Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (IRC 6672): Personal Liability for Unpaid Payroll Taxes
How the IRS uses Internal Revenue Code Section 6672 to hold business owners, officers, bookkeepers, and even spouses personally liable for 100% of unpaid payroll withholdings — covering who qualifies as a responsible person, how willfulness is established, and how to defend a Letter 1153 within the 60-day appeal window.
Self-Directed IRAs for Real Estate and Alternative Assets: A Practical Compliance Guide
A practical guide to Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRAs) — what you can hold, the disqualified-person rules under IRC §4975, UBIT and UDFI on leveraged real estate, the McNulty checkbook-control warning, and the recordkeeping disciplines that prevent a deemed distribution.
Form 3115 Demystified: How to Change Your Accounting Method and Unlock Tax Savings
Form 3115 lets U.S. taxpayers change accounting methods and use a Section 481(a) adjustment to recover missed deductions or correct multi-year errors on a single current-year return, without amending prior years.
Form 5471 Decoded: A US Shareholder's Guide to Filing Categories, Schedules, and Avoiding Six-Figure Penalties
Form 5471 carries automatic $10,000-per-corporation initial penalties capped at $60,000 per year for U.S. persons who own, control, or serve as officers of foreign corporations. Covers the five filing categories, modular schedules, GILTI's rename to NCTI for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and the Streamlined and Delinquent Submission routes back into compliance.
ASC 718 Stock-Based Compensation Accounting for Startups: A Practical Guide
ASC 718 requires startups to recognize the grant-date fair value of equity awards as compensation expense over the vesting period, even when no cash changes hands. This guide covers measurement, recognition, forfeitures, modifications, disclosures, and the audit pitfalls that derail funding rounds.
Asset Sale vs Stock Sale: How M&A Deal Structure Decides Who Pays the Tax
An asset sale vs stock sale changes who pays tax, who carries liability, and how a deal closes. Compare 2026 tax math, successor liability doctrines, and the S-corp hybrid structures — Section 338(h)(10) and F-reorganizations — that now dominate mid-market deals.
Donor-Advised Funds vs Private Foundations: Choosing the Right Vehicle for Your Charitable Legacy
A 2026 comparison of donor-advised funds and private foundations covering AGI deduction limits, the 0.5% itemizer floor and 35% deduction cap from OBBBA, the 5% payout rule, self-dealing penalties, and why closely-held stock donated to a private foundation deducts at cost basis instead of fair market value.
Foreign Exchange Gains and Losses: A Practical Multi-Currency Accounting Guide for Small Businesses
How small businesses record foreign exchange gains and losses under US GAAP (ASC 830) and IRC Section 988, with sample journal entries, realized vs. unrealized treatment, period-end revaluation, and a practical monthly close workflow.
Form 709 Gift Tax Return: When You Must File, the Annual Exclusion, and the $15M Lifetime Exemption
A practical guide to Form 709 for 2026 gifts — who must file, the $19,000 annual exclusion, the $15 million lifetime exemption, gift splitting rules, the adequate disclosure standard that starts the IRS three-year clock, and the medical and tuition payments that escape reporting entirely.
Independent Contractor Misclassification: The 2024 DOL Six-Factor Test and How to Stay Compliant
Total exposure per misclassified worker now commonly lands between $15,000 and $100,000 once federal back taxes, FLSA back wages with liquidated damages, and state penalties stack. Here is what the 2024 DOL final rule changed, how the IRS and state ABC tests differ, and how Section 530 and the VCSP can cap retroactive liability.
The Remote Worker's Multi-State Tax Survival Guide: Convenience Rules, Reciprocity, and How to Avoid Paying Twice
How state income tax really works for remote employees who cross state lines: the convenience-of-the-employer rule used by seven states (including New York), which reciprocity agreements eliminate double taxation, day-counting evidence auditors accept, and the bookkeeping habits that keep multi-state returns predictable.
Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT): A 3.8% Surtax Guide for High Earners and Investors
The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax kicks in once MAGI crosses $200,000 single or $250,000 joint—thresholds frozen since 2013. This guide explains who pays NIIT, how Form 8960 calculates it, which income types count (interest, dividends, capital gains, passive rentals) and which don't (wages, IRA distributions, muni interest), plus planning levers to cut exposure.