Blog

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

May 12, 202617 min read

The BBA Partnership Audit Playbook: Partnership Representatives, Push-Out Elections, and the Imputed Underpayment Trap You Did Not See Coming

Under the Bipartisan Budget Act centralized audit regime, the IRS assesses partnership tax adjustments at the entity level at the highest individual rate. This guide explains when to elect out under Section 6221(b), how the partnership representative can modify or push out the imputed underpayment under Section 6226, and how to file an administrative adjustment request on Form 8082.

Mike Thrift

partnershipstaxtax-compliance

May 12, 202612 min read

ASC 350 Goodwill Impairment: A Private Company Guide to the Amortization Alternative and Triggering-Event Testing

ASC 350 lets private companies amortize goodwill over up to ten years and test for impairment only when a triggering event occurs. This guide walks through ASU 2014-02 and 2021-03 elections, the single-step Step One quantitative test after ASU 2017-04, and how to keep auditors and lenders aligned.

Mike Thrift

accountingfinancial-reportingmergers-and-acquisitions

May 12, 202612 min read

ASC 326 CECL Explained: Lifetime Credit Loss Estimation for Private Companies, Community Banks, and Credit Unions

ASC 326's Current Expected Credit Loss model requires private companies, community banks, and credit unions to book lifetime expected losses on receivables and loans from day one. This guide covers estimation methods (loss-rate, WARM, vintage, migration, DCF), pool segmentation, reversion approaches, and the July 2025 ASU 2025-05 practical expedient that lets entities skip forward-looking forecasts for current trade receivables.

Mike Thrift

financial-reportingaccounts-receivablecompliance

May 12, 202614 min read

AOTC vs Lifetime Learning Credit in 2026: How Parents and Students Pick the Right $2,500 or $2,000 Education Credit Without Double Dipping

The AOTC is worth up to $2,500 per student with $1,000 refundable; the Lifetime Learning Credit caps at $2,000 per return. A 2026 walkthrough of Form 8863 and Form 1098-T covering when each credit wins, the Pell Grant election that unlocks the refundable AOTC, how to coordinate a 529 plan, and the four mistakes that can trigger a 2-to-10-year IRS ban.

Mike Thrift

tax-creditseducationtax-planning

May 12, 202616 min read

AIA Pay Applications, Retainage, and WIP Schedules: How Construction Billing Ties to GAAP Revenue Recognition

AIA G702 and G703 pay applications, schedules of values, retainage, WIP schedules, and over/underbilling reconciliations are what tie construction billing to GAAP revenue recognition under ASC 606. Here is how each piece works, why a $312 line error can delay a $1.4M wire by 41 days, and the patterns that rattle sureties.

Mike Thrift

constructionrevenue-recognitionjob-costing

May 12, 202611 min read

Additional Medicare Tax 0.9%: How Form 8959 Reconciles Employer Withholding With Filing Status Thresholds

A 0.9% surtax applies to earned income above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (joint), but employers withhold using a flat $200,000 per-job trigger. Form 8959 reconciles the two rules — generating a balance due for most dual-income couples and a credit for over-withheld single earners.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningtax-compliance

May 12, 202616 min read

401(k) Safe Harbor Plan Design: How Small Employers Bypass ADP and ACP Nondiscrimination Testing and Avoid Top-Heavy Minimums

A practical guide for small employers comparing the three IRS safe harbor 401(k) formulas — basic match, enhanced match, and 3% nonelective — alongside QACA auto-enrollment rules, SECURE 2.0 startup and contribution tax credits, notice deadlines, and the vesting and bookkeeping details that decide whether ADP, ACP, and top-heavy testing actually go away.

Mike Thrift

retirement-planssmall-businesscompliance

May 11, 202615 min read

WARN Act 60-Day Notice Requirements: An Employer's Guide to Mass Layoffs, Plant Closings, and State Mini-WARN Laws

How the federal WARN Act triggers a 60-day notice clock at 100 employees, the three narrow exceptions, the back-pay and $500-per-day penalties, and the state mini-WARN laws (NY, NJ, CA) that quietly raise the bar to 90 days, 25 employees, or mandatory severance.

Mike Thrift

compliancelegalworkforce-management

May 11, 202610 min read

Trump Accounts 2026: The $1,000 Federal Seed and $5,000 Annual Cap, Explained

Trump Accounts are a new tax-deferred children's savings vehicle created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Children born 2025–2028 receive a one-time $1,000 federal seed, families can contribute up to $5,000 per year, and employers can add $2,500 tax-free per employee — but the deposit requires filing Form 4547.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningpersonal-finance

May 11, 202612 min read

Transfer Pricing for Small Multinationals: Section 482, OECD Pillar Two, and Defensible Documentation

Section 482 reaches any small multinational with intercompany transactions, and missing Forms 5472 carry $25,000 penalties each. A working guide to the arm's-length standard, the five transfer pricing methods, contemporaneous documentation, and how OECD Pillar Two affects US-headquartered groups in 2026.

Mike Thrift

transfer-pricinginternational-taxtax-compliance

May 11, 202613 min read

Trader Tax Status and the Section 475(f) Mark-to-Market Election: How Active Traders Escape the Wash Sale Rule and the $3,000 Capital Loss Cap

Active traders can convert capital losses into ordinary deductions and eliminate the wash sale rule by filing a Section 475(f) mark-to-market election — but the statement must be attached to the prior year's April 15 return. A working guide to qualifying for trader tax status, the three big benefits of the election, Form 3115 mechanics, and the mistakes that invalidate it.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningtrades

May 11, 202611 min read

Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures: How Non-Willful US Taxpayers Catch Up on FBAR, Form 8938, and Three Years of Late Returns Without Crushing Penalties

How non-willful US taxpayers use the IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to catch up on FBAR, Form 8938, and three years of late returns—zero penalty under SFOP for taxpayers abroad, a one-time 5% miscellaneous offshore penalty under SDOP for domestic filers, plus what the non-willfulness certification must demonstrate.

Mike Thrift

tax-complianceinternational-taxexpatriate

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