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Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.

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.

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.

ISO AMT in 2026: Bargain Element, Form 6251 Line 2i, and the OBBBA Phase-Out Cliff

Under OBBBA, the 2026 AMT exemption phases out at $500K single / $1M joint with a 50-cent rate, doubling the stealth bracket on ISO exercises. Here is exactly how the bargain element flows into Form 6251 line 2i, when a same-year disqualifying disposition eliminates the AMT adjustment, and how to plan exercises to avoid a six-figure phantom-income tax bill.

The ISO AMT Trap in 2026: How Tech Employees Get Hit With Six-Figure Tax Bills on Stock They Can't Sell

Exercising and holding ISOs adds the bargain element to AMTI on Form 6251 Line 2i, which can produce a six-figure tax bill before a single share is sold. A 2026 guide to the tightened AMT exemption phase-out ($500K single / $1M MFJ at 50¢ per dollar), the qualifying disposition rules under IRC §422, and the planning moves — AMT crossover exercise, §83(b) early exercise, same-year disqualifying sale, and multi-year laddering — that keep tech employees out of the trap.

The IC-DISC Export Tax Strategy: How Closely-Held U.S. Exporters Cut Their Tax Rate on Foreign Sales to 20 Percent

An IC-DISC is a paper-only U.S. C corporation authorized by IRC Sections 991–997 that lets closely-held manufacturers, distributors, and growers convert qualifying export profit from ordinary income rates (up to 37%) into qualified dividend rates (20–23.8%), with typical setups producing $50,000+ in annual federal tax savings on $5M of qualifying export sales after Section 199A's 2026 sunset widened the rate spread.

The IC-DISC: How Closely Held Exporters Cut Federal Tax on Export Profits to 23.8%

The IC-DISC is the only permanent federal tax incentive dedicated to U.S. exporters that is available to pass-through entities. It routes export commissions through a tax-exempt paper corporation and back out as qualified dividends, cutting the effective federal rate on export profits from roughly 40% to 23.8% for closely held manufacturers, distributors, software vendors, and engineering firms.