#tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
A working guide to Section 274's four meal deduction rates—100%, 80%, 50%, and zero—and the 2026 Section 274(o) cliff that ended the employer deduction for breakroom snacks, catered office lunches, and convenience-of-employer meals.
A practical guide to the federal tax election that lets buyers and sellers of S corporations and consolidated-group subsidiaries treat a stock purchase as an asset purchase for tax purposes — covering Form 8023, the seller gross-up, purchase price allocation under Section 1060, and the mistakes that commonly kill the election.
Section 367 overrides corporate non-recognition rules the moment U.S. property crosses into a foreign corporation, forcing immediate gain on outbound asset and IP transfers. This guide explains Sections 367(a), (b), (d), and (e), the GRA and Form 8838 deferral path, the 10% Form 926 penalty, the TCJA expansion to goodwill and workforce in place, and the 2024 final regulations on IP repatriation.
Section 409A taxes noncompliant deferred compensation in the year of vesting and adds a flat 20% federal penalty plus interest. This guide explains the short-term deferral and separation pay exceptions, the six recognized payout triggers, the six-month delay for specified employees, and how to structure bonuses, severance, RSUs, phantom stock, and discounted stock options so founders avoid the penalty.
A practical guide to Section 469 for real estate investors and side-business owners — the seven material participation tests, the $25,000 active-rental allowance, the real estate professional carve-out, the short-term rental angle, and the disposition rules that release suspended losses.
For tax year 2026, businesses with a three-year average of gross receipts at or below $32 million can elect Section 471(c) to skip UNICAP, treat inventory as non-incidental materials and supplies, and file Form 3115 — often producing a one-time Section 481(a) deduction in the year of change.
Beneficiaries of taxable estates can claim a Section 691(c) income tax deduction for federal estate tax already paid on inherited IRAs and other IRD assets. This guide covers eligibility, the with-and-without calculation, where to claim it on Schedule A, and the errors that cost families six figures.
Section 7345 lets the IRS certify a "seriously delinquent" tax debt — roughly $66,000 in 2026 — to the State Department, which can deny, refuse to renew, or revoke a U.S. passport. This guide explains how the CP508C notice works, the five practical paths to decertification, the expedited procedures for imminent travel, and what the courts have recently said.
Section 7463 lets a taxpayer challenge an IRS deficiency of $50,000 or less in U.S. Tax Court without a lawyer for a $60 filing fee, using a simplified Form 2 petition and informal trial — in exchange for giving up the right to appeal and the ability to set precedent.
A Section 83(b) election lets founders and early employees pay ordinary income tax today on the full value of restricted stock instead of at each vest. Filed within 30 days on IRS Form 15620, it can convert millions of phantom ordinary income into long-term capital gain and start the QSBS holding clock on day one.
How Subchapter T lets U.S. cooperatives deduct patronage dividends and avoid corporate double tax — covering the 20% cash floor for qualified written notices of allocation, the post-2017 shift toward nonqualified treatment, per-unit retains, Form 1099-PATR box-by-box reporting, Section 199A(g) for specified ag co-ops, and the recordkeeping that turns a deduction into a defensible one.
For the 2026 tax year the Form 1099-K threshold reverted to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions, but you must still report all income whether or not a form arrives. This guide explains who gets a 1099-K, how to reconcile Box 1a from gross to taxable income, and where the numbers go on Schedule C or Schedule 1.
