#compliance

Compliance

Navigate regulatory compliance and maintain audit-ready financial records

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May 15, 202617 min read

Section 119 Meals and Lodging for the Convenience of the Employer: How Hospitality, Hospital, and Caretaker Employers Keep On-Premises Housing and Cafeteria Meals Out of Wages

Section 119 lets employers exclude on-premises meals and required-residence lodging from employee wages, with no FICA and no income tax withholding. This guide walks through the convenience-of-the-employer test, the "more than half" safe harbor, qualified campus lodging, the Kowalski cash rule, and what the 2026 Section 274(o) deduction sunset does and does not change.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningtax-compliance

May 15, 202610 min read

Section 119: How Employers Give Workers Tax-Free Meals and Housing on the Business Premises

Section 119 of the IRS code allows tax-free meals and lodging furnished by employers on business premises, for employer convenience, and lodging as a condition

Mike Thrift

taxemployee-benefitspayroll

May 15, 202615 min read

Section 199A Rental Real Estate Safe Harbor: How Landlords Log 250 Hours, Avoid the Triple Net Lease Trap, and Lock In the 20% QBI Deduction

Revenue Procedure 2019-38 lets landlords treat rental real estate as a trade or business for the 20% QBI deduction if they log 250 hours of qualifying services, keep contemporaneous records, avoid triple net leases, and file a signed election — now permanent under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Mike Thrift

real-estatetaxtax-planning

May 15, 202611 min read

The Section 199A Rental Real Estate Safe Harbor: A Guide for Schedule E Landlords

Rev. Proc. 2019-38 lets landlords claim the 20% QBI deduction if a rental enterprise logs 250+ hours of rental services a year with contemporaneous records and a signed election. Triple net leases and personal-use property are excluded.

Mike Thrift

taxreal-estatetax-deductions

May 15, 202612 min read

Section 461(h) Economic Performance and the Recurring Item Exception: When Accrual-Basis Liabilities Are Actually Deductible

Section 461(h) layers an economic performance test on top of the all-events test, so accrual-basis taxpayers cannot deduct a liability until the underlying activity actually happens. The recurring item exception accelerates deductions for predictable expenses when economic performance occurs within 8½ months of year-end and four specific conditions are met.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancetax-planning

May 15, 202615 min read

Section 4958 Intermediate Sanctions: How Nonprofit Boards Avoid 25% and 200% Excise Taxes on Excess Benefit Transactions

Section 4958 imposes 25% and 200% excise taxes on excess benefit transactions between public charities and disqualified persons, with a 10% manager tax on knowing approvers. Following three procedural steps creates a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness that shifts the burden of proof to the IRS.

Mike Thrift

nonprofittax-complianceexecutive-compensation

May 15, 202611 min read

Section 509(a) Public Support Test: How Nonprofits Stay Public Charities

The Section 509(a) public support test requires 501(c)(3) nonprofits to draw more than one-third of support from the public over a rolling five-year window. Fail it twice and you tip into private foundation status—facing a 1.39% excise tax on investment income, mandatory 5% annual payout, and donor deduction limits that drop from 60% to 30% of AGI.

Mike Thrift

nonprofittax-compliancebookkeeping

May 15, 202613 min read

Section 6603 Deposits: Stop IRS Interest on Disputed Tax Without Giving Up Appeal Rights

A Section 6603 deposit freezes IRS underpayment interest on contested tax while preserving your appeal, Tax Court, and withdrawal rights. This guide covers the written designation under Rev. Proc. 2005-18, when a deposit beats a payment, LIFO withdrawal mechanics, and the procedural traps that turn planned deposits into accidental payments.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancetax-planning

May 15, 202614 min read

Segregation of Duties When You Only Have Three Employees: A Practical Internal Controls Playbook for Small Businesses

A working blueprint for splitting authorization, custody, recording, and reconciliation across a three-person business — including the compensating controls that stop the $141,000 median fraud loss that hits small companies hardest.

Mike Thrift

small-businessfraud-preventionbookkeeping

May 14, 202616 min read

SSARS 21 Compilations, Reviews, and Preparations: Picking the Right CPA Engagement Without Overpaying for Assurance

A practical guide to AR-C 70 preparation, AR-C 80 compilation, and AR-C 90 review engagements — what each delivers, typical fee ranges, and how private companies match the right tier to lender, surety, and investor requirements without paying for unused assurance.

Mike Thrift

cpacompliancefinancial-statements

May 14, 202613 min read

ASC 740 Income Tax Provision for Private Companies: A Controller's Playbook for Current, Deferred, and the New ASU 2023-09 Disclosures Effective 2026

How private-company controllers build the ASC 740 income tax provision—current and deferred components, valuation allowances, UTBs, and the new ASU 2023-09 disclosures that take effect for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2025.

Mike Thrift

taxfinancial-reportingcompliance

May 14, 202613 min read

ASC 740 for Private Companies: A 2026 Guide to the Income Tax Provision and ASU 2023-09

How private company controllers can build a clean ASC 740 income tax provision in 2026 — current and deferred tax, Schedule M-1 reconciliation, valuation allowances, uncertain tax positions, and the new ASU 2023-09 disaggregated income-taxes-paid and qualitative rate disclosures.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancefinancial-reporting

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