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Tax Preparation

Organize financial records and prepare tax filings accurately and on time

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15 min read

Form 8825 Demystified: How Partnerships and S-Corps Report Rental Real Estate Without Triggering an IRS Letter

Form 8825 consolidates partnership and S-corp rental real estate activity, with line 21 flowing to Schedule K-1 box 2 where each owner applies the passive activity loss rules under Section 469. The December 2025 revision splits gross rents from other rental income and adds Schedule A's twenty named expense categories for Schedule M-3 filers. Owners hit basis, at-risk, and passive walls in that order before a loss reaches Form 1040.

Mike Thrift

real-estatepartnershipss-corp
11 min read

Form 8889 in 2026: HSA Reporting Without Triggering the 6%, 10%, or 20% Penalty

A 2026 walkthrough of Form 8889 — HSA contribution limits ($4,400 self-only, $8,750 family), the triple tax advantage, the last-month rule's 13-month testing period, the Medicare six-month retroactive enrollment trap, and the six most common filing mistakes that trigger the 6% excess-contribution excise tax, 10% recapture, or 20% non-qualified-distribution penalty.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancetax-planning
13 min read

Schedules K-2 and K-3 in 2026: The Domestic Filing Exception, the 1-Month Deadline, and the Foreign Tax Credit Trap

Schedules K-2 and K-3 pulled even purely domestic partnerships and S-corps into international tax reporting starting in 2021. This guide explains the 2026 filing rules, the four-condition domestic filing exception, the January 15 partner notification and February 15 1-month K-3 request deadlines for calendar-year filers, the $250,000 small entity carve-out added in 2024, and the per-partner, per-month penalty math for non-compliance.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancepartnerships
11 min read

Form 8283 Noncash Charitable Contributions: A Donor's Guide to the $5,000 Qualified Appraisal Threshold and IRS Substantiation Rules

Form 8283 is required when total noncash charitable contributions exceed $500. Above $5,000, donors need a USPAP-compliant qualified appraisal and three signatures on Section B; over $500,000 the full appraisal attaches to the return. Section 170(o) can claw the deduction back if the charity disposes of tangible property within three years, and the 40% gross valuation misstatement penalty has no reasonable-cause defense.

Mike Thrift

charitable-givingtax-deductionstax-compliance
13 min read

The 2026 WISP Playbook for Tax Pros and Bookkeepers: Building an FTC Safeguards Rule-Compliant Data Security Program Without a CISO

A 2026 guide for solo tax preparers and small bookkeeping firms to build a Written Information Security Plan that satisfies the FTC Safeguards Rule's nine elements, the IRS PTIN attestation, and the 30-day breach notification requirement — using IRS Publication 5708 as the scaffold and a 90-day rollout.

Mike Thrift

securitycompliancetax-preparation
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