#tax-planning
Tax Planning
Strategic tax planning to minimize liability and maximize savings
Disability Insurance for Self-Employed and Small Business Owners: A Practical Income-Protection Guide
A working-age self-employed professional is roughly three times more likely to become disabled than to die before 65, yet most carry no disability coverage. This guide explains the four policy types, the clauses (own-occupation, elimination period, benefit period) that decide whether claims pay, 2026 premium ranges of 1–4% of income, and the after-tax-vs-deductible premium choice that can shift net benefits by six figures.
Section 461(l) Excess Business Loss Limitation: A 2026 Guide for Pass-Through Owners
Section 461(l) caps how much net business loss a noncorporate taxpayer can deduct against other income. For 2026, the OBBBA reset thresholds to $256,000 single and $512,000 joint—down from $313,000 and $626,000 in 2025. This guide explains the Form 461 calculation, the four loss-limitation gates, and planning moves for K-1 losses, bonus depreciation, and real estate.
Form 4797 Demystified: How Depreciation Recapture and Section 1231 Decide Whether Your Business Sale Is Ordinary or Capital
Form 4797 governs every business property sale outside Schedule D and decides whether your gain is ordinary or capital. This guide walks through Section 1245 and 1250 recapture, the Section 1231 five-year lookback rule, the 25% unrecaptured Section 1250 gain rate, and seven mistakes that trigger CP2000 notices.
Form 8606 and the Backdoor Roth: How One Missing Tax Form Causes Double Taxation
Form 8606 is the IRS's running ledger of after-tax basis inside traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs. Skip it and the IRS treats your basis as zero, taxing the same dollars a second time at distribution. This guide explains how the form works, why the pro-rata rule punishes most backdoor Roth conversions, and how to keep your basis documented for the next 30 years.
GILTI and the Section 962 Election: How US Shareholders of Foreign Corporations Can Slash Their Tax Bill
A Section 962 election lets US individual owners of a controlled foreign corporation be taxed on GILTI/NCTI at corporate rates, cutting the effective US rate from up to 37% to roughly 12.6% in 2026. The OBBBA reduced the Section 250 deduction to 40%, eliminated the QBAI carve-out, and raised the indirect foreign tax credit cap from 80% to 90% — but PTEP rules can still trigger a second layer of US tax when earnings are eventually distributed.
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT): The Wealth Transfer Strategy Founders Use to Move Appreciating Stock Tax-Free
How founders use zeroed-out GRATs to transfer pre-IPO stock appreciation to heirs tax-free, leveraging the IRS Section 7520 hurdle rate while preserving the lifetime estate exemption.
Inherited IRA 10-Year Rule: How Non-Spouse Beneficiaries Avoid the 25% Penalty
Non-spouse IRA beneficiaries must empty inherited accounts within 10 years, and annual RMDs become mandatory in 2025 if the original owner died on or after their required beginning date. A missed RMD triggers a 25% excise tax. Only surviving spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill individuals, and beneficiaries within 10 years of the deceased's age keep the old stretch treatment.
Kiddie Tax Form 8615: How Investment Income for Children Under 24 Is Taxed at Parent Rates
How the federal kiddie tax pulls a child's unearned income above $2,700 in 2026 onto the parent's marginal rate via Form 8615. Mechanics, UTMA/UGMA pitfalls, full-time-student rules through age 23, and planning strategies using 529 plans, Roth IRAs, and gain timing.
Net Unrealized Appreciation: The 401(k) Tax Strategy That Saves Six Figures
The Net Unrealized Appreciation election lets retirees pay long-term capital gains rates on employer stock distributed from a 401(k) instead of ordinary income, often saving more than $144,000 on a $1 million position. Covers eligibility under IRC 402(e)(4), the lump-sum distribution rule, and the most common mistakes that destroy the strategy.
Profits Interests Under Rev Proc 93-27: A Guide to Tax-Free LLC Equity Grants
Profits interests let LLCs grant equity to service providers tax-free under IRS Revenue Procedure 93-27. This guide covers the safe harbor's three conditions, the threshold value rule, Rev Proc 2001-43 vesting fix, and the self-employment tax tradeoff partners should expect.
PTET in 2026: The SALT Cap Workaround for S-Corps and Partnerships
A 2026 guide to the Pass-Through Entity Tax — how 36+ jurisdictions let S-corps and partnerships convert capped state income taxes into a fully deductible federal business expense, even after OBBBA raised the SALT cap to $40,400.
Reverse 1031 Exchange: How to Buy Your Replacement Property Before Selling the Old One
A reverse 1031 exchange lets a real estate investor close on a replacement property before selling the relinquished one by parking title with an Exchange Accommodation Titleholder under Revenue Procedure 2000-37's safe harbor. The taxpayer must identify the relinquished property within 45 days and complete the swap within 180 days, with no extensions. EAT fees typically run $5,000 to $15,000 above a forward exchange, so the deferred gain needs to be large enough to justify the cost.