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Small Business

Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners

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9 min read

Petting Zoo and Mobile Animal Encounter Bookkeeping: Schedule C vs. Schedule F, USDA Licensing, and Sales Tax

Petting zoo admission fees are Schedule C income, not Schedule F farm income — a split that affects self-employment tax, the farmer estimated-tax exception, and audit risk. This guide covers the USDA APHIS Class C exhibitor license ($30–$300/year), liability insurance from $545–$780/year, state admissions-tax traps for mobile trailers, and how to keep agritourism books separate from the farm ledger.

Mike Thrift

agritourismfarmingbookkeeping
10 min read

Portable Benefits for Independent Contractors: A Guide to the New State Laws

Utah, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and West Virginia now let businesses contribute to an independent contractor's portable benefit account without that contribution counting as evidence of employment. How the state safe harbors work, what Utah's 50% tax credit (up to $2,000 per contractor) covers, and how to track contributions in your books.

Mike Thrift

independent-contractoremployee-benefitsfreelance
7 min read

San Francisco's Commercial Vacancy Tax: Filing Rules, Rates, and Exemptions for Storefront Owners

San Francisco's Commercial Vacancy Tax charges $250 to $1,000 per linear foot of street frontage for ground-floor storefronts vacant more than 182 days a year in named neighborhood commercial districts. Every owner and tenant of a covered space must file an annual return even if fully occupied — and the separate $1,850 DBI vacant storefront registration is a second obligation entirely.

Mike Thrift

tax-compliancereal-estateproperty-management
6 min read

Section 125 Cafeteria Plan Nondiscrimination Testing: A 2026 Guide for Small Businesses

Section 125 cafeteria plans must pass three IRS nondiscrimination tests each year — eligibility, benefits and contributions, and the 25% key employee concentration test. This guide covers the 2026 thresholds ($220,000 officer and $160,000 HCI compensation, $3,400 FSA and $7,500 DCAP limits), what a failed test costs your top earners, and when a Simple Cafeteria Plan under Section 125(j) lets employers with 100 or fewer employees skip testing entirely.

Mike Thrift

tax-compliancepayrollemployee-benefits
9 min read

Self-Storage Cost Segregation and 100% Bonus Depreciation: A 2026 Owner's Guide

Cost segregation studies routinely move 16–24% of a self-storage facility's purchase price off the 39-year schedule into 5- and 15-year property. With 100% bonus depreciation permanently restored by the OBBBA for property placed in service after January 19, 2025, a $1 million acquisition can produce roughly $200,000 in first-year deductions — about $74,000 in tax savings at a 37% rate. Here's how the studies work, what they cost, and the recapture math to run before selling.

Mike Thrift

cost-segregationbonus-depreciationdepreciation
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