#liability
Track and manage business liabilities and financial obligations
Interior design firms run four revenue streams through one chart of accounts and end up paying tax on phantom profits. Treat retainers as a liability, run products through revenue and COGS together, book vendor cost as COGS (never list price), and reconcile every PO before close.
ASC 710-10 requires employers to accrue a balance-sheet liability for PTO, vacation, and sick leave that vests or carries over. This guide covers the four-part test, sabbatical and unlimited PTO rules, the reserve calculation, and the journal entries.
Gift card breakage is the value customers never redeem. Under ASC 606, the proportionate method recognizes breakage revenue alongside redemptions—but state escheatment laws can override your right to keep the money.
Sales tax you collect belongs to the state, not your revenue line. Here are the journal entries, the month-end reconciliation routine, and the multi-state economic nexus rules that keep your books audit-ready.
ASC 410-20 requires recognizing an asset retirement obligation on day one — the day the well is drilled, the tower is erected, or the leasehold build-out is finished. A walkthrough of triggers, fair-value measurement using the credit-adjusted risk-free rate, annual accretion as operating expense, the lease-vs-ARO boundary under ASC 842, and the journal entries operators in oil and gas, telecom, and retail most often get wrong.
Form 8857 lets a spouse seek relief from joint tax liability under IRC Section 6015. This guide walks through the two-year deadline, the three relief categories—traditional, separation, and equitable—and how divorced, separated, or abused taxpayers build a record that survives IRS and Tax Court review.
Innocent spouse relief under IRC Section 6015 lets divorced or separated taxpayers escape joint liability for a spouse's tax misconduct via Form 8857. This guide covers the three types of relief—traditional, separation of liability, and equitable—plus deadlines, evidence requirements, and the common reasons the IRS denies claims.
A payroll operations guide to wage garnishment: how to calculate disposable earnings under the CCPA, apply the correct caps for creditor, child support, IRS, and student loan orders, prioritize multiple orders on one paycheck, and keep records that hold up under audit.
ERISA Section 409 imposes personal liability on 401(k) plan fiduciaries, and the corporate veil does not shield small business owners. This guide explains the prudent-expert standard, the Tibble v. Edison duty to monitor, and how hiring a Section 3(38) investment manager shifts investment discretion — and most related liability — away from the plan sponsor.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance costs small businesses roughly $800 to $3,000 a year, but a single uncovered discrimination, harassment, or wrongful termination claim averages $80,000 in defense costs—here is what EPLI covers, how carriers price it, and how to buy it without overpaying.
ASC 842 requires private companies to capitalize nearly every lease longer than 12 months as a right-of-use asset and a lease liability. This guide walks through the five-criteria classification test, the six-step calculation, the risk-free rate and short-term lease expedients, and the audit findings that most often trigger restatements.
How the IRS uses Internal Revenue Code Section 6672 to hold business owners, officers, bookkeepers, and even spouses personally liable for 100% of unpaid payroll withholdings — covering who qualifies as a responsible person, how willfulness is established, and how to defend a Letter 1153 within the 60-day appeal window.
