The IRS's 10-Return E-File Mandate Is Catching Small Businesses Off Guard
The IRS now requires e-filing once a business issues 10 or more information returns combined — W-2s, 1099-NECs, 1099-MISCs and more, all counted together. Here's how to count correctly, the $340-per-return penalty for 2026-year returns, when a Form 8508 hardship waiver actually applies, and how to e-file free through IRIS.
Why Your K-1 Is Always Late (and What to Do About It This Year)
Late Schedule K-1s are the norm, not the exception — a Form 7004 extension pushes partnership and S-corp returns, and every K-1 tied to them, to September 15, a full five months past the April 15 personal deadline. The fix is a simple playbook, file Form 4868, pay at least 90% of a good-faith estimate, and amend with Form 1040-X once the real numbers arrive.
Tanning Salon Bookkeeping: Tracking the 10% Federal Excise Tax and Form 720
Indoor tanning services carry a 10% federal excise tax reported quarterly on IRS Form 720 Part II, and salons that don't isolate it in a dedicated liability account and itemize bundled packages are the ones examiners flag.
Bartering Isn't Free: How the IRS Taxes Trade Exchanges and What Small Businesses Must Report on Schedule C
Bartering income is taxable at fair market value the moment goods or services change hands, and for sole proprietors it flows into Schedule C gross receipts and triggers 15.3% self-employment tax, even when no Form 1099-B ever arrives.
IRS FIRE System Shutdown: What 1099 and W-2 Filers Need to Know About IRIS
The IRS retires the FIRE e-filing system on December 31, 2026, requiring all 1099 and W-2 filers to switch to IRIS for tax year 2026 returns, and a new Transmitter Control Code alone can take 45 or more days to approve.
Form 1099-NEC Filing Season 2026: $2,000 Threshold, IRIS E-Filing, and How to Avoid Stacked Penalties
For tax year 2026, the 1099-NEC reporting threshold rises from $600 to $2,000 and the IRS replaces FIRE with the IRIS portal. A practical workflow for W-9 collection, TIN matching, backup withholding, e-filing, and avoiding per-form penalties that stack under §6721 and §6722.
Form 1099-R Box 7 Distribution Codes, Decoded
Box 7 of Form 1099-R holds a one- or two-character code that decides whether a retirement distribution is taxable, penalty-free, or hit with a 10% early-withdrawal penalty. This guide explains every numeric and letter code, including the new Code Y for qualified charitable distributions, and the coding errors that overcharge taxpayers.
Form 1310 Demystified: How Surviving Spouses, Executors, and Heirs Cash a Deceased Taxpayer's Final Refund Without Triggering a Year-Long IRS Delay
Form 1310 is the IRS form survivors use to claim a deceased taxpayer's refund. This guide explains who must file, the three Part I claimant boxes, the documents to attach (and the one to keep), and how to avoid the 6–12 month delays that trap most paper filers.
1099-K Threshold Whiplash: What Gig Workers and Online Sellers Need to Know for 2026
For the 2026 tax year the Form 1099-K threshold reverted to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions, but you must still report all income whether or not a form arrives. This guide explains who gets a 1099-K, how to reconcile Box 1a from gross to taxable income, and where the numbers go on Schedule C or Schedule 1.
Form 4506-T and 4506-C: IRS Tax Transcripts for Mortgage and SBA Lending
A practical breakdown of Form 4506-T, Form 4506-C, Form 8821, and the five IRS transcript types — what mortgage and SBA lenders need before first disbursement, and how borrowers can avoid identity holds, name mismatches, and no-record errors that stall closings.
Form 8865 Foreign Partnership Reporting: The Four Categories of Filers, $10,000 Penalty Trap, and How U.S. Persons Stay Compliant in 2026
Form 8865 makes U.S. persons report controlled foreign partnerships, property contributions, and 10-percentage-point interest changes. Missing it triggers $10,000 per partnership per year, plus a 10% foreign tax credit haircut and stacking 30-day penalties up to $50,000.
The $7,500 EV Tax Credit Is Gone: What 2026 Car Buyers Need to Know About Section 30D's Sudden Sunset
The federal $7,500 clean vehicle credit ended September 30, 2025 under the OBBBA—seven years early. Section 30D's binding contract exception, dealer transfer recapture risk, Form 8936 filing for 2025 acquirers, state replacement programs, and what 2026 EV buyers should expect.