#tax-planning
Strategic tax planning to minimize liability and maximize savings
The 2026 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets qualifying Americans abroad exclude up to $132,900 of foreign-earned income on Form 2555. This guide details the physical presence and bona fide residence tests, the housing exclusion, FEIE vs. Foreign Tax Credit tradeoffs, and audit-ready documentation for expats and digital nomads.
A 2026 guide for family business owners on legally hiring their children: how a sole proprietorship can pay a child up to $16,100 federal-tax-free, when FICA and FUTA exemptions apply, the documentation the IRS expects, and how a Roth IRA stacks on top.
A walkthrough of the IRS's four core tax debt relief programs — installment agreements, Offer in Compromise, Currently Not Collectible status, and penalty abatement — including the 2026 shift to automatic first-time abatement, the 21% OIC acceptance rate from the 2024 IRS Data Book, and how to spot Offer in Compromise mills flagged on the IRS Dirty Dozen list.
Incentive Stock Options and Non-Qualified Stock Options trigger taxes at different events and rates. This guide covers the AMT trap, qualifying vs. disqualifying dispositions, the $100,000 ISO vesting limit, and eight strategies tech workers use to lower the tax bill on equity compensation.
In 2026, the Mega Backdoor Roth can move up to $47,500 of after-tax 401(k) money into Roth above the $24,500 elective deferral limit. This guide covers how the strategy works, the three plan features it requires, how the 401(k) pro-rata rule differs from the IRA version, and the mistakes that quietly erode its value.
Net operating losses generated after 2021 carry forward indefinitely but can offset only 80% of future taxable income. This guide covers the calculation, the Section 461(l) excess business loss limit, Form 1045 vs. 1040-X, and the bookkeeping practices that keep an NOL defensible years later.
Section 469 makes rental losses passive by default, so most cannot offset W-2 income. This guide covers the $25,000 special allowance and its $100k–$150k MAGI phase-out, the 750-hour and 50% real estate professional tests, the 1.469-9(g) aggregation election, audit-tested time-log practices, and how suspended losses unlock on disposition.
A side-by-side comparison of the Percentage of Completion (PCM) and Completed Contract (CCM) methods for construction revenue recognition, with worked examples, ASC 606 over-time criteria, the IRC Section 460 small contractor exception (~$31M for 2026), WIP schedule mechanics, and the overbilling/underbilling traps that wreck contractor cash flow.
A 2026 guide to Section 1202 QSBS for founders, early employees, and angel investors — eligibility tests, the new $15M cap and tiered holding periods under OBBBA, stacking with non-grantor trusts, state conformity gaps in California and Pennsylvania, and how to claim the exclusion on Form 8949.
Section 1031 lets real estate investors defer capital gains and depreciation recapture by swapping investment properties, but only when the 45-day identification window, 180-day closing deadline, qualified intermediary rules, and post-TCJA like-kind requirements are followed exactly.
Section 1244 of the Internal Revenue Code lets qualifying small business stock losses be deducted as ordinary losses up to $50,000 per year for single filers and $100,000 for joint filers, bypassing the $3,000 annual cap on capital losses. This guide covers the corporate and shareholder requirements, how to claim the loss on Form 4797, and the documentation traps that disqualify ordinary-loss claims.
A plain-English guide to IRS Section 1091 — the 61-day window, what counts as "substantially identical," the IRA trap that destroys losses permanently, the current crypto exemption, and how to report a wash sale on Form 8949.
