The Augusta Rule: How to Rent Your Home to Your Business for Up to 14 Tax-Free Days
The Augusta Rule (26 USC § 280A(g)) lets you rent your home to your business for up to 14 days a year and exclude the rent from federal income tax.
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Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
The 1099-K Whiplash Ends: Why the $20,000 and 200-Transaction Threshold Is Back for 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act repealed the $600 1099-K threshold in July 2025 and restored the original $20,000-and-200-transaction federal rule, easing paperwork for casual sellers and gig workers — but every dollar of business income remains taxable.
Section 183 Hobby Loss Rule: How the IRS Nine-Factor Test Decides If Your Side Activity Is a Business
Section 183 of the Internal Revenue Code denies loss deductions for activities not engaged in for profit. The IRS applies a nine-factor test and a three-of-five-years safe harbor (two of seven for horses) to distinguish a real business from a hobby — here is what each factor weighs and how to document profit motive before an audit.
De Minimis Safe Harbor Election: Expensing Tangible Property Up to $2,500 Per Item Without Depreciation
US de minimis safe harbor (Treas. Reg. 1.263(a)-1(f)) lets businesses expense tangible property up to $2,500 per item on the federal return.
Disability Insurance for Self-Employed and Small Business Owners: A Practical Income-Protection Guide
US self-employed workers are far likelier to face disability than death before 65 — how federal tax treatment and premiums work.
EITC for Self-Employed Workers: Claim Up to $8,046 in 2025
Self-employed filers can claim the federal Earned Income Tax Credit on Schedule C net earnings, with a 2025 maximum of $8,046 for families with three or more children. This guide covers eligibility thresholds, how to compute earned income (including the half-SE-tax adjustment), the documentation that survives an audit, and the pitfalls that disqualify otherwise valid claims.
Section 461(l) Excess Business Loss Limitation: A 2026 Guide for Pass-Through Owners
Section 461(l) caps 2026 excess business losses at $128,000 single and $256,000 joint, per the OBBBA. Pass-through owners use Form 461 to report the limitation.
Form 4797 Demystified: How Depreciation Recapture and Section 1231 Decide Whether Your Business Sale Is Ordinary or Capital
Form 4797 governs every business property sale outside Schedule D and decides whether your gain is ordinary or capital. This guide walks through Section 1245 and 1250 recapture, the Section 1231 five-year lookback rule, the 25% unrecaptured Section 1250 gain rate, and seven mistakes that trigger CP2000 notices.
Form 7203: How S-Corp Shareholders Track Stock and Debt Basis (And Why It Matters)
Form 7203 requires S-corp shareholders to prove stock and debt basis on Form 1040. Misapplied ordering rules or treating loan guarantees as basis can disallow
ICHRA Explained: How Small Businesses Reimburse Employees Tax-Free for Health Insurance in 2026
An Individual Coverage HRA lets small employers reimburse workers tax-free for individual ACA plans with no contribution cap, 11 employee classes, and a 9.96% affordability threshold for 2026. Here is how the mechanics, tax treatment, bookkeeping, and 90-day rollout actually work.
PTET in 2026: The SALT Cap Workaround for S-Corps and Partnerships
A 2026 guide to the Pass-Through Entity Tax — how 36+ jurisdictions let S-corps and partnerships convert capped state income taxes into a fully deductible federal business expense, even after OBBBA raised the SALT cap to $40,400.
ROBS Rollover for Business Startups: How to Use Retirement Funds to Finance a Small Business Without Tax or Penalty
A working guide to Rollover as Business Startup (ROBS) arrangements — the five required steps, why only a C corporation qualifies, the Form 5500 and prohibited-transaction rules, IRS-documented failure rates, and when alternatives like SBA loans or 401(k) participant loans make more sense.