#tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
Effective July 1, 2026, the IRS raised the standard business mileage rate from 72.5 to 76 cents per mile — only its second mid-year change since 2011. Here's how the split-rate year affects your deduction, what your mileage log must show, and when the new rate applies to reimbursements.
New Jersey's A5324, effective July 1, 2026, bills employers $325–$725 per year for each Medicaid-enrolled employee or dependent once 50 or more are enrolled — matched by the state, not self-reported. Here is how the tiered fees work, which workers are exempt now and in 2027, and how to prepare your books for a bill you didn't calculate.
Sports cards are taxed as collectibles at up to 28% long-term capital gains, higher than stocks.
On January 1, 2026, Bhutan replaced its nine-rate sales tax (0%–100%) with a flat 5% GST. Registration is mandatory above Nu 5 million (~$58,000) annual turnover — and the rules explicitly cover non-resident SaaS and digital sellers, with a 30-day registration window and a reverse-charge carve-out for verified B2B sales.
On April 22, 2026 the DOJ moved certain state-licensed medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III, ending Section 280E's ban on ordinary business deductions for qualifying operators — while recreational-only dispensaries remain fully subject to 280E's COGS-only tax treatment.
A deferred sales trust lets a business owner spread capital gains tax from a sale over 10-20 years under IRC Section 453 with no like-kind reinvestment requirement, but setup and management fees commonly total $100,000-$300,000+ over a decade and the IRS has never issued formal guidance approving the structure.
Discord issues 1099-Ks through Stripe reporting gross subscriber payments, not your net payout after the ~10% platform fee, Stripe processing, and app-store cuts. Here's how server owners reconcile the gap on Schedule C, what the restored $20,000/200-transaction federal threshold means for 2026, and the self-employment tax that applies either way.
The Educational Choice for Children Act creates a $1,700 federal income tax credit for cash donations to K-12 Scholarship Granting Organizations, starting with the 2027 tax year — but only in states that opt in. Here is how the nonrefundable, cash-only Section 25F credit works, the five-year carryforward, the 90% pass-through rule for SGOs, and why pass-through business owners should track their state's participation through 2026.
A freelance translator invoicing €450 can receive as little as $431 due to a 3%-4% PayPal exchange-rate markup that never appears as a labeled fee, which is why translators and interpreters need to log invoiced and received amounts as separate figures and post the difference to a dedicated Bank & FX fees expense category.
The IRS postponed tax deadlines to August 20, 2026 for Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai counties after the March 2026 Kona Low storms — but Hawaii's separate Form L-115 state relief closes July 20, and SBA loan deadlines fall on August 13, 2026 (physical damage) and January 7, 2027 (EIDL). Here's who qualifies, what's automatic, and the casualty-loss election that can accelerate a refund.
Ireland cut VAT on food, catering, and hairdressing from 13.5% to 9% on July 1, 2026, raised the entrepreneur relief cap to €1.5M, and boosted the R&D credit to 35% — but the minimum wage hike to €14.15 and pension auto-enrolment landed six months earlier. Here's what each change means for small business books.
Maryland's 3% tech-services tax (effective July 1, 2025) and Washington's ESSB 5814 (effective October 1, 2025) made IT consulting, custom software, data processing, and digital advertising taxable — even for out-of-state sellers past economic nexus thresholds. Here's what's taxable, the contract-renewal trap, and a compliance checklist.
