#tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
How Section 79 actually works in 2026 — the $50,000 employer-paid group-term life exclusion, the IRS Table I rates (unchanged since 1999) that turn excess coverage into W-2 Box 12 Code C imputed income, plus the straddle rule, the $2,000 dependent de minimis, and the 2% S-corp shareholder trap.
A practical 2026 guide to the Charitable Lead Trust: how a zeroed-out CLAT uses the 4.6% Section 7520 rate to fund charity, transfer appreciating assets to heirs, and minimize gift and estate tax — with CLAT vs CLUT and grantor vs non-grantor tradeoffs.
About one third of 2024 private-target M&A deals included an earnout, and median earnout potential rose to roughly 43% of the closing payment. This guide explains contingent purchase price structure, Section 453 installment-sale tax mechanics, the compensation-versus-purchase-price trap, and the recurring drafting mistakes behind six of the last seven major Delaware decisions favoring sellers.
A side-by-side guide to Form 1116 (Foreign Tax Credit) and Form 2555 (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion) for expats and cross-border workers in 2026 — the $132,900 FEIE cap, the five-year revocation lock-in, the FTC stacking rule, and a worked example showing when each one actually saves money.
Form 8594 allocates a business sale's purchase price across seven asset classes under IRC Section 1060. Mismatched buyer-seller filings risk $50,000 penalties.
Form 8832 lets eligible entities — domestic LLCs and most foreign companies — elect to be taxed as a disregarded entity, partnership, or C corporation. This guide covers default classifications, the 60-month lockout, late-election relief under Rev. Proc. 2009-41, and how Form 8832 differs from Form 2553.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act creates an above-the-line deduction of up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint) on FLSA-required overtime premium pay for tax years 2025-2028, with a MAGI phase-out starting at $150,000 single and mandatory W-2 Box 12 Code TT reporting from 2026.
The OBBBA's new $6,000 senior bonus deduction (up to $12,000 per couple) phases out at 6% per dollar of MAGI above $75,000 single / $150,000 joint and disappears entirely at $175,000 / $250,000. Available for tax years 2025 through 2028, stackable with the standard deduction and itemized deductions for taxpayers 65 and older.
Section 127 lets employers reimburse up to $5,250 per employee per year for tuition, books, or student loan principal and interest with no payroll or income tax. OBBBA made the student loan provision permanent in July 2025 and begins indexing the cap to inflation in 2027 — here is how a small business sets up a compliant plan.
A practical guide to Section 132 fringe benefits — working condition, de minimis, employee discounts, no-additional-cost services, the 2026 $340/month transportation limits, and achievement award rules — covering which perks qualify as tax-free, the cash-equivalent trap, and how to document everything so the program survives an IRS payroll audit.
Section 162(l) lets self-employed taxpayers deduct 100% of medical, dental, vision, Medicare, and long-term care premiums above the line via Form 7206.
Section 162(m) caps a public company's federal deduction for executive pay at $1 million per person. Starting in 2026, OBBBA aggregates compensation across the IRC § 414 controlled group — including partnerships and LLCs — and the ARPA expansion adds the five highest-paid employees to the covered list in 2027.
