Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Brokers that act like carriers inherit carrier liability — get HHG authority, the $75,000 BMC-84 bond, and tariff-based estimates right.
Compare a supplier quote against avoidable cost, not full cost — allocated overhead stays either way. The framework, the math, and the qualitative overrides.
Tenancy by the entirety treats a married couple as one owner, shielding property from one spouse's creditors — but only in 25 states plus D.C.
IRS audit rates run 0.1% for middle incomes but hit 4% above $10M — and Schedule C filers face triple the scrutiny of W-2 earners.
Policy loans are insurer money at 5-8% interest, not your own cash — front-loaded commissions delay break-even past a decade. Compare with buy-term-and-invest.
IRS rules say employee gift cards are always taxable W-2 wages, turkeys can be tax-free de minimis fringes, and holiday parties are 100% deductible.
Gross margin tests pricing, operating margin tests overhead, net margin tests financing and tax — read the three as a funnel to find where profit leaks.
A general power of appointment under Section 2041 pulls trust property into your taxable estate; a limited power or HEMS wording keeps it out.
ADS swaps faster GDS write-offs for longer straight-line lives and no bonus depreciation; the IRS requires it for electing real-estate businesses.
A 1:1 match turns a $250 employee gift into $500 for any IRS-verified 501(c)(3) — start with a $500 cap and quarterly payouts.
Supervoting shares let founders control a company on a minority stake; investors discount the wedge unless a sunset restores one share, one vote.
A DRIP reinvests your dividends into more shares automatically — but the IRS still taxes every dollar. How compounding, discounts, and cost basis work.
