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Tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
Spec Home Builder Bookkeeping: WIP Schedules, Percentage of Completion, and Why Profitable Builders Run Out of Cash
A monthly work-in-progress (WIP) schedule turns four numbers per job — contract price, estimated cost, costs to date, and billings to date — into an early warning for overbilling and underbilling, the cash-flow gaps that sink profitable builders. Spec builders also differ from contract builders on revenue recognition, since homes held as inventory typically use the completed contract method under the IRC Section 460 home construction exemption.
Storage Unit Auction Reselling Bookkeeping: How to Price a Lot You've Never Opened
How to keep books for storage-unit auction flips — allocate one winning bid across dozens of items with the relative fair value method, deduct COGS only when items sell, use the Section 471(c) small-business exception, and report income even below the $20,000/200-transaction 1099-K threshold.
The IRS Doesn't Have to Prove You Lied — It Just Has to Prove Your Receipts Don't Exist
In Goodwill-Oikerhe v. Commissioner, a tax preparer lost every disputed deduction — dependents, property tax, vehicle expenses, S-corp flow-throughs — and drew a 75% civil fraud penalty under Section 6663, largely because no records existed. Why the Cohan rule couldn't rescue him, and what contemporaneous bookkeeping must capture to survive an audit.
Vermont Just Tripled Its R&D Tax Credit: What Act 164 Means for Small Manufacturers
Vermont's Act 164, signed June 18, 2026, raises the state R&D tax credit from 27% to 75% of the federal Section 41 credit starting in tax year 2027 and lifts the statewide cap to $3.5 million. A $50,000 federal credit now yields $37,500 in Vermont instead of $13,500 — here's how small manufacturers can prepare their Form BA-404 documentation.
The Yellowstone Capital Settlement: What $534 Million in Canceled MCA Debt Teaches Small Businesses
New York's $1.065 billion settlement with Yellowstone Capital canceled $534 million in small-business MCA debt for over 18,000 merchants — but canceled debt is generally taxable income unless you can claim an exclusion like insolvency, so here's how to spot an illegal MCA and get your books ready.
When Your Company's Tax Bill Becomes Yours: The Federal Priority Statute and Officer Personal Liability
A federal court held a non-owner corporate officer personally liable for $1,880,987.96 of a company's tax debt under 31 U.S.C. § 3713, the Federal Priority Statute, because he helped pay other creditors while the insolvent company owed the IRS. Here is how the doctrine works, who is exposed, and a practical checklist for winding down an insolvent business.
Form 8697 Look-Back Interest: Who Files, How the Calculation Works, and What the New IRS Calculator Does
Form 8697 look-back interest settles the gap between estimated and actual results on long-term contracts reported under the percentage-of-completion method — the IRS recomputes prior-year income with final figures and charges or refunds interest only, without reopening those returns. This guide covers who must file under IRC Section 460, the three-step calculation, the separate-filing rule for interest refunds, and what the Excel PCM calculator the IRS released on May 29, 2026 does and doesn't do.
How to Get the IRS to Answer You in Writing: Private Letter Rulings and Determination Letters for Small Businesses
Oral advice from the IRS is not binding — a private letter ruling is. Under Revenue Procedure 2026-1, 9100 relief for a missed tax election generally costs about $14,500, with reduced tiers near $3,450 and $9,775 for smaller organizations, and the IRS must make contact within 21 days of a complete request. Here's when a ruling is worth the fee, what the request must contain, and the no-fee alternatives — Form SS-8, Form 3115, and Rev. Proc. 2013-30 — that cover most common cases.
The 1099 Threshold Is Now $2,000: What OBBBA Changes for Small Businesses in 2026
OBBBA raises the federal 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC filing threshold from $600 to $2,000 for payments made in 2026, with annual inflation indexing starting in 2027. The income stays taxable either way, some states still require reporting at $600, and per-contractor totals — not per-invoice amounts — determine whether you file.
The Section 122 Import Surcharge Expires July 24, 2026 — What Small Importers Should Do With the Week Left
The 10% Section 122 import surcharge expires automatically on July 24, 2026, when its 150-day statutory limit runs out — but expiration is not a refund, and Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs are already queued to replace it. Here's how small importers should tally what they paid, preserve refund rights, and model landed costs before the deadline.
IRS Contractor Data Security Failures: What the 2026 TIGTA Report Found — and How to Protect Your Tax Data
A 2026 TIGTA audit found 1,375 unauthorized entries into restricted taxpayer-document areas and critical vulnerabilities left unpatched an average of 223 days at IRS scanning contractors. Here is what the watchdog found, how the IRS responded, and the concrete steps — IP PIN enrollment, early filing, e-filing — that reduce your exposure.
How Should States Tax Partnership Income? Inside the MTC's Blended Apportionment Proposal
The Multistate Tax Commission's January 2026 white paper proposes a "blended" apportionment method that folds a partnership's sales, property, and payroll factors into each partner's own state tax calculation. Because states currently split between aggregate and entity sourcing theories, the same partnership dollar can be taxed twice — or not at all. Here's what multistate partnerships and multi-member LLCs should track now.