#tax
Tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
Tangible Personal Property Tax: A Small Business Guide to TPP Returns, Freeport Exemptions, and Ghost Assets
A practical guide to the tangible personal property (TPP) tax that 38 U.S. states require small businesses to file every January, covering de minimis thresholds in 12 states, freeport inventory exemptions in 8 inventory-tax states, ghost-asset overpayment, and the annual asset-register workflow that keeps your bill honest.
Circular 230 for Tax Professionals: Conflicts, Section 10.34 Standards, and Avoiding OPR Suspension
A practitioner's walkthrough of Circular 230—Sections 10.22, 10.29, 10.34, 10.36, 10.37, and 10.51—covering conflicts of interest, return-position standards, written-advice hygiene, and how OPR investigations actually proceed.
Form 1099-DA in 2026: Reconcile Per-Wallet Crypto Cost Basis and Avoid Overpaying
Form 1099-DA reports gross crypto proceeds but often leaves cost basis blank, and filing it as-is defaults basis to zero — taxing the full sale price. Here is how per-wallet tracking and reconciliation against the form let you pay tax on your actual gain.
Form 1310 Demystified: How Surviving Spouses, Executors, and Heirs Cash a Deceased Taxpayer's Final Refund Without Triggering a Year-Long IRS Delay
Form 1310 is the IRS form survivors use to claim a deceased taxpayer's refund. This guide explains who must file, the three Part I claimant boxes, the documents to attach (and the one to keep), and how to avoid the 6–12 month delays that trap most paper filers.
Form 706-NA: The $60,000 Trap That Can Turn a Foreign Investor's U.S. Real Estate Into a 40% Estate Tax Bill
Nonresident aliens who own U.S. real estate, U.S. corporate stock, or other situs property get only a $60,000 estate tax exemption — not the $13.99 million citizens enjoy in 2026 — and pay up to 40% on the excess. A working guide to Form 706-NA, FIRPTA withholding, treaty relief via Form 8833, transfer certificates, and the blocker-corporation structures that actually work.
Why Your Website's Chat Box Could Trigger State Income Tax in 20 States: PL 86-272 in the Internet Economy
Public Law 86-272 once shielded out-of-state sellers from state income tax, but the MTC's 2021 revised statement now treats chat widgets, post-sale support, and analytics cookies as immunity-breaking activities — and California, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, and Minnesota have signed on.
Economic Nexus and Sales Tax: A 2026 Guide for Online Sellers
Economic nexus requires out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax once they cross a state's threshold — commonly $100,000 in sales. As of January 1, 2026, 16 states have dropped the 200-transaction trigger, and this guide explains the thresholds, marketplace facilitator traps, and a quarterly compliance routine.
Section 163(j) Interest Expense Limitation: 30% ATI, the Small Business Exemption, and the Real Property Trade Election
Section 163(j) caps the business interest deduction at 30% of adjusted taxable income, and OBBBA restored the EBITDA-style add-back for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024. This guide walks through the calculation, the small business exemption under Section 448(c), the irrevocable real property trade or business election, the partnership EBIE basis trap, and the Form 8990 reporting choreography.
Section 174 R&D Expensing in 2026: How Software Startups Recover From the TCJA Capitalization Trap
OBBBA's new Section 174A restores immediate expensing for domestic R&D in tax years after December 31, 2024, and qualifying small businesses can amend 2022–2024 returns by July 6, 2026 to recover overpaid tax. A guide to the three coexisting Section 174 regimes, the Section 41 credit add-back, foreign 15-year amortization, and the statement in lieu of Form 3115.
Section 274(n) Meals and Entertainment After TCJA: 100, 50, and Zero-Percent Categories, and the 2026 Section 274(o) Cliff
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.
Section 338(h)(10) Election: How Buyers and Sellers Turn a Stock Deal Into an Asset Deal
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 Outbound Transfer Rules: The Hidden Tax Trap When U.S. Companies Move Stock, IP, or Operations Abroad
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.