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Tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
Gain or Loss on Asset Disposal: Recording Sales, Scrapping, and Trade-Ins with Form 4797
A four-step pattern for recording the sale, scrap, or trade-in of business equipment—plus how Section 1245 depreciation recapture flows onto Form 4797 at tax time.
Gain or Loss on Asset Disposal: How to Record Selling, Scrapping, or Trading In Business Equipment
When a business sells, scraps, or trades in a fixed asset, gain or loss equals proceeds minus book value — both the asset cost and its accumulated depreciation must be cleared, and Section 1245 recapture taxes the gain as ordinary income on Form 4797.
The Interest-Free Loan That Isn't: How Section 7872 Imputes Interest on Family and Shareholder Loans
A below-market loan triggers Section 7872, which treats forgone interest as taxable income to the lender even when no cash changes hands. This guide covers the $10,000 and $100,000 de minimis exceptions, the gift tax connection, and how charging the AFR avoids the whole problem.
The IRA Once-Per-Year Rollover Rule: One 60-Day Rollover and the Trustee-to-Trustee Workaround
You get only one IRA-to-IRA 60-day rollover per rolling 12-month period, counting all your IRAs as one account — a limit the 2014 Bobrow Tax Court case made aggregate. Trustee-to-trustee transfers are exempt and unlimited.
Lower of Cost or Net Realizable Value: How to Write Down Obsolete Inventory
LCNRV requires reporting inventory at the lower of its cost or net realizable value (NRV = selling price − completion costs − selling costs). Once written down under U.S. GAAP, inventory cannot be written back up.
MLP K-1 Tax Issues for Individual Investors: UBTI, Section 751 Recapture, and Multi-State Filings
A Master Limited Partnership pays cash quarterly but issues a Schedule K-1, not a 1099. Most distributions reduce your cost basis instead of being taxed, holding units in an IRA can trigger UBTI and a Form 990-T once income exceeds $1,000, and selling converts depreciation into ordinary income under Section 751 — taxed up to 37%.
MLP K-1 Tax Issues: UBTI, Section 751, and Multi-State Filings for Individual Investors
How individual MLP investors actually owe tax — UBTI on IRA-held units crosses the $1,000 Form 990-T threshold faster than expected, Section 751 reclassifies part of any sale gain as ordinary income, and the K-1's state schedule can force nonresident filings in operating states. Includes practical thresholds and basis-tracking rules.
Why Most NIL Collectives Aren't Real Charities (and Your Donation Isn't Deductible)
The IRS memorandum AM 2023-004 concluded that NIL collectives paying 80-100% of donations to athletes confer substantial private benefit and fail the operational test for 501(c)(3) status, so contributions to them are generally not tax-deductible.
Car Loan Interest Is Tax-Deductible Again: How the OBBBA $10,000 Above-the-Line Deduction Works for U.S.-Assembled Vehicles From 2025 Through 2028
The OBBBA restores a personal car-loan interest deduction—up to $10,000 per year, above-the-line, for tax years 2025 through 2028—on new U.S.-assembled vehicles financed after December 31, 2024. Mechanics covered include the MAGI phase-out starting at $100K single / $200K joint, Form 1098-VLI reporting beginning in 2026, mandatory VIN entry on Form 1040, and edge cases for refinances, trade-ins, leases, and co-signers.
The $40,000 SALT Cap: Should You Re-Itemize in 2026?
OBBBA raised the SALT deduction cap to $40,400 for 2026, but a 30-cent-per-dollar MAGI phase-down between $505,000 and $606,333 creates a roughly 45% effective marginal rate — the "SALT torpedo." Here is how to decide whether to re-itemize.
How the OBBBA's Tiered QSBS Exclusion Changes the Math for Founders, Employees, and Angels
The OBBBA raised the Section 1202 QSBS cap to $15 million, lifted the gross-asset ceiling to $75 million, and replaced the five-year cliff with a tiered 50/75/100 percent exclusion at three, four, and five years — but only for stock issued after July 4, 2025.
Personal Use of a Company Vehicle: Imputed Income and W-2 Reporting
Personal use of a company car is taxable wages. This guide compares the three IRS valuation methods — Annual Lease Value, cents-per-mile (72.5¢ for 2026), and the $1.50 commuting rule — with worked examples and W-2 reporting steps.