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#expense-management

Expense Management

Strategies and tools for managing business expenses efficiently

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12 min read

Is a Remote Work Stipend Taxable? Accountable Plans, Substantiation, and What Lands on the W-2

A $75-a-month internet stipend paid without documentation is supplemental wages — reportable in W-2 Box 1 and costing the employer roughly 7.65% in matching payroll tax on top. The same $75 is tax-free and off the W-2 under a written accountable plan meeting all three tests in Treasury Regulation 1.62-2 — business connection, substantiation within 60 days, and return of excess within 120 days. This guide covers the two IRS paths, the five mistakes that flip a plan to taxable, the separate GL accounts and payroll pay types that keep the treatment straight, and the state statutes that require reimbursement regardless of federal tax treatment.

Mike Thrift

remote-workaccountable-planpayroll
12 min read

The Real Cost of AI Coding Subscriptions in 2026: How Freelance Developers Can Track, Compare, and Deduct Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code

AI coding stacks now cost freelance developers $150–$600 a month across Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code — and every dollar is deductible, but only the portion you can document. A practical guide to tracking per-vendor spend, splitting business from personal use, allocating tool cost by client, and trimming the bill without losing the leverage.

Mike Thrift

aifreelanceself-employment
9 min read

eBay's 2026 Fee Overhaul: Flat Rates, a 5% Refurbished Discount, and the Math Resellers Should Run

On July 1, 2026, eBay replaced tiered final value fees with flat category rates for commercial sellers on its European marketplaces — roughly 7–14% on new goods and a flat 5% on used and refurbished items. Depending on price band, the change can cut or raise your fees, so here's a 90-day audit to run against your own sales data.

Mike Thrift

e-commerceside-hustlesmall-business
7 min read

Expensify's MCP Server: What Connecting an AI Assistant to Your Books Actually Means

Expensify launched an MCP server on June 8, 2026, letting Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor query live expense data via OAuth 2.1. Here is what Model Context Protocol means for small business books, which access questions to check before connecting — read-only vs. write, revocability, data retention — and why clean records matter more in the AI era.

Mike Thrift

aiexpense-managementaccounting-software
9 min read

Small Business Health Insurance in 2026: Why Premiums Are Up 11% and What Your Options Are

Small-group health insurance premiums are rising a median 11% for 2026, with single coverage averaging $703 a month and family coverage near $2,000 per employee. Here's why costs are spiking, how level-funded plans, QSEHRA, and ICHRA compare to traditional group coverage, and a five-question framework for deciding before your renewal deadline.

Mike Thrift

small-businesshealth-insuranceemployee-benefits
8 min read

Car Allowance vs. Mileage Reimbursement: The 2026 Tax Math After the IRS's Mid-Year Rate Hike

A flat $600 monthly car allowance nets an employee roughly $410 after income and FICA taxes, while an IRS accountable plan reimburses up to 76 cents per business mile tax-free after the July 1, 2026 mid-year rate increase. Here's how taxable allowances, standard mileage reimbursement, and FAVR plans compare — and the three requirements that keep reimbursements out of taxable wages.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-complianceaccountable-plan
8 min read

Aerial Arts and Circus Studio Bookkeeping: Deferred Revenue, Rig Depreciation, and the $1M/$3M Insurance Floor

Aerial and circus studios typically must carry $1M-per-occurrence/$3M-aggregate liability coverage — far above a standard fitness studio — and that floor reshapes their books. How to record punch cards as deferred revenue, depreciate silks and rigging on safety schedules, classify instructors, and reserve for insurance deductibles.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessaccrual-accounting
7 min read

AI Agents Are a Workforce, Not a Software Expense: A Small Business Budgeting Guide

Organizations now manage 109 machine identities per human employee, and small-business AI stacks run $100–$5,000 a month before hidden integration costs add 30–50% more. This guide explains why usage-based AI agents break traditional software budgets and lays out a three-step framework — discovery pass, dedicated chart-of-accounts category, quarterly review — to keep AI labor costs visible.

Mike Thrift

aismall-businessbudgeting
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