#small-business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
How craft distilleries should account for bonded inventory, capitalize aging costs, and reconcile TTB Form 5110.40 to the general ledger — including the $2.70 CBMA reduced rate, controlled-group traps, and why federal excise tax belongs in COGS, not operating expense.
A small business guide to resolving IRS audit disputes without litigation — the 30-day letter, Form 12203 Small Case Request, formal written protest, Fast Track Settlement, audit reconsideration, and the 90-day statutory notice of deficiency.
A 50% markup is a 33.3% margin, not a 50% margin — markup divides profit by cost, margin divides it by selling price. This guide gives the conversion formulas, a reference table, and shows how the mix-up quietly costs small businesses thousands.
Mobile notaries and loan signing agents can exclude statutory notarial fees from self-employment tax under IRC Section 1402(c)(1), but only if their books cleanly split per-act notarial revenue from taxable signing, travel, and print fees. A chart-of-accounts and Schedule C/SE walk-through that can save a moderately busy LSA $800 to $2,000 a year.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made 100% bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) permanent for qualified property placed in service after January 19, 2025. This guide explains how small businesses coordinate Section 179, qualified improvement property, and the new Section 168(n) manufacturing deduction — and the acquisition-date rules that decide eligibility.
Section 199A is now permanent under OBBBA. Pass-through owners get a 20% deduction, wider SSTB phase-in ranges ($75K single / $150K joint above the 2026 threshold), a new $400 minimum for material participants, and the same W-2 wage and UBIA tests at the top of the band.
A payment processor payout bundles gross sales, fees, refunds, chargebacks, sales tax, and rolling reserves into one net deposit. Route every piece through a clearing account so your books tie out to the penny and match the gross volume on your 1099-K.
Salon and barbershop booth rent can land on Schedule C, Schedule E, or both — and it is usually the booth renter, not the shop, who owes the Form 1099-MISC. A practical guide to worker classification, deductions, and audit-ready bookkeeping for shop owners and booth renters.
Schedule M-1 reconciles book net income to taxable income on Forms 1120, 1120-S, and 1065.
Section 139 lets employers pay employees tax-free aid after a federally declared disaster — no FICA, no W-2 reporting, no 1099, and fully deductible to the employer. The guide covers qualifying expenses, the disaster definition, the documentation that survives an audit, and a worked $54,000 example.
Section 45W ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, but businesses with a binding contract and a payment by that date can still claim up to $7,500 for light EVs or $40,000 for heavy trucks in 2026 — here is how the credit is calculated, filed on Form 8936, and refunded as cash to tax-exempt fleets through elective pay.
Section 988 of the Internal Revenue Code makes foreign-exchange gains and losses ordinary, not capital. Importers, exporters, and remote workers paid in euros or pounds get full ordinary-loss deductions with no $3,000 cap, a same-day election to convert forward-contract gains to capital, and a $200 per-transaction de minimis exception for personal travel currency.
