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Mike Thrift

Marketing Manager

OFAC Sanctions Compliance for Small Businesses: SDN Screening, the 50% Rule, and Voluntary Self-Disclosure

OFAC enforcement now targets fintech, crypto, real estate, and small e-commerce firms with civil penalties up to $377,700 per violation. A practical guide to SDN list screening, the 50 percent ownership rule, voluntary self-disclosure under the 2026 portal, and the five-pillar compliance program Treasury expects from any company touching cross-border money.

S-Corp Basis, Form 7203, and the Phantom Distribution Trap: A Section 1366(d) Guide

Section 1366(d) caps S-corporation loss deductions at stock basis plus direct shareholder debt, and Form 7203 is how the IRS verifies the math. A working guide to suspended losses, phantom capital gains on distributions, the $25,000 open-account debt rule, why personal guarantees do not create basis, and how the Regulation 1.1367-1 ordering rules decide which losses survive each year.

Section 1061 Carried Interest Three-Year Holding Period: How Hedge, PE, and VC Fund Managers Lose Long-Term Capital Gains Without It

Section 1061 recharacterizes carried interest gains from long-term to short-term unless the underlying asset was held more than three years — a 17-point federal rate swing for hedge, PE, and VC fund managers. A practitioner guide to applicable partnership interests, Worksheet A and B reporting, the capital interest exception, and 2026 planning moves.

Section 1244 Small Business Stock: How Founders Convert a Failed Startup Into a $50,000 Ordinary Loss

Section 1244 lets eligible founders and early investors convert up to $50,000 ($100,000 joint) of capital loss on failed C-corporation stock into ordinary loss deductible against W-2 wages, freelance income, or interest. This guide covers who qualifies, the $1 million capital ceiling, Form 4797 reporting, and the formation steps that keep the deduction defensible.

Section 1245 vs. Section 1250: How Depreciation Recapture Erodes Your Bonus Depreciation Benefits

When you sell depreciated business property, Section 1245 recaptures prior depreciation as ordinary income (up to 37%), while Section 1250 caps the recapture on real estate at 25% — turning a 100% bonus depreciation deduction into a large tax bill at exit unless you plan with cost segregation, 1031 exchanges, and a clean fixed-asset register.

The Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction: How Section 162(l) Beats Itemizing

Section 162(l) lets sole proprietors, partners, and more-than-2% S-corp shareholders deduct health, dental, vision, LTC, and Medicare premiums above the line on Schedule 1, line 17 — bypassing the 7.5%-of-AGI floor that gates itemized medical deductions. Form 7206 enforces three limits — earned income, subsidized-coverage months, and PTC coordination — and S-corp owners must include premiums in W-2 Box 1 (not Box 3 or 5) to preserve the deduction.

Section 170(h) Conservation Easement Deductions: Why High-Income Donors Face 40% Penalties, Automatic Audits, and a 6% Court Allowance Rate

Section 170(h) lets landowners deduct the value lost when they place a permanent conservation restriction on real property, but the IRS has labeled high-ratio syndicated structures listed transactions and now disallows over 90% of the claimed deduction in court. This guide explains the four-part qualification test, the 2.5x basis cap under Section 170(h)(7), the 40% strict liability penalty, Form 8283 requirements, the six-year statute of limitations, and the 2026 IRS settlement window.