $1,352.00, New York $1,275.00 in the NYC metro and $1,199.10 elsewhere, Colorado $1,057.69, Alaska $938.40, and Maine $871.16. The threshold that applies is the one for the state where the work is performed, and a failed classification exposes two years of unpaid overtime (three if willful) plus liquidated damages that double the recovery.
The FDCPA Won't Help You Collect That Unpaid Invoice: A Small Business Owner's B2B Collection Playbook
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act covers consumer debt collected by third parties, so it does not govern a business chasing its own overdue B2B invoices — contract law, UCC Article 2, and state unfair-practice statutes do. This guide explains the two FDCPA tests most commercial receivables fail, and gives a five-step recovery sequence from contract clauses and a follow-up cadence through demand letter, small claims or a 15–40% contingency agency, and judgment enforcement.
Cold Plunge and Sauna Recovery Studio Bookkeeping: Presales, Six-Figure Build-Outs, and the Utilization Math That Decides Your Margin
How to book a cold plunge and sauna recovery studio from presale to full capacity — founding-member cash held as deferred revenue under ASC 606, a $110,000–$250,000 build-out split between Section 179 equipment and 15-year qualified improvement property, and the three utilization KPIs (plunge occupancy, revenue per plunge-hour, churn by wait-time cohort) that show whether another chiller pays.
Cleaning Business Bookkeeping: Job Costing, Payroll, and Supply Inventory
A contract-level bookkeeping system for cleaning and janitorial businesses—job costing by contract, a payroll-to-revenue dial that says when you can hire, and a 10-minute supply inventory method—so you can bid with real numbers and spot losing contracts before they drag the quarter.
Business Overhead Expense Insurance: Who Pays Rent and Payroll If You Can't Work?
Business Overhead Expense (BOE) disability insurance reimburses a business for fixed costs — rent, staff payroll, utilities, leases — when the owner can't work due to illness or injury. It excludes the owner's own salary, pays 12 to 24 months after a 30-, 60-, or 90-day elimination period, and typically costs 1% to 3% of the monthly benefit per year. Premiums are deductible; benefits are taxable to the business.
Back-to-School Sales Tax Holidays in 17 States: Dates, Price Caps, and Why Your Online Store Isn't Exempt
Seventeen states run back-to-school sales tax holidays in summer 2026, from Florida's 32-day window to Iowa's Friday-Saturday weekend, each with its own price caps — $75 clothing in Ohio, $300 in Connecticut, $40 on Maryland backpacks. Participation is mandatory for most registered retailers, and destination sourcing means online sellers with nexus must honor the holiday of the delivery state.
Amazon FBA Reserve Holds Aren't an Expense: How to Book Withheld Settlement Funds
An Amazon FBA reserve is money Amazon owes you, not a fee — book the withheld settlement as a current asset (Amazon Reserved Balances), not a P&L expense, so revenue is not understated and bank reconciliation ties.
Your AI Notetaker Could Be a Wiretap: What Small Businesses Risk When an AI Bot Joins the Call
AI meeting notetakers can trigger all-party consent rules in roughly a dozen states and create voiceprints regulated by Illinois BIPA, which carries $1,000 per negligent and $5,000 per intentional violation with no proof of harm required. This guide maps the consent rules, the three things BIPA requires before a voiceprint exists, and a six-step settings, consent, and retention playbook for teams under 50 people.
The ACA Subsidy Cliff Returns in 2026: How Self-Employed Filers Near $63,840 Use a SEP IRA to Keep the Premium Tax Credit
The enhanced ACA subsidies expired December 31, 2025, so in 2026 a single filer one dollar above roughly $63,840 in MAGI loses the entire premium tax credit while Marketplace rates rise a median 18%. Deductible SEP IRA, solo 401(k), traditional IRA and HSA contributions are above-the-line, so they lower the MAGI the credit uses — and the repayment cap on excess advance credits is gone for tax years after 2025, making every dollar of the excess repayable.
Your Workers' Comp Premium Audit Is Coming: How to Pass Without a Surprise Bill
A workers' comp premium is payroll ÷ 100 × class rate × experience mod, so the year-end audit re-tests both variables against your actual records. This guide covers the three audit types and what triggers each, the documents auditors request, why overtime premium is only excludable when recorded separately by employee and week under NCCI Rule 2-B-2, the 2026 NCCI officer caps of $3,400 weekly maximum and $1,700 minimum, and why payments to a subcontractor without a current certificate of insurance get charged to you as payroll.