September 2026
2026 Section 199A: Proprietorship or S Corporation?
Will your business operation create the 20 percent tax deduction for you? If no, and if that’s because of (1) too much income, and (2) lack of wages and/or depreciable property, a switch to the S corporation as your choice of business entity may produce the tax savings you are looking for.
2026: Get the Government to Pay You for Hiring Your Child
You can pay your child to work in your business—and get paid for paying your child. Yeah, we know. You think this sounds too good to be true, but it’s true. For how the government pays you and why this works, read this article.
Drive Time Increases Odds of Deducting Rental Property Losses
Your rental properties provide tax shelter when you can deduct your losses against your other income. One step to deducting the losses is to pass the tax code’s 750-hour test, and one step to finding the hours you need may be your drive time. Here are the 2026 rules, the cases that let you count the drive time, and the second loss limit waiting for you after you pass the test.
2026 Section 199A: Is Your Service Business Out of Favor?
The Section 199A deduction is permanent now, and for 2026 the income thresholds are higher and the phase-in range is 50 percent wider than it used to be. That matters most if you run an out-of-favor specified service trade or business. This article gives you insights. It covers the consulting definition and the de minimis rules that let you split one business into two.
2026 Paid Family Leave Credit: Does the Owner Qualify?
The paid family and medical leave credit is permanent now, and for 2026 there is a second way to compute it that can pay you tax dollars in a year when not one employee takes a day of leave. But whether you, the owner, can create a credit on your own leave comes down entirely to your choice of entity.
2026 Tax Guide to Deducting Long-Term Care Insurance
You can protect yourself against the financial consequences of chronic illness or disability by purchasing long-term care insurance. The premiums are not cheap, but tax law may let you write off some or all of the cost. Which of the three possible deductions you get depends on your choice of business entity, and the 2026 numbers and rules make getting it right matter more than ever.
Three Tests That Decide Your Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction
The self-employed health insurance deduction reduces adjusted gross income without requiring you to itemize, but it turns on three tests that are easy to fail: (1) whether the plan is established under your business, (2) whether you were eligible for subsidized employer coverage in a given month, and (3) whether the policy is medical care insurance in the first place. Here is how each test applies to S corporation owners, partners, and sole proprietors.
How the Pungs Lost a $194,400 Home over $2,242
The U.S. Supreme Court held that property owners whose property is sold for unpaid property taxes are entitled to the surplus proceeds from the sale but not to the property’s fair market value. As long as the sale is fairly conducted, the auction price measures just compensation, even when the property sells for a fraction of what it is worth. For how this works, and why you likely want to avoid it, read this article.
When Your Spouse Dies: The Tax and Medicare Hits Arrive Later
The death of a spouse raises your income taxes and your Medicare premiums—but maybe not on the schedule you assume. Federal law lets you file a joint return for the year your spouse dies, and sometimes for two more years after that. Learn the real timeline, the deductions you lose, the Medicare surcharges that follow two years later, and the moves to make while the joint-return window stays open.
August 2026
Twitchco: This Court Case Gives Your ERC Protective Claim Teeth
In our July article, we told you to report your 2026 ERC refund as income, pay the tax, and file a protective refund claim. Now meet Twitchco, a court case holding that the IRS cannot use the tax benefit rule to tax a deduction that was wrong in a year the statute of limitations has closed. Twitchco gives your protective claim real teeth—if your facts match.
Sell Now, Pay the IRS Later: Defer Capital Gains for Decades
The moment you sell your valuable asset, the IRS comes to dinner. And they bring a very large appetite. But there’s a little-known trust strategy that can legally postpone that tax hit for years—even decades. Most sellers never hear about it until after the closing, which is exactly when it’s too late.
How to Find Your 2026 Section 199A Deduction with Multiple Businesses
Calculating your Section 199A deduction with one business is complicated. With multiple businesses—including businesses with losses—it gets trickier still. This article explains the rules for multiple businesses, shows how aggregation can rescue or enlarge your deduction, and cautions you to enter each business separately in the 2026 Section 199A calculator when you don’t elect aggregation.
Protect Your Home-Office Deduction from Spouse, Second Business
With one business use of the home office and no personal use, you qualify for the home-office deduction. Add a second business, a W-2 job, or a spouse and every use of that office must qualify on its own—or you lose the deduction. Now that tax law permanently denies employees the home-office deduction, the stakes are higher than ever.
S Corp. Owners: Don’t Lose 2026 Dental, Vision, Medicare Breaks
Here’s a follow-up to our 2026 S corporation health insurance update: your dental insurance, your vision insurance, and your Medicare premiums all qualify for the exact same treatment as your major medical coverage—the same three-step W-2 method, the same Schedule 1 deduction, and the same two hurdles. See the proof, straight from the tax code and the IRS.
Dealer or Investor? Deducting the Loss on Your First Flip
Your first fix-and-flip just sold at a loss, and your accountant says you can deduct only $3,000 a year—but that is not necessarily true. If you qualify as a real estate dealer, you deduct the entire loss this year against ordinary income—and trim your self-employment tax in the bargain.
How to Get the IRS to Pay Your Attorney Fees
Even if you beat the IRS, getting it to pay your attorney fees is anything but automatic. Learn the seven legal hurdles you must clear, the costly traps that can derail your claim, and the strategies that can dramatically improve your odds of recovering your fees and costs.
Tax Plan: Buy $500,000 of Goods on December 20 and Expense Them
Buy $500,000 of goods on December 20 and deduct them this year? A reader challenged our advice, pointing to IRS Publication 334’s warning that small-business tax accounting must still “clearly reflect income.” This follow-up explains why the deduction survives that language—and the one bookkeeping detail that makes or breaks it.
July 2026
ERC Refund in 2026: One Great Way to Handle It
If you get your Employee Retention Credit (ERC) refund now, it’s likely too late to amend your 2020 and 2021 tax returns to reduce those wage deductions for the ERC refund. If you can’t amend, you are looking at a double benefit. The IRS says no double benefit, but that may not be true.
Tool for Your Use: Updated 2026 Section 199A Calculator
When planning your Section 199A tax deduction, avoid difficult calculations and save time by using the updated 2026 Section 199A Deduction Calculator. In this article, you’ll find the rules you need to know to find your QBI, Section 199A wages, and Section 199A property that can figure into your Section 199A deduction possibilities.
2026 Health Insurance for S Corporation Owners: A Complete Update
Here’s the 2026 update on the health insurance deduction for S corporation owners: the three-step W-2 method, the box 5 “earned income” trap, the Section 318 family attribution surprise, the QSEHRA/ICHRA options for rank-and-file employees, and the expired enhanced premium tax credit.
The Home-Office Deduction for Three Square Feet
Have you ruled out taking the home-office deduction because you believe your home is too small? You should think again. Don’t skip this article. A workspace no larger than a single file cabinet can be enough to qualify.
Tax Deduction for Classic or Antique Cars Used in Business
How does the tax law treat the classic or antique car when you use it for business? Can you deduct it just as you would any car you use in business? Learn how some tax law changes enabled the classic or antique car as a business asset, much to the IRS’s chagrin, and why that can work to your advantage.
Four Tactics That Turn Suspended Passive Losses into Tax Deductions
When you finally sell a rental property, the tax law hands you a gift: the passive losses it denied you in earlier years—technically, your “suspended” passive losses—are released for deduction. But hidden traps can delay or destroy those deductions, and as of 2017 a second limit now stands between you and the full write-off. Learn the right way to sell, gift, or die. The dying part is so you can pass on rental property to your heirs without losing the suspended losses.
Myth: Rent Furniture to Your Corporation and Save on Taxes
Renting furniture to your corporation is supposed to be the savvy way to get money out of the corporation. We ran the math on a $100,000 purchase and the “savvy” move turns out to be a myth—here’s the proof.
How to Avoid Penalties on Late IRA RMDs
Missing an IRA required minimum distribution (RMD) can trigger steep IRS penalties—but many taxpayers don’t realize those penalties can often be reduced or even eliminated. Learn the key deadlines, correction rules, and waiver strategies that can help you avoid costly mistakes and keep more of your retirement savings.
How Small Businesses Can Expense Inventory Costs
Small businesses may have more flexibility with inventory deductions than many owners realize. This article explains when inventory costs can be deducted sooner—and the tax traps that can cause a business to lose this valuable treatment.
June 2026
Eight Answers on Augusta Rule Home Rentals to Your Corporation or Partnership
Think the Augusta Rule sounds too good to be true? This article answers eight of the most common real-world questions business owners ask about renting their home to their corporation or partnership to create tax-free income. Learn how to stay compliant, document the arrangement properly, and maximize the tax benefits.
You May Be Owed an IRS Refund—Action Needed Now
A little-known court ruling could mean money back from the IRS for taxpayers hit with penalties or interest during the pandemic. The Court of Federal Claims says a COVID-era law may have extended key tax filing and payment deadlines through July 11, 2023—and the clock is now ticking to protect potential refund rights. Taxpayers have until July 10, 2026, to file protective refund claims while the case heads to appeal.
Claim Your R&E Tax Windfall, Perhaps Before the July 6 Deadline
If your business spent money on research and experimentation (R&E) between 2022 and 2024, you may be sitting on a refund check the size of a year’s profit. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act trapped R&E behind a five-year amortization schedule. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act opened the escape hatch. The IRS released the road map. You may have to act fast. One upcoming deadline is July 6, 2026.
Pay Your PCORI Fee If You Have a 105-HRA, a QSEHRA, or an ICHRA
Business owners who have established Section 105 Health Reimbursement Arrangements (105-HRAs), Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRAs), and Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Accounts (ICHRAs) to reimburse their employees for medical expenses need to pay an annual fee to help support the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
How to Define, Deduct, and Benefit from Unreimbursed Partner Expenses
Are you paying out of pocket for partnership expenses? Learn which costs are deductible, how to report them on Schedule E, and how to avoid costly IRS mistakes. Make sure your home office and client-related expenses work for you, not against you.
Pathway to Deducting Non-Cash Gifts over $5,000
Donating property (appreciated or not) to charity can generate valuable tax deductions—but the IRS imposes strict rules when a single item or multiple similar items exceed $5,000 in value. Learn when a qualified appraisal is required, what documentation you need, and how to avoid costly mistakes that could cause the IRS to deny your deduction altogether.
How to Handle the Costs of Exploring and Launching a Business
Thinking about starting or buying a business? Before you spend money, learn which start-up costs are deductible, which must be capitalized, and when your business officially begins for tax purposes. This article explains the key IRS rules that can save new business owners money and prevent costly mistakes.
IRS Freezes Refunds Over Missing Bank Information
The IRS is no longer automatically mailing paper refund checks to taxpayers with missing or rejected bank information. Instead, it is freezing refunds and sending CP53E notices that can delay payments for weeks. Learn how the new policy works, who is affected, and what taxpayers must do to avoid lengthy refund delays.