Be the Bank: A Beginner's Guide to Mortgage Note Investing
Mortgage note investing is buying a loan below its unpaid balance. Underwrite to foreclosure, cap ITV at 60–70%, and hire a licensed servicer.
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Interest
Calculate and track interest income and expenses
MYGAs, Explained: The CD Alternative Paying More With Tax Deferral
A MYGA is a CD from an insurer: ~1 point higher fixed yield, tax-deferred growth, but surrender charges, no FDIC, and a 10% IRS penalty before 59½.
Form 1098 for Rental Property Owners: Getting Every Box Onto the Right Schedule E Line
Form 1098 Box 1 goes to Schedule E line 12 and Box 5 to line 9, but rental points must be amortized over the loan term — never expensed in year one.
The Fed Just Hiked Rates for the First Time Since 2023: What 3.75–4% Means for Your Business Borrowing
The Fed raised rates to 3.75–4% on Sept 16, 2026 and prime hit 7.00% the next day: every prime-plus business line, SBA 7(a) loan and card reprices now.
The IRS Is Holding Its 7% Rate for Q4 2026: What That Costs You When You Owe
The IRS holds interest at 7%, compounded daily, for Q4 2026 — a $10,000 balance costs about $178 a quarter, matching the estimated-tax penalty rate.
Mortgage Points and Origination Fees on Rental and Business Property: What to Amortize, and the Same-Lender Refinance Trap
Points on rental and business property are prepaid interest that must be amortized per scheduled payment, not per year — $4,800 on a 20-year loan is $20 a payment, so a 3-payment first year deducts $60. Refinancing with the same lender blocks the write-off of leftover points and rolls them into the new loan's term.
Peer-to-Peer Lending Bookkeeping: 1099-OID Interest, Netted Platform Fees, and Bad-Debt Write-Offs
P2P lending interest arrives on Form 1099-OID net of platform servicing fees, so those fees are never deducted separately; a defaulted note is usually a nonbusiness bad debt, deductible only when totally worthless and only as a short-term capital loss capped at $3,000 of ordinary income per year.
Phantom Interest Income: Why Original Issue Discount Taxes You on Money You Haven't Received Yet
Original issue discount makes you report interest income each year on bonds that pay no cash until maturity. This guide covers where OID hides — zero-coupon bonds, T-bills, TIPS, seller-financed notes — the 0.25%-per-year de minimis threshold, how to read Boxes 1, 2, 6 and 8 of Form 1099-OID, and the basis and state-tax mistakes that make investors overpay.
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.
The Fed Is on Hold: What the June 2026 Dot Plot Means for Your Next Business Loan
The June 2026 dot plot moved the median end-of-year Fed funds projection from 3.4% to 3.8%, erasing the cut many borrowers were waiting for. Here is how prime at 6.75% flows into SBA 7(a), term loan, and line-of-credit pricing, when to lock fixed versus float variable, and the debt-schedule bookkeeping that gets you quoted 0.5%-1.0% lower.
A Fed Rate Hike Is Back on the Table: What Small Business Owners Should Do About Variable-Rate Loans and SBA Financing Before the Next FOMC Meeting
A potential 2026 Fed hike would lift prime and SOFR within days, raising payments on variable-rate lines, cards, and SBA 7(a) loans. Learn which loans reprice first, how to stress-test at +50 bps, and what to lock before the next FOMC meeting.
Treasury Sweep Accounts vs. Business Savings: Where Should Your Idle Cash Actually Sit?
Fintechs like Mercury and Rho now offer treasury and sweep accounts yielding 3.7%-5.4% on idle business cash, but treasury balances are typically SIPC-insured up to $500,000 while sweep-network balances stay FDIC-insured — a distinction worth understanding before moving six figures.