Form 8829 or the $5 Shortcut? How to Pick Your Home Office Method Without Buying a Future Tax Bill
Form 8829's actual method beats the $1,500 simplified cap until sale day, when depreciation returns at up to 25% — run both numbers yearly.
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Tax Compliance
Stay compliant with tax regulations and filing requirements
Form 945 Explained: How Small Businesses Report Backup Withholding and Nonpayroll Withholding Once a Year
Form 945 reports all backup withholding and nonpayroll withholding once a year — due January 31, with EFT deposits once the year's tax reaches $2,500.
Repair vs. Improvement: The BAR Test That Decides Whether You Deduct or Capitalize
Work that betters, restores, or adapts a unit of property is an IRS improvement you capitalize — everything else is a deductible repair.
Use Tax Explained: Why US Buyers Still Owe Tax When the Online Seller Charges Nothing
When an online seller charges no sales tax, you owe use tax to your state at your local rate. Here is how to self-accrue it each month.
How to Reconcile Afterpay and Klarna BNPL Under ASC 606: Variable Consideration and the Financing Component Most Sellers Miss
BNPL fees netted at the source understate revenue and break the IRS Form 1099-K tie-out — book gross sales with a refund liability instead.
Marketplace Seller Accounting and 1099-K Reconciliation: Why Gross Payments, Platform Fees, and Processor Discrepancies Break Most Resellers' Books
A 1099-K reports gross payments, not profit. Book gross sales, deduct every fee, and reconcile payouts monthly to match IRS records.
Switching from Cash to Accrual Accounting: The Transition-Year Playbook for Small Businesses
Cash-to-accrual switches run through IRS Form 3115: positive Section 481(a) catch-ups spread over four years, so cutoff discipline sets the bill.
Accountable vs. Nonaccountable Reimbursement Plans: The 60-Day and 120-Day Rules That Decide Whether Reimbursements Hit the W-2
IRS accountable plans need a business connection, substantiation within 60 days, and excess advances back in 120 — miss one and reimbursements become W-2 wages.
Book vs. Tax Accounting: Why Your Profit and Your Taxable Income Are Never the Same Number
Book profit and IRS taxable income differ by design — meals at 50%, fines at zero, MACRS timing gaps. Reconcile both before setting estimated payments.
How to Check Your IRS Refund Status (and What to Do When It's Late)
The IRS issues most e-filed refunds within 21 days — track yours with Where's My Refund using your SSN, filing status, and exact refund amount.
How to Dissolve a Corporation or LLC: Final Returns, Form 966, and Closing Tax Accounts
Dissolving a corporation or LLC takes a state filing, a final return with the box checked, and Form 966 within 30 days — miss one and the bills keep coming.
Marketplace Payment Reconciliation: Record Gross Sales, Not the Deposit
Record gross marketplace sales as revenue and fees as expenses — Form 1099-K reports gross Box 1a, so net-deposit bookkeeping never reconciles.