#self-employment-tax
Self-Employment Tax
Self-employment tax rules, calculations, and strategies for business owners
Are AI Coding Subscriptions Tax Deductible? Section 162 vs. Section 174
Claude, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor subscriptions are fully deductible under IRC Section 162 as ordinary business expenses, while Section 174 R&D amortization only applies to labor and compute tied to genuine new product development — and the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act restored immediate deduction for domestic R&E costs.
Billboard Ground Leases: A Landowner's Guide to Rent, Escalators, and Taxes
Billboard ground leases pay landowners 15-20% of a sign's ad revenue (or flat rent) over 10-20 year terms. How rent is priced, why 2-5% escalator clauses matter, when the income belongs on Schedule E instead of Schedule C, and how lump-sum buyout offers get taxed.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Taxes: A Creator's Guide to 1099-NECs, Clawbacks, and Quarterly Payments
TikTok Shop affiliates receive a 1099-NEC already net of the platform's ~13% cut, owe 15.3% self-employment tax once net earnings pass $400, and must report all income even under the new $2,000 per-payer reporting threshold. Here's how commission clawbacks, free PR products, and quarterly estimated payments actually work — and the monthly close that keeps the numbers right.
Wedding Officiant Bookkeeping: Ordination Rules, Self-Employment Taxes, and Deposit Accounting
Online ordination doesn't make you IRS clergy — officiant fees are ordinary Schedule C income subject to 15.3% self-employment tax. This guide covers where online ordinations face county-level recognition problems (Tennessee, Virginia), what celebrants actually charge ($300–$1,000+), and why booking deposits belong on your books as liabilities until the ceremony happens.
Bookkeeping for Adult Content Creators: 1099s, Platform Fees, and Chargebacks
Subscription platforms report gross earnings on Form 1099-NEC even though they keep roughly 20% as a platform fee, and adult content businesses see chargeback rates of 3-5% — well above the 1% threshold that triggers card network monitoring — making separate bookkeeping for fees, taxes, and disputes essential from day one.
Ecuador's RIMPE Tax Recategorization: What Changed for 70,000 Small Businesses in 2026
Ecuador's SRI automatically recategorized roughly 70,000 RIMPE taxpayers on July 1, 2026 — about 14,000 moved from Negocio Popular to Emprendedor and 56,000 were pushed into the General Tax Regime — here's how to check your new bracket and what changes.
IRS Small Business Penalty Overhaul for 2026: New Rates and Automatic Relief
For 2025 tax year returns filed in 2026, the IRS charges partnerships and S-corps $255 per partner or shareholder per month for late Forms 1065 and 1120-S, plus $330 per late Schedule K-1, while a new automatic relief program forgives first-time penalties for taxpayers with three years of clean compliance history.
NIL Income Taxes: What College Athletes Actually Owe the IRS in 2026
NIL income is self-employment income subject to a 15.3% self-employment tax on top of ordinary income tax, and college athletes owe tax on any net NIL earnings over $400 even without a 1099, a form now only required above the 2026 threshold of $2,000.
Owner's Draw vs. Salary: How S-Corp Owners Set Reasonable Compensation
The "60/40 rule" for splitting S-corp salary and distributions has never appeared in any IRS regulation. What the IRS actually applies is a facts-and-circumstances test — the one that reclassified a CPA's $24,000 salary to $91,044 and cost him $23,000 in back payroll taxes. Here's how to set a defensible number.
Podcast Sponsorship Bookkeeping: When to Recognize Revenue and How to Track It
Podcast sponsorship revenue should be recognized when a host-read ad airs, not when the invoice is paid, and creators must reconcile gross Patreon 1099-Ks against net ad-network payouts to avoid over- or under-reporting taxable income.
Portable Benefits for Gig Workers: What the New State Laws Actually Do in 2026
Utah, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and West Virginia have passed portable benefits laws letting businesses fund contractor health, retirement, or PTO accounts without that contribution counting as evidence of misclassification under state law — but the safe harbor is state-only and doesn't touch federal IRS or DOL tests.
Powerboat and Pontoon Rental Bookkeeping: Schedule C, Depreciation, and Seasonal Cash Flow
Powerboat and pontoon rental income is reported on Schedule C, not Schedule E, which subjects net profit to the full 15.3% self-employment tax — a distinction that shapes how these seasonal businesses should handle depreciation, off-season cash reserves, and an eventual S-corp election.