#small-business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
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.
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.
How Airbnb and Vrbo hosts classify income on Schedule E vs. Schedule C, calculate the 7-day average stay, and document material participation to unlock non-passive losses against W-2 wages.
Washington's B&O tax is a gross receipts tax with major 2026 changes — a $2 million economic nexus threshold, tiered service rates from 1.5% to 2.1%, and a $2M standard deduction. This guide breaks down activity-based classifications, market-based sourcing, penalty math that can exceed 39%, and the bookkeeping practices that keep multistate sellers audit-ready.
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.
Kickstarter and Indiegogo proceeds are business income reported on Schedule C, while GoFundMe donations may be tax-free gifts only if they pass the IRS detached and disinterested generosity test. The OBBBA reset the Form 1099-K threshold to $20,000 and 200 transactions for tax year 2026, but the reporting rule does not change what counts as taxable income.
The 2024 DOL Independent Contractor Final Rule and its six-factor economic realities test still govern FLSA worker classification in private lawsuits despite the May 2025 enforcement pause. Small businesses that misclassify employees face back wages of two to three years, liquidated damages, civil penalties above $2,300 per violation, and IRS payroll tax exposure—risks that clean bookkeeping and contemporaneous documentation are built to defend against.
Multi-channel sellers routinely lose 22 margin points to phantom COGS — unallocated landed costs, FBA reserved inventory, and netted marketplace settlements posted as revenue. A four-step playbook to keep e-commerce books honest from supplier invoice to year-end true-up.
A practical 2026 guide for businesses with ERC exposure — the closed voluntary disclosure window, the OBBBA six-year statute on Q3/Q4 2021 claims, the categorical disallowance of late filings after January 31 2024, the promoter penalties reaching back to March 12 2020, and the audit file examiners actually request.
With the second ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program closed since November 2024, small businesses with overstated Employee Retention Credit claims still have three remedies in 2026: claim withdrawal, self-amendment via Form 941-X, or responding to an IRS recapture letter. The IRS has a six-year audit window open through April 15, 2027 for Q3 and Q4 2021 claims, plus a 20% accuracy-related penalty for erroneous refunds.
For 2026, ALEs face a $3,340 per-employee 4980H(a) penalty and a $5,010 per-employee 4980H(b) penalty, with affordability set at 9.96 percent of pay. This guide covers the FPL, W-2, and rate-of-pay safe harbors, line-by-line Form 1095-C coding, and the errors that drive Letter 226-J assessments.
How Form 3800 aggregates 40-plus business tax credits into one limitation, why the 25/75 tentative minimum tax floor matters, and how eligible small businesses (≤$50M gross receipts) can offset AMT with R&D, WOTC, FICA Tip, and other specified credits.
