#small-business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Effective January 1, 2026, California's SB 642 expands the Equal Pay Act's definition of wages to cover bonuses, stock options, allowances, hotel accommodations, and travel reimbursements — and lets each paycheck restart the three-year claim clock, with back pay recoverable up to six years. Here is what changed and a practical compliance checklist for small employers.
How boarding and training stables should track board by tier, split lease income between owner and barn, tag horse-show pass-throughs by client, and use the IRS's two-of-seven-year hobby-loss safe harbor for horse operations.
Underpayment interest is daily and quarterly — hit the 100%/110% or 90% harbor and pay the right amount by April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, or use Schedule AI for seasonal income before Form 2210 bills you.
Fiserv's July 2026 increase raises interchange-plus markups by 0.05% plus $0.03 per authorization and tiered rates by up to 0.40% — the fourth hike in 18 months for Clover and First Data merchants. Here's how to calculate your effective rate, identify your pricing model, and find the fees hiding on your statement.
France's micro-entrepreneur revenue ceilings rose on January 1, 2026 to €203,100 for goods and €83,600 for services, holding through 2028 — while VAT exemption thresholds stayed at €85,000/€37,500. Here's how the two separate ceilings work, the mixed-activity rules, and what actually happens when you exceed them.
Guam's Business Privilege Tax returns to 4% on October 1, 2026, ending a "temporary" 5% rate that lasted eight years after the 2018 hike. The rollback passed 8–7, costs the territory an estimated $38–80 million a year, and doesn't touch the 3% small-business tier — here's how to plan monthly BPT filings through the two-step transition.
India's GST 2.0, effective September 22, 2025, collapsed four slabs into 5% and 18% (plus 0% and a 40% sin-goods bracket) — but ITC is now claimable only when it appears in GSTR-2B, supplier invoices must be paid within 180 days, and GSTR-1/3B mismatches over ~5% auto-trigger DRC-01B notices. Here's the 2026 compliance routine for small businesses.
Net debt to EBITDA measures how many years of operating cash flow it would take to repay your debt. Lenders typically cap leverage covenants at 3.0x–4.5x, read below 2.0x as strong, and flag anything above 6.0x — here's how to calculate yours in ten minutes and avoid the mistakes that distort it.
SECURE 2.0 gives small employers three stackable federal tax credits for starting a retirement plan — up to $5,000 per year for three years in startup costs, up to $1,000 per eligible employee in contribution credits, and a flat $500 per year for auto-enrollment — all claimed on IRS Form 8881. Here's who qualifies, how the five-year phasedown works, and how the credits compare against state auto-IRA mandates in 2026.
TikTok Shop's visible 6% referral fee becomes an effective 25-30% take once creator commissions (category medians 8-20%), Fulfilled by TikTok charges ($2.86-$4.28 per unit), and refund admin fees stack up. How US sellers should book gross revenue, each fee category, and marketplace payouts using accrual accounting.
An unpaid invoice isn't automatically a deduction for cash-basis businesses and worthlessness must be proven in the year claimed — document business character, collection efforts, and the specific charge-off before December 31.
Deduct premiums on Schedule 1, get reimbursed via ICHRA/QSEHRA, or take the premium tax credit — never two for the same dollar. Master the month-by-month coordination and circular math that prevents double benefits.
