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IRA contributions, tracking, and retirement planning
Vermont Saves and New York Secure Choice: The 2026 Auto-IRA Rules for Small Employers
Vermont Saves reached employers with five or more workers on July 1, 2026, and New York Secure Choice finished its three-wave rollout on July 15, 2026. What each program requires, the penalties ($20 rising to $75 per employee in Vermont, $250 per employee per year in New York), and how to book the withholding as a payroll liability rather than an expense.
The IRA Contribution Limit Hits $7,500 for 2026: Your Freelancer and Small-Business Owner's Guide to the First Big Increase in Years
The IRA contribution limit rises to $7,500 for 2026 — the first base increase since 2023 — plus a new $1,100 catch-up at 50+. Learn who qualifies, how it stacks with Solo 401(k) and SEP, and how freelancers can capture the extra room before April 15, 2027.
TrumpIRA.gov and the Federal Saver's Match: What Self-Employed Workers Should Know Before 2027
TrumpIRA.gov, a Treasury-run IRA marketplace launching January 1, 2027, will list providers capped at a 0.15% expense ratio with no account minimums and connect eligible savers to a Federal Saver's Match of up to $1,000 a year — a 50% match on the first $2,000 contributed. Here is how it fits alongside a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k), and why accurate books determine the contribution you can actually make.
QLACs in 2026: How the $210,000 Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract Limit Shrinks Your RMDs
A QLAC lets you move up to $210,000 — the 2026 SECURE 2.0 lifetime limit — from a traditional IRA, SEP-IRA, or 401(k) into a deferred annuity the IRS excludes from RMD calculations until payments start, as late as age 85. Here are the rules, a worked example, and the break-even math showing when to skip it.
Trump Account Gift Tax Rules: The IRS Safe Harbor That Spares Most Families From Form 709
IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-25 (June 29, 2026) creates a gift tax safe harbor for Trump Account contributions: individual donors whose total gifts to a child stay under the $19,000 annual exclusion owe no Form 709 filing, resolving the future-interest question raised by the accounts' lock-up until age 18.
Solo 401(k) vs. SEP IRA: Which Saves the Self-Employed More Tax in 2026?
A freelancer earning $80,000 net self-employment income can shelter roughly $43,070 in a Solo 401(k) versus $18,570 in a SEP IRA in 2026 — the gap comes entirely from the $24,500 employee-deferral bucket that SEP IRAs don't offer.
Inside the Coin Shop Ledger: AML Compliance, Spot-Price Inventory, and Buy-Sell Spread Accounting for Bullion and Numismatic Dealers
A working guide for owner-operators of coin and bullion shops covering ASC 606 revenue streams, spot-price inventory methods, Form 8300 and 1099-B triggers, 31 CFR 1027 AML duties, Section 408(m) IRA fulfillment, and the KPIs (buy-sell spread, turn-earn index, GMROI) that separate profitable shops from break-even ones.
The 0.5% AGI Floor on Charitable Gifts: Preserving Your Deduction in 2026 With Bunching, DAFs, and QCDs
Starting in 2026, OBBBA imposes a 0.5% AGI floor on itemized charitable contributions and caps top-bracket deductions at 35 cents per dollar. Bunching gifts, funding a donor-advised fund, and making qualified charitable distributions from an IRA recover most of the lost benefit for typical itemizing donors.
Section 514 UDFI Demystified: How Nonprofits, Foundations, and Self-Directed IRAs Get Taxed on Borrowed-Money Investments
How Section 514 of the Internal Revenue Code taxes leveraged investments held by 501(c)(3) organizations, private foundations, and self-directed IRAs — including the debt/basis percentage calculation, Form 990-T mechanics, the 12-month look-back on sale, and the Section 514(c)(9) real estate exception for schools and pension trusts.
State Auto-IRA Mandates in 2026: CalSavers, Illinois Secure Choice, and OregonSaves Compliance Guide
Twenty-two states now require small employers to offer retirement savings or face penalties up to $750 per employee. A practical guide to CalSavers, Illinois Secure Choice, OregonSaves, headcount thresholds, registration deadlines, exemption rules, and the compliance traps that trigger non-compliance notices in 2026.
Form 1099-R Box 7 Distribution Codes, Decoded
A field-tested guide to every Form 1099-R Box 7 code retirees and beneficiaries actually see — Code 1, 2, 4, 7, G, H, M, and Q — with the specific custodian errors that trigger a 10% penalty and how to fix them before April 15.
MLP K-1 Tax Issues: UBTI, Section 751, and Multi-State Filings for Individual Investors
How individual MLP investors actually owe tax — UBTI on IRA-held units crosses the $1,000 Form 990-T threshold faster than expected, Section 751 reclassifies part of any sale gain as ordinary income, and the K-1's state schedule can force nonresident filings in operating states. Includes practical thresholds and basis-tracking rules.