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Debt Management

Debt management strategies and payoff planning

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11 min read

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 Thrift

taxtax-filingtax-compliance
10 min read

Indiana's 2026 Tax Amnesty Window Closes September 9: How to Clear Old Back Taxes Without Penalties or Interest

Indiana's Tax Amnesty 2026 runs July 15 through September 9, 2026 and waives all penalties, interest, and collection fees on DOR-administered taxes for periods ending before January 1, 2024, provided you pay in full or open a payment plan that is paid off by June 7, 2027. This guide covers the eligibility checklist (including the 2005/2015 prior-participant bar), the four-step INTIME process, five mistakes that void the waiver, and how to record the forgiven amounts in your books.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancetax-deadlines
12 min read

Interest Coverage Ratio: What Your Loan Covenant Measures and How to Cure a Breach Before It Triggers Default

The interest coverage ratio (EBIT ÷ interest expense) is the loan covenant small businesses trip most often, with minimums typically set between 2.5x and 4.5x and tested quarterly on trailing twelve months. This guide explains how lenders define EBITDA and interest expense, what a breach triggers (default rate, frozen draws, cross-defaults), and the cure sequence in cost order — early covenant reset, waiver, amendment, equity cure, forbearance — plus the bookkeeping that keeps your ratio visible before the bank sees it.

Mike Thrift

financial-ratiosbusiness-loansdebt-management
11 min read

New Zealand Tax-Debt Credit Reporting: What an Overdue GST, PAYE, or Income-Tax Balance Means for Your Business

Inland Revenue can report significant unpaid business tax to a credit reporting agency — GST, PAYE, or income-tax debt over NZ$150,000 that is 90+ days overdue, or debt unpaid for more than 12 months equal to at least 30% of assessable income. Here is how the 30-day Notice of Intent works from 1 April 2026, and the myIR review and reconciliation controls that keep a balance off your credit file.

Mike Thrift

tax-compliancetaxsmall-business
12 min read

Carnival FY2026 Q2 Earnings: The $9.0B Liability That Makes the Demand Story

Carnival's FY2026 Q2 revenue rose 5.3% to $6.66B while operating income fell 8.9% — fuel cost per metric ton jumped 29% to $793 and net income slipped to $539M. Customer deposits reached $9.0B, cash-backed proof of booked demand that is still a refundable liability sitting against $23.4B of long-term debt. Every figure traced line by line in a public Beancount ledger covering FY2021 through Q2 FY2026.

Mike Thrift

financial-reportingfinancial-analysisopen-ledger
14 min read

Small Business Bankruptcies Hit a Decade High: Why Subchapter V Filings Jumped 67% and What the $7.5 Million Debt Limit Fight Means for You

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.

Mike Thrift

small-businessbankingfinancial-management
9 min read

The $875 Billion Maturity Wall: A Small Business Guide to Refinancing Commercial Real Estate in 2026

Roughly $875 billion in commercial real estate loans mature in 2026 — about 17% of all outstanding commercial mortgage debt — with rates 150-250 basis points above origination. A practical guide for owner-occupiers and tenants, covering the financing gap, DSCR targets of 1.20x-1.35x, SBA 504/7(a) options, and a nine-month refinancing timeline.

Mike Thrift

real-estatesmall-businessbusiness-loans
8 min read

Asset Coverage Ratio: The Solvency Number Lenders Check Before You Ever See a Term Sheet

The asset coverage ratio measures whether tangible assets could repay total debt in a liquidation — [(total assets − intangibles) − (current liabilities − short-term debt)] ÷ total debt. Below 1.0 is a red flag, 2.0 is a common healthy benchmark, and lenders often write a minimum ACR into loan covenants that can trigger technical default.

Mike Thrift

financial-ratiosbusiness-loanssmall-business
7 min read

Panacea Financial and the Rise of Physician Banking: What Doctor-Focused Lending Teaches Anyone With Unusual Income

84% of medical student borrowers owe $100,000+ and residents earn $60,000–$70,000 while their debt suggests far more — a gap Panacea Financial, a physician-founded division of Primis Bank, underwrites around with no-cosigner PRN loans, refinancing, and practice financing. What niche banking gains, what it gives up, and why the 2026 Grad PLUS elimination changes the math.

Mike Thrift

bankinghealthcareloans
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