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Tax
Tax strategies, planning, and compliance for individuals and businesses
Your Amended Business Tax Return Now Takes Over a Year to Process — Here's Why, and How to Protect Your Cash Flow
The National Taxpayer Advocate's 2025 Annual Report to Congress found the IRS took over 13 months on average to process 1.6 million business amended returns, after a 27% workforce cut left the Small Business/Self-Employed division down nearly 38%. Here's what the report says and six concrete steps to shield your cash flow.
The Netherlands Is Cutting the Zelfstandigenaftrek Again: What ZZP Freelancers Should Budget for in 2026 and 2027
The Dutch zelfstandigenaftrek drops from €2,470 in 2025 to €1,200 in 2026 and €900 in 2027 — an 88% reduction since 2020's €7,280. For a ZZP freelancer with €50,000 profit, the 2026 cut alone adds roughly €400–€480 in tax, compounded by the MKB-winstvrijstelling falling to 12.70%. Here's the full phase-down schedule and five concrete budgeting steps.
Texas R&D Franchise Tax Credit Jumps to 8.722% — and Becomes Refundable for Small Businesses in 2026
Effective January 1, 2026, Texas SB 2206 raises the R&D franchise tax credit from 5% to 8.722% (10.903% for university-partnered research), makes it refundable in cash for businesses under $2.65M revenue and new veteran-owned businesses, aligns definitions with federal Form 6765, and repeals the R&D equipment sales tax exemption.
Trump Account Gift Tax Rules: The IRS Safe Harbor That Spares Most Families From Form 709
IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-25 (June 29, 2026) creates a gift tax safe harbor for Trump Account contributions: individual donors whose total gifts to a child stay under the $19,000 annual exclusion owe no Form 709 filing, resolving the future-interest question raised by the accounts' lock-up until age 18.
Washington Just Doubled the B&O Tax Filing Threshold — Here's What Actually Changes for Your Business
Effective July 1, 2026, Washington raised the B&O tax filing threshold from $125,000 to $250,000 in annual gross income and increased the small business credit caps to $375/month for service businesses and $125/month for nonservice businesses — here's who can stop filing, who still owes nothing, and what obligations remain.
Autónomo Taxes in Spain: Cuotas by Real Income, IRPF Withholding, and the €80 Flat Rate Explained for 2026
Spain's autónomo cuota is income-based across 15 tiers (roughly €205 to €1,606/month at a 31.5% rate), reconciled after your annual tax return via regularización. New freelancers can pay a flat €80/month for 12 months and withhold IRPF at a reduced 7% instead of 15% — but choosing 15% once forfeits the reduced rate. Here's how the 2026 rules fit together.
How to Account for Credit Card Cash Back and Points: Contra-Expense vs. Other Income
Business credit card cash back is a rebate, not taxable income — unless it's a no-spend sign-up or referral bonus. This guide shows the two ways to book rewards (contra-expense vs. other income), with journal entries, the earned-vs-redeemed timing choice, and the IRS logic behind each.
When a Deficit Restoration Obligation Isn't One: What CCA 202628009 Means for Partnership Loss and Liability Allocations
IRS Chief Counsel Advice CCA 202628009 (July 10, 2026) held that a demand-based deficit restoration obligation enforceable only by withholding future distributions is not unconditional, failing both the §1.704-1(b) economic-effect safe harbor and the §1.752-2(b) recourse-liability test — a fact pattern common in family LP boilerplate that can reallocate recourse debt and suspend previously deducted losses.
Georgia Cut Its Income Tax to 4.99% — But HB 463 Left the PTET Rate at 5.75%
Georgia's HB 463 cuts the flat income tax rate from 5.19% to 4.99% for tax years starting January 1, 2026, with conditional annual cuts toward 3.99% — but the pass-through entity tax (PTET) rate stays at 5.75%, so S-corp and partnership owners who made the election should rerun the math against their SALT cap savings.
IRS Raises the Business Mileage Rate to 76 Cents Mid-Year: How to Handle a Split-Rate 2026
Effective July 1, 2026, the IRS raised the standard business mileage rate from 72.5 to 76 cents per mile — only its second mid-year change since 2011. Here's how the split-rate year affects your deduction, what your mileage log must show, and when the new rate applies to reimbursements.
New Jersey's Medicaid Employer Assessment (A5324): What the First-in-the-Nation Law Means for Your Payroll
New Jersey's A5324, effective July 1, 2026, bills employers $325–$725 per year for each Medicaid-enrolled employee or dependent once 50 or more are enrolled — matched by the state, not self-reported. Here is how the tiered fees work, which workers are exempt now and in 2027, and how to prepare your books for a bill you didn't calculate.
How Sports Card and Collectibles Reselling Is Taxed: The 28% Rate, Cost Basis, and the IRS's Three Buckets
Collectibles like sports cards are taxed at a maximum 28% long-term capital gains rate under IRC Section 408(m) — higher than the 15–20% most stock investors pay. Whether you owe that rate, ordinary income rates up to 37%, or can deduct grading and shipping fees depends on whether the IRS sees you as a hobbyist, investor, or dealer. Here's how the classification works, what belongs in your cost basis, and why a 1099-K doesn't change what you owe.