Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
First-Party d(4)(A) vs. Third-Party Special Needs Trusts: Protecting SSI, Medicaid, and a Disabled Loved One's Future
A planning guide to first-party (d)(4)(A), third-party, and (d)(4)(C) pooled special needs trusts. Compares the Medicaid payback obligation, the under-65 statutory cutoff, allowable trust disbursements, the 2024 SSA change that removed food from ISM, and how a 2026 ABLE account complements an SNT without replacing it.
Form 1095-C and Section 4980H: 2026 ACA Employer Penalties and Safe Harbors
For 2026, ALEs face a $3,340 per-employee 4980H(a) penalty and a $5,010 per-employee 4980H(b) penalty, with affordability set at 9.96 percent of pay. This guide covers the FPL, W-2, and rate-of-pay safe harbors, line-by-line Form 1095-C coding, and the errors that drive Letter 226-J assessments.
Form 3800 General Business Credit: Stacking R&D, WOTC, FICA Tip, and Childcare Credits Under the 25/75 TMT Limit
How Form 3800 aggregates 40-plus business tax credits into one limitation, why the 25/75 tentative minimum tax floor matters, and how eligible small businesses (≤$50M gross receipts) can offset AMT with R&D, WOTC, FICA Tip, and other specified credits.
Form 6166 U.S. Residency Certification: How Businesses and Individuals Use Form 8802 to Slash Foreign Withholding on Royalties, Dividends, and Service Income
Form 6166 is the IRS-issued certificate of U.S. tax residency that unlocks reduced foreign withholding under bilateral tax treaties. Apply with Form 8802 — $85 for individuals, $185 for entities — and one filing covers unlimited countries and certificates, often saving five or six figures per cross-border contract.
Form 6252 and Installment Sales: A Working Guide to Section 453
A practical guide to Section 453 installment sales and Form 6252 — how the gross profit ratio defers capital gains across years, when depreciation recapture forces year-one recognition, how the Section 453A interest charge applies above the $5 million threshold, and when electing out beats deferral.
Form 6252 Installment Sales Under Section 453: Spreading Capital Gains and Avoiding the 453A Interest Charge
A practical walk-through of reporting installment sales on Form 6252 under IRC Section 453 — computing the gross profit percentage, why depreciation recapture is taxed in year one, the 453A interest charge on notes above the $5M aggregate threshold, the two-year related-party resale rule, and when electing out beats deferring gain.
Form 8308 and Section 751 Hot Assets: How a Partnership Sale Turns Capital Gain Into Ordinary Income
When a partner sells an LLC or partnership interest, Section 751 can recharacterize a large share of the gain as ordinary income taxed up to 37 percent. Form 8308 is the partnership's required disclosure of that hot-asset gain on Form 1065, with a January 31 furnishing leg and a return-due-date filing leg in 2026.
Form 8308 and Section 751 Hot Assets: Why Selling Your Partnership Interest Often Costs More Than You Think
Selling a partnership interest can convert expected capital gain into ordinary income under Section 751, raising the federal tax bill on the recharacterized slice from 23.8 percent to 37 percent. This guide explains Form 8308, hot-asset categories, the January 31 partner statement deadline, and what sellers, buyers, and partnership administrators need to do for 2025 and 2026 transfers.
Form 6166 and Form 8802: How U.S. Residents Cut Foreign Withholding by Certifying Tax Residency
Form 6166 is the IRS letter that lets U.S. taxpayers claim treaty rates on foreign royalties, dividends, and services. This guide walks through the Form 8802 application, eligibility rules, common rejection traps, and the timing required to get withholding right at the source.
Form 8825 Demystified: How Partnerships and S-Corps Report Rental Real Estate Without Triggering an IRS Letter
Form 8825 consolidates partnership and S-corp rental real estate activity, with line 21 flowing to Schedule K-1 box 2 where each owner applies the passive activity loss rules under Section 469. The December 2025 revision splits gross rents from other rental income and adds Schedule A's twenty named expense categories for Schedule M-3 filers. Owners hit basis, at-risk, and passive walls in that order before a loss reaches Form 1040.
The U.S. Exit Tax in 2026: How Form 8854 and Section 877A Tax You on the Way Out
Section 877A treats covered expatriates as if they sold every asset the day before leaving the United States. For 2026 the net-tax threshold is $211,000, the net-worth test sits at $2 million, and the gain exclusion is $910,000 — here is how Form 8854 decides whether you pay.
Form 8865 Foreign Partnership Reporting: The Four Categories of Filers, the $10,000 Penalty, and How U.S. Persons Stay Off the IRS Radar
Form 8865 is the U.S. information return for foreign partnership interests, with $10,000 per-partnership per-year penalties for non-filing. This guide breaks down the four filer categories under Sections 6038, 6038B, and 6046A, the constructive ownership rules that catch most surprise penalties, and the schedules each category must include.