Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
Section 83(b) Election: The 30-Day Window That Saves Founders From a Phantom Tax Bill
How the IRS Section 83(b) election converts phantom ordinary income on unvested startup stock into long-term capital gains, what the new Form 15620 online portal requires, and when filing is the wrong move.
VCSP and Form 8952: Reclassify Contractors as Employees for About 1% of Back Payroll Taxes
The IRS Voluntary Classification Settlement Program lets eligible employers reclassify 1099 workers as W-2 employees for roughly 1.068% of last year's compensation, with no interest, no penalties, and no employment-tax audit of prior years on those workers.
Wage Garnishment for Employers: How to Process Withholding Orders Without Becoming Personally Liable
A payroll operations guide to wage garnishment: how to calculate disposable earnings under the CCPA, apply the correct caps for creditor, child support, IRS, and student loan orders, prioritize multiple orders on one paycheck, and keep records that hold up under audit.
ACA Forms 1094-C and 1095-C: The 2026 Compliance Playbook for Applicable Large Employers
How Applicable Large Employers file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C for the 2025 reporting year. Covers the March 2 and March 31, 2026 deadlines, the post-2024 furnishing-on-request rule, the 2026 penalty amounts ($3,340 and $5,010 per employee), the new 90-day Letter 226-J response window, and the Line 14/16 coding errors that most often trigger IRS audits.
Accountable Plan Reimbursements: The Tax-Free Way S-Corp Owners Get Paid Back for Home Office, Mileage, and Travel
An accountable plan lets an S-corp reimburse shareholder-employees tax-free for home office, mileage, internet, and travel — but only when the written plan, 60-day substantiation, and 120-day excess-return rules are followed.
Accounts Payable Automation in 2026: How AI Invoice Capture, Three-Way Matching, and Touchless Approvals Cut Processing Costs and Eliminate Duplicate Payments
AP automation in 2026 takes invoice processing from roughly $18 and 10 days down to $3 and 1 day by combining AI invoice capture, three-way matching, and rule-based touchless approvals—while cutting duplicate-payment losses 80 to 95 percent.
Charitable Lead Trust (CLT): How Wealthy Families Transfer Appreciating Assets to Heirs at a Discount in 2026
A practical 2026 guide to the Charitable Lead Trust: how a zeroed-out CLAT uses the 4.6% Section 7520 rate to fund charity, transfer appreciating assets to heirs, and minimize gift and estate tax — with CLAT vs CLUT and grantor vs non-grantor tradeoffs.
COBRA Notice Deadlines for Employers: The Five Windows That Decide Whether You Owe Excise Taxes
COBRA's notice scheme runs on five deadlines — 90, 30, 14, 60, and 45 days. Miss any one and a group health plan can face a $100-per-day Section 4980B excise tax, up to $110-per-day ERISA penalties, and private lawsuits. A practical guide for plan sponsors and HR teams.
Customer Concentration Risk: The 10% Rule That Quietly Drains Valuation, Credit, and Leverage
Customer concentration above 10% triggers GAAP disclosure, and concentrations above 30% can knock 20–35% off a sale price and shrink bank advance rates. Where the danger thresholds sit, how lenders and acquirers price the risk, and how to diversify revenue before it costs you.
Defined Benefit Plans: The Six-Figure Tax Shelter Most Solo Professionals Miss
Defined benefit and cash balance plans let high-earning solo professionals over 45 deduct $150,000 to $290,000 a year — three to four times what a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) allows. This guide walks through the contribution math, candidate profile, costs, deadlines, and how to stack a DB plan on top of a Solo 401(k).
Drop Shipping Sales Tax in 2026: Three-Party Transactions, Resale Certificates, and Marketplace Facilitators
Drop shipping treats one shipment as two sales for tax purposes, and depending on nexus, resale certificate rules, and marketplace facilitator laws, an ecommerce operator can owe tax in states they never set foot in. A 2026 field guide to who actually collects, the ten strict resale states, and the nexus thresholds — including transaction-trigger drops — that decide your exposure.
Earnouts in M&A: Bridging the Valuation Gap Without Walking Into a Lawsuit
About one third of 2024 private-target M&A deals included an earnout, and median earnout potential rose to roughly 43% of the closing payment. This guide explains contingent purchase price structure, Section 453 installment-sale tax mechanics, the compensation-versus-purchase-price trap, and the recurring drafting mistakes behind six of the last seven major Delaware decisions favoring sellers.