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Tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
How Sports Card and Collectibles Reselling Is Taxed: The 28% Rate, Cost Basis, and the IRS's Three Buckets
Collectibles like sports cards are taxed at a maximum 28% long-term capital gains rate under IRC Section 408(m) — higher than the 15–20% most stock investors pay. Whether you owe that rate, ordinary income rates up to 37%, or can deduct grading and shipping fees depends on whether the IRS sees you as a hobbyist, investor, or dealer. Here's how the classification works, what belongs in your cost basis, and why a 1099-K doesn't change what you owe.
Bhutan's New 5% GST: What Small Businesses and Foreign Sellers Need to Know
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.
Cannabis Schedule III Rescheduling: What 280E Tax Relief Actually Means for Your Dispensary
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.
The Deferred Sales Trust: How Business Owners Defer Capital Gains on an Exit Without a 1031 Exchange
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 Server Subscriptions and the 1099-K: Why Your Tax Form Shows More Than You Were Paid
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 New Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (ECCA): What Small Business Owners Should Know Before 2027
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.
Bookkeeping for Freelance Translators and Interpreters: Rates, Rush Fees, and Currency Spread
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.
Hawaii Storm Tax Relief: What the August 20, 2026 IRS Deadline Covers — and the Earlier State Deadline It Doesn't
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's Budget 2026: What the VAT Cut and New Reliefs Actually Mean for Small Business Owners
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 and Washington Now Tax B2B Tech Services: What Sellers Owe in 2026
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.
NAR's $52.25M Tuccori Settlement: What It Means for Real Estate Agent Bookkeeping
NAR's $52.25 million Tuccori settlement, approved April 10, 2026, doesn't change buyer-agent commission rules — it makes the August 2024 Sitzer/Burnett practice changes permanent, so agents must book gross commission across multiple funding sources rather than treating deposits as a single income line.
The OBBBA's Gambling Loss Cap Means You Can Owe Tax on Money You Never Actually Won
Starting in tax year 2026, the OBBBA caps gambling loss deductions at 90% of winnings, meaning gamblers and gaming-adjacent businesses can owe tax on breakeven or even losing years, prompting three bipartisan repeal bills in Congress.