#tax
Tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit: Final-Year Claim, Carryforward, and TPO Alternatives
Section 25D's 30% residential clean energy credit ends December 31, 2025 under the OBBBA. How to file the final-year claim on Form 5695, carry unused credit forward indefinitely, and use TPO leases or Section 48E to capture value in 2026.
Section 280E: How Cannabis Businesses Survive a 70% Effective Tax Rate
Section 280E bars cannabis businesses from deducting ordinary expenses, pushing federal effective tax rates past 70%. A walkthrough of the math, the COGS lever under Section 471, key Tax Court rulings (CHAMP, Olive, Harborside), and what 2026 rescheduling could change.
Section 280F Luxury Auto Depreciation Limits: The SUV Loophole and How to Maximize Your Business Vehicle Write-Off
Section 280F caps first-year depreciation on passenger autos at $20,300 in 2026, but SUVs and trucks rated above 6,000 lbs GVWR escape those limits and can combine a $32,000 Section 179 deduction with 100% bonus depreciation. A practical guide to the 2026 numbers, the heavy-vehicle and pickup carve-outs, the 50% business-use cliff, and the mileage-log standards an IRS auditor expects.
Section 831(b) Microcaptive Insurance: A Small Business Guide to Risk Management Without IRS Scrutiny
Section 831(b) microcaptive insurance lets small businesses retain underwriting profit on hard-to-insure risks, but the IRS's 2025 final regulations treat captives with loss ratios under 30% as listed transactions. Here is how to structure one that survives an audit.
The Short-Term Rental Tax Loophole: Offsetting W-2 Income Without Real Estate Professional Status
How short-term rentals sit outside the Section 469 passive loss rules, what the seven-day average and material participation tests actually require, and how a six-figure W-2 earner can use cost segregation and 100% bonus depreciation to legally offset wage income.
Small Business Taxes 2026: A Complete Obligations Guide for New Business Owners
A 2026 walkthrough of every small business tax obligation—federal income, self-employment, payroll, sales, and excise—with the full filing calendar, quarterly estimated tax safe harbors, OBBBA-era changes (permanent QBI, $1.21M Section 179, restored 100% bonus depreciation), and the recordkeeping habits that prevent penalties.
Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) After OBBBA: Why the $15 Million Exemption Still Demands Action in 2026
After OBBBA set the federal estate, gift, and GST exemption at $15 million per person in 2026, SLATs still freeze growth out of the taxable estate at a 40 percent rate. Coverage of dual-SLAT reciprocal trust risk, asset selection, valuation discounts, and the audit records families need to keep.
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (IRC 6672): Personal Liability for Unpaid Payroll Taxes
How the IRS uses Internal Revenue Code Section 6672 to hold business owners, officers, bookkeepers, and even spouses personally liable for 100% of unpaid payroll withholdings — covering who qualifies as a responsible person, how willfulness is established, and how to defend a Letter 1153 within the 60-day appeal window.
Form 5471 Decoded: A US Shareholder's Guide to Filing Categories, Schedules, and Avoiding Six-Figure Penalties
Form 5471 carries automatic $10,000-per-corporation initial penalties capped at $60,000 per year for U.S. persons who own, control, or serve as officers of foreign corporations. Covers the five filing categories, modular schedules, GILTI's rename to NCTI for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and the Streamlined and Delinquent Submission routes back into compliance.
Foreign Exchange Gains and Losses: A Practical Multi-Currency Accounting Guide for Small Businesses
How small businesses record foreign exchange gains and losses under US GAAP (ASC 830) and IRC Section 988, with sample journal entries, realized vs. unrealized treatment, period-end revaluation, and a practical monthly close workflow.
Form 709 Gift Tax Return: When You Must File, the Annual Exclusion, and the $15M Lifetime Exemption
A practical guide to Form 709 for 2026 gifts — who must file, the $19,000 annual exclusion, the $15 million lifetime exemption, gift splitting rules, the adequate disclosure standard that starts the IRS three-year clock, and the medical and tuition payments that escape reporting entirely.
Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT): A 3.8% Surtax Guide for High Earners and Investors
The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax kicks in once MAGI crosses $200,000 single or $250,000 joint—thresholds frozen since 2013. This guide explains who pays NIIT, how Form 8960 calculates it, which income types count (interest, dividends, capital gains, passive rentals) and which don't (wages, IRA distributions, muni interest), plus planning levers to cut exposure.