How the 2026 Childcare Credit Can Save Small Businesses Thousands
Beginning in 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) increases the employer childcare credit for small businesses to 50 percent of qualified expenses, up to $600,000 per year. This means the OBBBA childcare credit for small businesses can provide significant tax relief. Even one-owner businesses can benefit—and the savings are substantial. If you operate […]
Exploring Tax Rules When Converting Your Business Vehicle to Personal Use
If you are a sole proprietor and considering converting a business vehicle to personal use, it’s important to understand the tax consequences before making the switch. While the conversion itself may appear simple, the tax impact can arise either immediately or later—and sometimes in unexpected ways. If you used the IRS standard mileage rate for […]
Navigating Section 267 in Family Transactions and Tax Planning
Family relationships and overlapping ownership can quietly sabotage well-intentioned tax planning. Internal Revenue Code Section 267 often causes the damage. This rule does not announce itself with penalties or warnings. Instead, it erases deductions, disallows losses, and delays expenses after the transaction feels complete. Section 267 targets transactions between related parties. The law focuses on […]
Why It’s Important to Review Your Tax Return Carefully
I prepare your tax returns with care, transparency, and integrity. I do not commit fraud, and I never cut corners. Still, I want you to understand a growing risk that affects taxpayers everywhere: dishonest tax preparers exist, and their misconduct can haunt clients for decades. Recent court cases show a troubling reality: When a tax […]
An Overview of Section 318 Attribution Rules for Business Owners
Many taxpayers assume that tax law looks only at the stock they actually own. Section 318 proves that assumption wrong. The Section 318 attribution rules can treat you as owning business interests you never purchased, simply because of family relationships, entity ownership, or even stock options. When that happens, your tax results can change dramatically. What […]
What Tax Changes are Coming in 2026?
We’ve got another tax season arriving, and it’s going to be a doozy thanks to the varying changes brought about by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Today, I want to cover the highlights of tax changes coming in 2026 and which ones will have the biggest impact on your return. What are the 2026 […]
S Corporation Strategies for Commissions: What Every Business Owner Needs to Know
We continue to see aggressive advice circulating about routing personal commissions through an S corporation to reduce self-employment tax. This strategy sounds attractive, but it fails under long-standing tax law and creates significant audit risk. Consider a common setup: An individual earns commissions under contracts issued in his personal name. He holds the required state […]
Gave a Gift? Here’s When You Need to File a Gift Tax Return
The givers of gifts (donors), not the recipients (donees), file gift tax returns. If you give money or property, you may be legally required to file a gift tax return with the IRS—even if you owe no gift tax. In fact, most people who file gift tax returns do not pay any gift tax because each […]
Buying a Business That Doesn’t Close? Here’s How the Tax Rules Apply
If you’re considering buying a business, it’s important to understand how the related investigation and acquisition costs are treated for federal income tax purposes—especially if a deal falls through. A recent example illustrates how these rules work. Jim, an employee looking to become a business owner, spent $15,000 researching an industry and identifying a target […]
A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Health Plans and Tax Savings
All small-business owners with one to 49 employees should have a medical plan for their business. Sure, it’s true that with 49 or fewer employees, the tax law does not require you to have a plan, but you should. When you have 49 or fewer employees, most medical plan tax rules are straightforward. Here are […]