Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
As of 2026, most outstanding Employee Retention Credit claims sit in audit, appeal, or litigation rather than ordinary processing queues. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act blocked late 2021 Q3/Q4 claims filed after January 31, 2024, and extended the IRS audit window for ERC claims to six years.
A four-stage dunning ladder, the signals hidden in customer replies, and operational rules that turn overdue B2B invoices into reliably collected cash.
A working guide to collections management for small businesses, covering the six-stage follow-up workflow, the AR metrics that actually matter (DSO, CEI, ADD), and a 30-day plan to shorten the average collection cycle.
A practical guide for CPAs and enrolled agents on building a bookkeeping pipeline that delivers tax-ready financials by mid-February — covering client segmentation, in-house vs outsourced models, standardized handoffs, and how plain-text accounting fits in.
A four-stage billing system—strategy, invoicing, collections, reconciliation—that reduces DSO, cuts the 1–5% EBITDA loss from revenue leakage, and stops late payments before they start.
Section 280A(g) lets business owners rent their personal residence to their company for up to 14 days per year and exclude the income from federal tax. This guide covers eligibility, fair-market rate setting, the documentation auditors expect, and the lessons from Sinopoli v. Commissioner.
A small business owner's guide to year-end tax planning, covering income timing, retirement contributions, Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation, HSAs, entity structure, and the QBI deduction with 2026 limits.
Self-employed pros can deduct work-related education that maintains or improves current job skills. But classes for a new trade fail IRS Topic 513.
How to check your IRS refund status in 2026, why refunds stall past the 21-day mark, and what the new direct-deposit freeze rules (CP53E notice) mean if your bank rejects the deposit.
A tax levy is the IRS's legal seizure of wages, bank funds, or property to satisfy unpaid tax debt. This guide explains the notice sequence from CP14 through LT11, the 30-day Collection Due Process window, bank levy 21-day holds, and seven ways to release an active levy.
A practical breakdown of what the IRS does when you skip a tax return—5% monthly failure-to-file penalty, Substitute for Return, liens, levies, passport revocation, and the step-by-step path back to compliance.
Form W-9 collects a contractor's taxpayer ID at onboarding; Form 1099 reports year-end payments to the IRS. The 2026 filing threshold rises from $600 to $2,000 under the OBBBA, and missing a W-9 triggers 24% backup withholding immediately — plus penalties of up to $660 per late form.
