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Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.

Volunteer Firefighter and EMT Taxes: Stipends, Per-Call Pay, Property-Tax Breaks, and LOSAP Awards

Volunteer firefighters and EMTs are usually employees for federal tax purposes, so stipends and per-call pay are W-2 wages. Section 139B excludes up to $50 for each month of service ($600 a year) plus qualified state and local tax benefits; LOSAP awards accrue tax-deferred under an $8,000 cap for 2026 and are taxed as ordinary income on payout with no FICA; only accountable-plan reimbursements stay off the W-2.

Tanzania's TZS 200 Million Presumptive Tax Threshold: The New 4% Rate and 12-Month Holiday Explained

From 1 July 2026 Tanzania's presumptive income tax regime covers turnover up to TZS 200 million at a 4% rate, up from TZS 100 million at 3.5%, and newly registered individual taxpayers with turnover of TZS 4M–200M get a 12-month income tax exemption dated from their TIN. Presumptive tax beats 30% self-assessment only above a net margin of roughly 13.3%.

Slotting Fees, Explained: What Grocery Shelf Space Really Costs a CPG Brand

Slotting fees run roughly $250–$1,000 per item per store in conventional grocery and $20,000–$100,000 per frozen SKU at large chains, and free fills, pay-to-stay charges and trade spend often double the real entry cost — here is how to model breakeven, negotiate the fee down, and book it correctly as a deduction against revenue rather than COGS.

The SEC Whistleblower Program, Explained: What a 10–30% Bounty Means for Your Company's Internal Controls

The SEC pays whistleblowers 10–30% of sanctions collected above $1 million, and received a record 53,753 tips in FY2025. Here is how the program works, why private companies are in scope, what Rule 21F-17 forbids in your NDAs, and the five internal-control steps that keep a concern from becoming an enforcement action.

Lending Money to Your Own S Corporation: How Stock Basis, Debt Basis, and Loan Paperwork Decide Whether Your Losses Are Deductible

An S corporation K-1 loss is deductible only up to your stock basis plus debt basis, and a personal guarantee of a corporate bank loan creates zero debt basis. This guide covers the two basis buckets, the $25,000 open-account-debt threshold, the repayment gain trap, and the documentation that keeps a shareholder advance from being reclassified as equity.

Roller Rink Bookkeeping: Admissions, Rentals, Parties, and a Floor That Doesn't Wreck Your Cash Flow

A roller rink is six businesses under one roof — admissions, rentals, parties, concessions, lessons, arcade — and blending them into one revenue line hides which ones pay for the building. How to track each stream, handle admissions tax, capitalize a ~$37,600 skate fleet, book party deposits as liabilities, and fund the annual floor recoat at $0.50–$2.50 per square foot.