Marketing Manager
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.
Total exposure per misclassified worker now commonly lands between $15,000 and $100,000 once federal back taxes, FLSA back wages with liquidated damages, and state penalties stack. Here is what the 2024 DOL final rule changed, how the IRS and state ABC tests differ, and how Section 530 and the VCSP can cap retroactive liability.
How state income tax really works for remote employees who cross state lines: the convenience-of-the-employer rule used by seven states (including New York), which reciprocity agreements eliminate double taxation, day-counting evidence auditors accept, and the bookkeeping habits that keep multi-state returns predictable.
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.
How Qualified Opportunity Funds defer capital gains, deliver tax-free appreciation after a 10-year hold, and what changes for new investments under OBBBA's permanent Opportunity Zones 2.0 rules starting January 2027.
A CPA paid himself $24,000 while taking $200,000 in S-Corp distributions, lost in the Eighth Circuit, and owed six figures in back payroll taxes and penalties. Here is how the IRS evaluates reasonable compensation, the audit red flags, and a defensible methodology for setting an S-Corp owner salary.
A SAFE is a contract granting future equity with no maturity or interest, while a convertible note is a loan with 4–8% interest and an 18–24 month maturity that becomes due if no priced round closes — and Y Combinator's 2018 post-money SAFE locks each investor's ownership at Investment ÷ Cap, dilution that hits founders, not prior SAFE holders.
SECURE 2.0 Act provisions taking effect in 2026 and 2027 — mandatory Roth catch-ups for earners over $145,000, RMD age pushed to 75 for those born after 1960, $35,000 lifetime 529-to-Roth rollovers, and up to $16,500 in small business retirement plan startup credits.
ASC 350-40 governs which software development costs SaaS companies expense and which they capitalize as intangible assets. ASU 2025-06 retires the three-stage model in favor of a probable-to-complete threshold, with the FASB signaling more costs will be expensed. This guide covers what qualifies, the EBITDA and balance-sheet impact, and how to set up an audit-defensible process.
Section 1014 of the Internal Revenue Code resets an inherited asset's cost basis to its fair market value on the date of death, erasing the decedent's lifetime appreciation from the tax base — a provision the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates will cost the federal government $72.5 billion in 2026.
A Section 83(b) election lets founders and early employees pay ordinary income tax on the grant-date value of restricted stock instead of on each vesting tranche, shifting future appreciation into long-term capital gains. The 30-day filing window is absolute and starts on the actual transfer date.
The Backdoor Roth IRA lets high earners contribute up to $7,500 a year to tax-free retirement growth by pairing a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution with a Roth conversion. Covers the five-step process, the pro-rata rule that derails most attempts, Form 8606 filing, and the recordkeeping that prevents being taxed twice.
