Blog

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

May 7, 20269 min read

Section 280F Luxury Auto Depreciation Limits: The SUV Loophole and How to Maximize Your Business Vehicle Write-Off

Section 280F caps first-year depreciation on passenger autos at $20,300 in 2026, but SUVs and trucks rated above 6,000 lbs GVWR escape those limits and can combine a $32,000 Section 179 deduction with 100% bonus depreciation. A practical guide to the 2026 numbers, the heavy-vehicle and pickup carve-outs, the 50% business-use cliff, and the mileage-log standards an IRS auditor expects.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-deductionstax-planning

May 7, 202610 min read

Section 280E: How Cannabis Businesses Survive a 70% Effective Tax Rate

Section 280E bars cannabis businesses from deducting ordinary expenses, pushing federal effective tax rates past 70%. A walkthrough of the math, the COGS lever under Section 471, key Tax Court rulings (CHAMP, Olive, Harborside), and what 2026 rescheduling could change.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancetax-planning

May 7, 202611 min read

Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit: Final-Year Claim, Carryforward, and TPO Alternatives

Section 25D's 30% residential clean energy credit ends December 31, 2025 under the OBBBA. How to file the final-year claim on Form 5695, carry unused credit forward indefinitely, and use TPO leases or Section 48E to capture value in 2026.

Mike Thrift

tax-creditstaxhome-ownership

May 7, 202612 min read

Section 199A REIT Dividend Deduction: The 20% Tax Break Most REIT Investors Don't Fully Use

Section 199A lets investors deduct 20% of qualified REIT dividends from taxable income, dropping the top federal rate from 37% to about 29.6%. This guide covers Box 5 of Form 1099-DIV, the 45-day holding-period rule, Form 8995, and how OBBBA made the deduction permanent.

Mike Thrift

tax-deductionstax-planningreal-estate

May 7, 202611 min read

Section 163(j) Business Interest Limitation: The 30% ATI Cap and OBBBA's EBITDA Restoration

OBBBA permanently restored the EBITDA-based ATI calculation for Section 163(j) starting in 2025, expanding deductible business interest for capital-intensive companies. A guide to the 30% cap, the ~$31M small business exemption, the 35% syndicate trap, EBIE allocations from partnerships, S-corp differences, and Form 8990 reporting.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningtax-deductions

May 7, 202610 min read

Section 121 Home Sale Exclusion: How Homeowners Can Skip Up to $500,000 in Capital Gains Taxes

How Section 121 lets U.S. homeowners exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers) of capital gains on a primary home sale — covering the 24-month ownership and use tests, the two-year frequency rule, partial exclusions, depreciation recapture, and the nonqualified-use allocation.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningreal-estate

May 7, 202611 min read

Schedule M-1 and M-3: Reconciling GAAP Book Income to Taxable Income

Schedule M-1 and M-3 reconcile GAAP book income to taxable income on Form 1120. Learn the $10M and $50M asset thresholds, permanent vs.

Mike Thrift

tax-compliancereconciliationtax-preparation

May 7, 202610 min read

Rule 72(t) SEPP: How to Tap Your IRA Before 59½ Without the 10% Penalty

Tap your IRA or 401(k) before 59½ penalty-free with Rule 72(t) SEPP. Learn the three IRS calculation methods, the 5% rate floor, and recapture tax pitfalls.

Mike Thrift

retirement-plansiraretirement-savings

May 7, 202613 min read

Roth Conversion Ladder: How FIRE Investors Tap Retirement Accounts Penalty-Free Before Age 59½

A Roth conversion ladder converts traditional IRA dollars to Roth in annual tranches, each unlocking penalty-free five tax years later — the core mechanism FIRE retirees use to tap pre-tax accounts before age 59½ while filling low tax brackets.

Mike Thrift

retirement-savingstax-planningira

May 7, 202613 min read

ROBS Rollover for Business Startups: How to Use Retirement Funds to Finance a Small Business Without Tax or Penalty

A working guide to Rollover as Business Startup (ROBS) arrangements — the five required steps, why only a C corporation qualifies, the Form 5500 and prohibited-transaction rules, IRS-documented failure rates, and when alternatives like SBA loans or 401(k) participant loans make more sense.

Mike Thrift

retirement-plansc-corporationfinancing

May 7, 202611 min read

Reverse 1031 Exchange: How to Buy Your Replacement Property Before Selling the Old One

A reverse 1031 exchange lets a real estate investor close on a replacement property before selling the relinquished one by parking title with an Exchange Accommodation Titleholder under Revenue Procedure 2000-37's safe harbor. The taxpayer must identify the relinquished property within 45 days and complete the swap within 180 days, with no extensions. EAT fees typically run $5,000 to $15,000 above a forward exchange, so the deferred gain needs to be large enough to justify the cost.

Mike Thrift

real-estate1031-exchangetax-planning

May 7, 202611 min read

PTET in 2026: The SALT Cap Workaround for S-Corps and Partnerships

A 2026 guide to the Pass-Through Entity Tax — how 36+ jurisdictions let S-corps and partnerships convert capped state income taxes into a fully deductible federal business expense, even after OBBBA raised the SALT cap to $40,400.

Mike Thrift

tax-plannings-corppartnerships

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