Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities, Explained: The Tax Your Books Already Know About
Deferred taxes are timing gaps between book income and IRS taxable income — depreciation creates future bills, reserves and NOLs create future savings.
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Tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
Collectibles Are Taxed at 28%: Why Coins, Art, and Gold ETFs Pay More Than Stocks
IRS rules cap long-term collectibles gains at 28%, not 20% — and grantor-trust gold ETFs like GLD and IAU count as collectibles.
Refund Anticipation Loans and Refund Advances, Explained: What a 0% Tax-Time Loan Really Costs
A 0% IRS refund advance still costs the prep fee you paid to qualify — and you owe the full advance if your refund comes in short.
What Counts as Gross Income? Section 61's All-Inclusive Rule, Explained
Section 61 taxes all income from whatever source derived — wages, barter, canceled debt, found money — unless a named exclusion takes it out.
Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Explained: How Owners Hand the Keys to the Lender and Skip the Auction
A deed in lieu ends the mortgage without an auction, but the IRS taxes forgiven debt as income — get the deficiency waiver in writing first.
Earnings and Profits (E&P), Explained: Why Your C Corp Distribution Can Be a Taxable Dividend Even When the Books Show No Profit
A C corp distribution is an IRS-taxable dividend whenever current or accumulated E&P covers it, even with no book profit. Ordering rules and deficit traps.
Do I Need to File a Tax Return? Federal Filing Requirements, the $400 Self-Employment Rule, and Why Filing Anyway Often Pays
File a federal return once gross income hits your threshold, or with $400 of self-employment earnings. Filing anyway can recover withholding and credits.
Recourse vs. Nonrecourse Debt: When a Default Stops at the Collateral — and When It Follows You Home
Nonrecourse foreclosure is taxed on the full balance; a recourse shortfall becomes ordinary IRS cancellation-of-debt income — same default, different bill.
Failure-to-File vs. Failure-to-Pay: Why Filing Late Costs Ten Times What Paying Late Costs
The IRS failure-to-file penalty runs 5% a month — ten times the failure-to-pay rate. Filing on time when you cannot pay is the cheapest move.
How to Account for Patent Costs: What You Capitalize, How Amortization Works, and When to Write Off a Dead Patent
Patent filing and legal fees are capitalized, not expensed — then amortized over the shorter of 20 years or useful life under Section 167.
Are Scholarships Taxable? What Section 117 Actually Says
Scholarship money spent on tuition and required books is tax-free under Section 117; room, board, and service-conditioned stipends are taxable income.
Capitalization Policy, Explained: The $2,500 and $5,000 De Minimis Safe Harbors, the Annual Election Statement, and the Companion Rules
IRS de minimis safe harbor — expense business items up to $2,500 ($5,000 with audited financials) with a written policy plus an annual election.