Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
A line-by-line guide to the deductions self-employed workers can claim in 2026, including the now-permanent 20% QBI deduction under OBBBA, $72,000 Solo 401(k) limits, the 72.5-cent IRS mileage rate, and the documentation rules that hold up under audit.
A practical guide to how LLCs are actually taxed federally—disregarded entity, partnership, S-corp, or C-corp—when each classification makes sense, what the S-Corp election saves at $150K of profit, the 75-day Form 2553 deadline, and the six mistakes that most reliably trigger IRS audits.
Forgiven PPP loans are federally tax-free and the expenses paid with them remain fully deductible, but EIDL loans, EIDL Advance grants, and PUA benefits each carry distinct tax treatment — including a one-time $10,200 unemployment exclusion for 2020 under the American Rescue Plan.
Client meals are 50% deductible in 2026, client gifts cap at $25 per recipient (a limit unchanged since 1962), and employer-provided meals lose their deduction this year. A service-business guide to documenting meals, travel, gifts, and marketing while staying inside IRS rules.
A decision framework for choosing between DIY bookkeeping software, professional services, and plain-text accounting—with concrete pricing benchmarks ($15–$800/month), transaction-volume thresholds, and the seven mistakes that drive cleanup costs.
The IRS opens the 2026 filing season on January 26, with W-2s and most 1099s due by January 31. Filing early protects against refund fraud, speeds direct-deposit refunds within 21 days, and beats the April rush — but waiting can be smarter when K-1s or corrected brokerage 1099s are still in transit.
A walkthrough of what the IRS actually does with a return after you file. 24-48 hour acceptance checks, automated math-error and information-return matching, the three Where's My Refund statuses, the 21-day refund target, common rejection reasons, and what each CP notice code means.
Learn how the IRS treats website development costs for small businesses. See which expenses deduct now and which must be amortized under Section 174A.
A practical comparison of Form W-4 (the withholding certificate employees give employers) and Form W-2 (the year-end wage statement employers send the IRS), with 2026 OBBBA updates—$2,200 Child Tax Credit, qualified tips and overtime deductions—and the filing mistakes that quietly cost workers refunds.
A structural breakdown of Title 26—the Internal Revenue Code—covering how the tax code is organized, the 2026 changes most relevant to small businesses (permanent 100% bonus depreciation, a $2.5M Section 179 cap, expanded QBI), and the records you need to defend every deduction you claim.
A precise 2026 guide to taxable income — which dollars the IRS counts (wages, tips, capital gains, cancelled debt), which are excluded (gifts, inheritances, Roth distributions, muni bond interest), the step-by-step AGI-to-taxable-income calculation, and seven legal strategies to reduce the final number, including new One Big Beautiful Bill Act deductions for tipped, overtime, and senior taxpayers.
How to distinguish legitimate tax resolution firms from Offer in Compromise mills—what services should cost in 2026, the IRS-flagged red flags that should end a sales call, and the free alternatives most callers never hear about.
