Which Scholarships Are Taxable? Tuition, Room and Board, Stipends, and Required Service
Under IRS Topic 421 a scholarship is tax-free only for tuition and required course costs; room, board, travel, and required-service stipends are taxable.
Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Venture Debt for Early-Stage Startups: Borrow Runway Without Selling the Company
U.S. startups borrowed a record $68.8B of venture debt in 2025. Warrants cost 1-5% dilution, but covenant breaches - not missed payments - trigger most defaults
UK Economic Crime Levy 2026: Who Files, What You Pay, and How to Reconcile September
The UK Economic Crime Levy charges AML-supervised firms with UK revenue above £10.2m from £10,000 to £500,000 — return first, then payment by 30 September.
Your Customer List Is Worthless in Court Unless You Protected It: Trade Secrets 101 for Small Employers
Your client list is only a trade secret if you protected it first — inventory secrets, sign NDAs with the DTSA notice, and lock down access.
The Short Tax Year: How to File a Stub Return Without Overpaying
Annualization applies only when you changed accounting periods — IRS Section 443 lets startups and shutdowns figure stub-year tax normally, no scaling up.
Shopify vs. WooCommerce vs. BigCommerce: What Each Platform Really Costs You
BigCommerce charges 0% platform fees while Shopify adds 0.6–2% on outside gateways — 2026 pricing, a $240K worked example, and an IRS 1099-K payout checklist.
Loan or Capital Contribution? How to Document Shareholder Advances So the IRS Respects the Debt
Shareholder advances survive IRS scrutiny on behavior, not labels: a written note at or above the AFR, unsubordinated terms, and payments you actually make.
Rabbi Trust vs. Secular Trust: Who Really Gets Your Deferred Compensation If the Company Fails?
A rabbi trust defers tax but leaves the employee behind your creditors in bankruptcy; a secular trust is IRS-taxed at funding. Pick by who bears credit risk.
The SBA's 2026 SBIC Overhaul: A New Funding Lane Beyond Banks and Venture Capital
The SBA's SBIC rule effective February 2, 2026 opens a $53B program to manufacturers and suppliers — debt from $250K to $10M at 9–16%, equity from $100K to $5M.
Panama's Free E-Invoicing Tool Now Has a B/.36,000 Ceiling: What to Do Before You're Locked Out
Panama's free DGI biller now stops at B/.36,000 annual gross income and 100 documents a month - cross either line and every invoice must go through a PAC.
Pallet Flipping Bookkeeping: Reading Manifests, Costing Mixed Lots, and Keeping Marketplace Fees From Eating Your Margin
Manifest math for pallet flippers: allocate landed cost per item, stack eBay and Amazon fees before you bid, and reconcile gross IRS 1099-K totals to deposits.
Outsourced Medical Coding Company Bookkeeping: Per-Chart vs. Hourly Pricing
Outsourced coding is priced per chart ($2–$5), hourly, or at 4–8% of collections — track revenue per coder-hour to see which contracts actually pay.