A Solo 401(k) crosses into mandatory Form 5500-EZ filing once combined plan assets exceed $250,000 on the last day of the plan year. Late filings cost $250 per day up to $150,000 annually, but Rev. Proc. 2015-32 caps catch-up filings at $1,500 per plan if no penalty notice has been issued.
A 409A valuation is the IRS-recognized appraisal that sets the strike price on every option grant. Without one, founders risk 20% federal excise penalties, premium interest, and California's 5% piggyback tax — all falling on the employee.
Form 1042-S reports US-source FDAP income paid to foreign persons. US businesses act as withholding agents with personal liability — default 30% withholding, W-8 documentation rules, March 15 deadlines, and stiff per-form penalties. This guide covers W-8BEN versus W-8BEN-E, treaty rate reductions, the source-of-income rules, and common mistakes like sending Form 1099 to a foreign contractor.
Form 7203 forces S-corp shareholders to prove their stock and debt basis on Form 1040. Misapplying the ordering rules or treating loan guarantees as debt basis can disallow loss deductions, reclassify distributions as capital gains, and trigger 20% accuracy penalties.
Form 8606 is the IRS's running ledger of after-tax basis inside traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs. Skip it and the IRS treats your basis as zero, taxing the same dollars a second time at distribution. This guide explains how the form works, why the pro-rata rule punishes most backdoor Roth conversions, and how to keep your basis documented for the next 30 years.
A Section 962 election lets US individual owners of a controlled foreign corporation be taxed on GILTI/NCTI at corporate rates, cutting the effective US rate from up to 37% to roughly 12.6% in 2026. The OBBBA reduced the Section 250 deduction to 40%, eliminated the QBAI carve-out, and raised the indirect foreign tax credit cap from 80% to 90% — but PTEP rules can still trigger a second layer of US tax when earnings are eventually distributed.
An Individual Coverage HRA lets small employers reimburse workers tax-free for individual ACA plans with no contribution cap, 11 employee classes, and a 9.96% affordability threshold for 2026. Here is how the mechanics, tax treatment, bookkeeping, and 90-day rollout actually work.
Non-spouse IRA beneficiaries must empty inherited accounts within 10 years, and annual RMDs become mandatory in 2025 if the original owner died on or after their required beginning date. A missed RMD triggers a 25% excise tax. Only surviving spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill individuals, and beneficiaries within 10 years of the deceased's age keep the old stretch treatment.
PFICs (foreign mutual funds, UCITS ETFs) trigger Section 1291 tax for US investors — gains allocated across the holding period, taxed at top ordinary rates, plus compounded interest charges. This guide covers Form 8621, the QEF and mark-to-market elections, the $25k/$50k de minimis filing exception, and how to escape the trap.
A reverse 1031 exchange lets a real estate investor close on a replacement property before selling the relinquished one by parking title with an Exchange Accommodation Titleholder under Revenue Procedure 2000-37's safe harbor. The taxpayer must identify the relinquished property within 45 days and complete the swap within 180 days, with no extensions. EAT fees typically run $5,000 to $15,000 above a forward exchange, so the deferred gain needs to be large enough to justify the cost.
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