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Small Business

Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners

Lending Money to Your Own S Corporation: How Stock Basis, Debt Basis, and Loan Paperwork Decide Whether Your Losses Are Deductible

An S corporation K-1 loss is deductible only up to your stock basis plus debt basis, and a personal guarantee of a corporate bank loan creates zero debt basis. This guide covers the two basis buckets, the $25,000 open-account-debt threshold, the repayment gain trap, and the documentation that keeps a shareholder advance from being reclassified as equity.

The SEC Whistleblower Program, Explained: What a 10–30% Bounty Means for Your Company's Internal Controls

The SEC pays whistleblowers 10–30% of sanctions collected above $1 million, and received a record 53,753 tips in FY2025. Here is how the program works, why private companies are in scope, what Rule 21F-17 forbids in your NDAs, and the five internal-control steps that keep a concern from becoming an enforcement action.

Slotting Fees, Explained: What Grocery Shelf Space Really Costs a CPG Brand

Slotting fees run roughly $250–$1,000 per item per store in conventional grocery and $20,000–$100,000 per frozen SKU at large chains, and free fills, pay-to-stay charges and trade spend often double the real entry cost — here is how to model breakeven, negotiate the fee down, and book it correctly as a deduction against revenue rather than COGS.

Tanzania's TZS 200 Million Presumptive Tax Threshold: The New 4% Rate and 12-Month Holiday Explained

From 1 July 2026 Tanzania's presumptive income tax regime covers turnover up to TZS 200 million at a 4% rate, up from TZS 100 million at 3.5%, and newly registered individual taxpayers with turnover of TZS 4M–200M get a 12-month income tax exemption dated from their TIN. Presumptive tax beats 30% self-assessment only above a net margin of roughly 13.3%.

What Happens When You Cannot Pay Your SBA Loan: Default, Workout, Offer in Compromise, and Treasury Collection

SBA loans typically enter default after three to four missed payments; past 60 days past due with long-term problems, servicing rules push lenders toward liquidation over deferment. The sequence runs lender collateral seizure and personal-guarantee enforcement, SBA guarantee purchase with a 60-day demand letter, a lump-sum offer in compromise on Forms 1150 and 770 after collateral is liquidated, and finally Treasury Offset Program collection via tax refund offset and administrative wage garnishment.

The Capital Construction Fund: How Commercial Fishermen Defer Tax on Vessel Money

The Capital Construction Fund lets commercial fishermen deposit fishing income before income tax under IRC Section 7518 and spend it tax-free on building or rebuilding a U.S. vessel — at the cost of reduced depreciable basis. This guide covers the 2-net-ton eligibility floor, the three internal accounts, qualified versus nonqualified withdrawals taxed at the top marginal rate plus interest, the 25-year clock, and the annual NOAA Form 34-82 filing.

Chicago's Amusement Tax in 2026: What Venues, Streamers, and Ticket Sellers Must Collect

Chicago's amusement tax runs on three tracks in 2026 — 9% on live admissions, 10.25% on streaming and paid TV, 3% on registered ticket resales — plus a new 10.25% sports wagering tax and a $0.50 per-user monthly social media levy above 100,000 Chicago consumers. Here are the rates, the limits of the 1,500-seat exemption, the $100,000 remote-seller safe harbor, and the filing deadlines that trigger assessments.