#compliance
Navigate regulatory compliance and maintain audit-ready financial records
The FTC's 2026 "double disclosure" rule requires sponsored posts to separately disclose AI involvement in addition to paid-partnership status, with penalties up to $53,088 per non-compliant post.
The Department of Labor's October 2025 H-2A rule replaced the flat state AEWR with a two-tier OEWS-based wage system and a new housing credit of $0.71 to $3.18 per hour, projected to save U.S. farms $2.4 billion a year — but it requires separate pay codes by skill level and documented job orders to survive an audit.
Illinois excludes employer 401(k) matching contributions from state unemployment insurance (SUI) taxable wages for contributions made after June 30, 2026, under an amendment to 56 Ill. Adm. Code 2730.155; employee deferrals remain taxable, and the change aligns Illinois with existing federal FUTA treatment.
Illinois' Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act takes effect June 1, 2026, requiring employers with 16 or more employees to provide 10 to 20 days of unpaid, job-protected leave for children hospitalized in a NICU, with civil penalties up to $5,000 per affected employee.
On April 6, 2026, the IRS opened its free Business Tax Account portal to partnerships, tax-exempt organizations, and government entities, letting a designated official view balances, download an EIN verification notice, and make payments online instead of mailing paper forms.
Manufactured housing operators need separate TOH and POH accounts, itemized utility line items, and dedicated infrastructure capex tracking, since RUBS billing bans in Minnesota and Colorado are already reshaping how utility cost recovery must be documented in 2026.
Meaderies are classified as bonded wine premises under 27 CFR Part 24, file TTB Form 5000.24, and owe wine excise tax of $1.07 per gallon up to 16% ABV — reduced to roughly $0.07 per gallon on the first 30,000 gallons under the CBMA small producer credit.
New York's NYDFS has proposed the first state BNPL licensing framework, requiring lenders to obtain a license and merchants to transmit refund credit statements within seven business days of approving a return.
Starting with tax year 2026, employers must separately report qualified overtime compensation on Form W-2 using Box 12, Code TT — but only the FLSA-required premium half of overtime pay qualifies, capped at $12,500 for single filers and $25,000 for joint filers.
OSHA's April 2026 National Emphasis Program targets 55 high-risk industries for heat-illness inspections, with citations starting at $16,550 per violation — here's the written plan, acclimatization schedule, and state rules small employers need to stay compliant.
Fee-only RIAs that bill AUM fees in advance must track accrued, billed, and collected revenue as three distinct events, since SEC Rule 206(4)-2 treats direct fee deduction from custodian accounts as a form of custody requiring itemized invoices and five-year recordkeeping under Rule 204-2.
Property managers who commingle short-term rental trust funds with operating cash face fines from $1,000 to $25,000 per violation and, in states like California, license suspension once commingled amounts exceed $10,000.
