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

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Blended Overtime for Dual-Rate Employees: How the Weighted-Average Regular Rate Works

Under the FLSA, an employee who works two hourly rates in one workweek earns overtime on the weighted average of those rates, not either rate alone — and because straight time is already paid, only the half-time premium is still owed. A worked example (45 hours at $20 and $30 gives a $23.33 regular rate and $58.33 in premium pay), the five errors that trigger back-wage claims, and the records that prove your math.

mike

payrollcompliancesmall-business

The New AI Side Hustle: Bookkeeping and Quarterly Taxes for RLHF and Data-Labeling Gig Income

AI data-labeling and RLHF gig income arrives with nothing withheld, so annotators owe 15.3 percent self-employment tax plus income tax on every payout and must pay quarterly estimates by the 2026 deadlines. This guide covers the 1099-NEC and 1099-K thresholds, the 90/100/110 percent safe-harbor rules, Schedule C deductions most annotators skip, and a 20-minute-a-month bookkeeping system for multi-platform payouts.

mike

side-hustleaiself-employment-tax

Contributed Too Much to Your 401(k)? How to Fix a 402(g) Excess Deferral Before April 15

For 2026 the section 402(g) elective deferral limit is $24,500 per person ($32,500 with the age-50 catch-up, $35,750 at ages 60 to 63), aggregated across every 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE IRA and SARSEP you contribute to in the year. An excess not refunded with earnings by April 15 is taxed twice, once as wages in the contribution year and again on distribution. Steps include totaling W-2 Box 12 deferrals, notifying the plan in writing, reading 1099-R codes P and 8, and capping payroll after a mid-year job change.

mike

taxretirement-plansretirement-savings

Window Screen and Screen Door Repair Bookkeeping: Costing Every Stop, Tracking Every Roll, and Surviving the Winter Trough

A bookkeeping guide for window screen and screen door repair businesses. Separate revenue lines for rescreens, frame rebuilds, doors and landlord contracts; track mesh by grade (fiberglass, aluminum, solar, pet-resistant) as cost of goods sold; log mileage per stop at the 2026 IRS rate of 72.5 to 76 cents; and bank spring surplus to cover three to four months of fixed costs through winter.

mike

bookkeepingsmall-businesstrades

Water Softener Dealer Bookkeeping: Salt Routes, Service Contracts, and the Warranty Reserve

A water conditioning dealership runs four businesses on four different clocks — equipment installs, salt delivery, service plans, and rentals. Split them into separate income accounts, defer prepaid service revenue under ASC 606, accrue a warranty reserve at 2–5% of equipment sales under ASC 460, and capitalize rental units over a 7–10 year life instead of expensing them.

mike

small-businessbookkeepingrevenue-recognition

Washington's Homeowner Recovery Program Is Now Paying Claims: A Contractor Bookkeeping and Registration Survival Guide

Since July 1, 2026, a Washington homeowner holding an unsatisfied court judgment against a registered contractor can collect up to $25,000 per parcel from L&I's Homeowner Recovery Program, and the state then pursues the contractor for reimbursement. This guide covers the eligibility rules, the $30,000 general and $15,000 specialty bond requirements, and the job-costing, change-order, retention and sales-tax bookkeeping habits that keep a dispute from ending in a judgment.

mike

constructionbookkeepingjob-costing

Your Employee Just Got Deployment Orders: What USERRA Requires of You, Even If They're Your Only Employee

USERRA covers every US employer with no headcount minimum. When an employee is called to military service, you must reemploy them promptly at the "escalator" position they would have reached, continue health coverage for up to 24 months, credit seniority and pension benefits as if they never left, and honor return deadlines of 14 or 90 days depending on service length. This guide lays out the five reemployment conditions, the anti-discrimination rules, what federal law does not require, and a before-during-after bookkeeping checklist for small employers.

mike

compliancepayrollemployee-benefits

Un-Electing S Corporation Status: How to Revoke Your S Election and What It Costs

Revoking an S election takes a signed statement from shareholders holding more than 50% of shares, received by March 15 for a January 1 effective date, and it bars re-election for five tax years. This guide covers the required statement contents, mid-year short-year splits, the Section 1374 built-in gains tax on appreciated assets, and the post-termination window for tax-free AAA distributions.

mike

s-corporationc-corporationentity-conversion

Tax Refund Seized? How the Treasury Offset Program Works and How Injured Spouses Get Their Share Back

The Treasury Offset Program lets the Bureau of the Fiscal Service withhold a federal tax refund to pay past-due child support, defaulted federal student and SBA loans, state income tax, and unemployment debts, in that priority order. Creditor agencies must mail a Notice of Intent to Offset at least 60 days before referral, giving you time to pay, sign a repayment agreement, or dispute the debt. When the debt belongs only to your spouse, Form 8379 Injured Spouse Allocation recovers your share of a joint refund in roughly 8 to 14 weeks.

mike

taxtax-filingtax-compliance

Switzerland Now Lets Small Businesses File VAT Once a Year: Should You Switch?

Since January 2025, Swiss businesses with taxable turnover up to CHF 5,005,000 and three clean filing periods can elect one annual VAT return through the SFTA ePortal instead of quarterly returns, but still pay advance installments on May 30, August 30 and November 30. Here is who qualifies, why the end-of-February election deadline matters, when quarterly filing is the better cash-flow choice, and the monthly bookkeeping habits that make annual filing safe.

mike

vattax-compliancesmall-business

Is Your State Tax Refund Taxable? The Tax Benefit Rule, Explained

A state income tax refund is federally taxable only to the extent last year's deduction actually reduced your tax. Standard-deduction filers report nothing; itemizers run the Schedule 1 worksheet, where the SALT cap ($40,000 for 2025, $40,400 for 2026), the margin by which itemizing beat the standard deduction, and the income-tax-versus-sales-tax election each cut the taxable amount below the Form 1099-G figure.

mike

taxtax-preparationtax-filing
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