#small-business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
A "$1 per sale" charity promise makes you a commercial co-venturer in 20+ US states. Register in 7, name the number in every ad, and avoid the IRS UBIT trap.
Under federal FLSA rules, exempt employees are owed full salary for any holiday-shutdown week they work at all; require PTO use instead of docking pay.
Local payroll tax is the employer's liability, not the software's. Ohio's 20-day rule, Pennsylvania PSD codes, NYC resident-only tax and Yonkers' 0.5% levy.
A US DOL wage-hour investigation has four stages: opening conference, records review, interviews, final conference. Weak payroll records double the cost.
A draw against commission is an advance settled against later commissions. Once paid it is wages under the FLSA, so never claw it back from a final paycheck.
Tangible service or safety awards are tax-free under IRS rules up to $400, or $1,600 under a written plan; cash and gift cards count as taxable wages.
Employer cell phones are tax-free with no call logs under IRS Notice 2011-72 if provided for business reasons; internet needs an accountable plan and receipts.
US SaaS vendors face enterprise escrow demands. Self-service plans start near $139/month and traditional agents around $2,200 — negotiate release triggers and book setup, annual, and verification fees.
Section 170(e)(3) lets any business deduct donated food at cost plus half the markup, capped at twice cost — with a 15% net-income limit, a five-year carryover, and a Good Samaritan liability shield.
Every U.S. group health plan owes a gag clause attestation in HIOS by December 31. Carriers file for insured plans; self-funded sponsors file themselves.
Hunting outfitters must treat 50% client deposits as deferred revenue, accrue the ~3% federal land-use fee on permitted ground, cost every hunt per hunter-day, and carry participant liability coverage — here is the full system.
Thirty-eight states exempt manufacturing machinery from sales tax, but the break works through exemption certificates you hand vendors, not automatic refunds. Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and the Dakotas tax equipment in full or at reduced rates, while repair parts, utilities, and missing paperwork trip up makers everywhere.
