Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
For 2026 the OBBBA resets AMT phaseout thresholds to $500,000 single and $1,000,000 joint and doubles the exemption clawback from 25 to 50 cents per dollar, so the same income that owed no AMT in 2025 can owe five figures next year. A guide to who is exposed, how to estimate your position, and five planning moves before year-end.
Federal 1099-K filing reverted to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions for 2026, but Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, DC, Montana and North Carolina still require it at $600 — learn which states keep the lower threshold, how payment-card and TPSO rules differ, and how to book gross, fees, and sales tax so your books tie to every form you receive.
Xero will acquire Melio for $2.5B plus up to $500M earn-out; Melio processed $30B in payments with 80,000 customers — bundling bill pay into accounting software promises fewer logins and tighter approvals, but adds card fees and FX spreads that need separate bookkeeping.
WOSB certification requires unconditional, direct 51% ownership and genuine control by women who are U.S. citizens, and must now come from SBA or an approved third-party certifier — it unlocks set-aside competition in 733 industries and sole-source awards up to $6.5 million.
Nearly 9 in 10 spreadsheets contain errors — learn the 7 warning signs your Excel bookkeeping is costing you time and accuracy, what accounting software fixes, and a migration checklist that keeps your history intact.
How wedding DJs and mobile entertainers should classify booking deposits and retainers under cash versus accrual accounting, depreciate sound and lighting gear under Section 179 or MACRS, track revenue and cost per event, issue 1099-NECs for second DJs, and survive the off-season cash crunch when most revenue compresses into a few months.
Only about 437,000 of the 864,000 UK sole traders and landlords in scope filed their first Making Tax Digital quarterly update by 7 August 2026 — close to half missed it. No penalty points apply this tax year, but HMRC begins forced enrolment in September 2026 and the next quarterly update is due 7 November 2026.
A practical guide to truffle orchard accounting — why a 5- to 10-year preproductive period triggers Section 263A capitalization, when the small-farmer election lets you expense instead, how to track costs by block, and when a block becomes productive and starts 10-year depreciation.
How translation and interpreting agencies should cost jobs by billable versus payable words and door-to-door session time, pay freelance linguists and file 1099-NECs, track utilization and overhead, and reconcile multi-currency and retainer cash flow to hold 30-50% gross margins and 15-25% net.
KFF's review of 318 insurers found ACA small-group premiums rising a median 11% for 2026. Learn the five drivers behind the increase, why the smallest employers feel it most, and how to budget your renewal without dropping coverage.
Business bankruptcies hit 24,737 filings in the year through December 2025 and Subchapter V cases jumped about 67% year-over-year in January 2026. This guide explains why filings are rising, how Subchapter V differs from traditional Chapter 11, what the $7.5 million versus $3 million debt limit fight means for eligibility, and the five-number dashboard that surfaces trouble months before a filing.
The Sloan ratio divides the gap between net income and operating cash flow by total assets to show how much reported profit is accruals rather than cash. Includes the formula, the ±10% caution bands, and a worked example of a profitable agency where only 40 cents of each profit dollar arrived as operating cash.
