178 tagged with "Guides"
Step-by-step guides for accounting, bookkeeping, and financial tasks
Subpart F Income and Controlled Foreign Corporations: Why U.S. Owners Get Taxed on Foreign Profits Before the Cash Comes Home
Subpart F forces U.S. shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation to recognize foreign profits as current-year income, even when no cash is distributed. This guide covers the 10 percent threshold, the four triggering income categories, Section 958 constructive ownership traps, Form 5471 penalties, and how the 2026 OBBBA rewrite (NCTI, restored 958(b)(4), 40 percent Section 250 deduction) reshapes the rules.
ASC 350 Goodwill Impairment: A Private Company Guide to the Amortization Alternative and Triggering-Event Testing
ASC 350 lets private companies amortize goodwill over up to ten years and test for impairment only when a triggering event occurs. This guide walks through ASU 2014-02 and 2021-03 elections, the single-step Step One quantitative test after ASU 2017-04, and how to keep auditors and lenders aligned.
DCAA Audit Compliance for Government Contractors: SF 1408, Timekeeping, and Incurred Cost Submissions
A practical guide to the three audits every cost-reimbursable federal contractor faces — the SF 1408 pre-award accounting system survey, daily timekeeping compliance, and the Incurred Cost Submission due six months after fiscal year-end — with a 90-day preparation plan and the five most common audit findings.
Form 941-X Explained: How Employers Correct Payroll Tax Errors, Recover Overpayments, and Stay Inside the Three-Year Statute of Limitations
A practical walkthrough of Form 941-X — when to use the adjustment process versus the claim process, the three-year (or two-year) statute of limitations, the stricter rules for federal income tax withholding, and what to put on Line 43 so the correction holds up under IRS review.
Section 162(a)(2): How the Tax Home Rule and One-Year Test Decide Whether Your Travel Is Deductible
A 2026 field guide to Section 162(a)(2) travel deductions — how the tax home rule, the temporary-vs-indefinite test, and the one-year rule determine whether consultants, traveling nurses, and other mobile workers can deduct lodging, meals, and per diem.
Section 280G Golden Parachute Payments: The 3× Trigger, 20% Excise Tax, and the Private Company Cleansing Vote
Section 280G disallows the corporate deduction and imposes a 20% Section 4999 excise tax once parachute payments to a disqualified individual reach three times the executive's five-year average W-2 compensation, with the penalty applying to everything above 1× the base amount. Private companies can eliminate the consequences entirely through a 75% disinterested shareholder vote paired with conditional waivers signed before closing.
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.
Form 1023 vs Form 1023-EZ: Choosing the Right 501(c)(3) Application
A side-by-side guide to Form 1023 ($600, 30+ pages) and Form 1023-EZ ($275, three pages) — including the $50,000 gross receipts test, $250,000 asset cap, the 27-month retroactive recognition deadline, and why 37% of streamlined approvals failed to meet legal requirements.
No Tax on Tips: How the New $25,000 Above-the-Line Deduction Actually Works for Servers, Stylists, and Drivers Through 2028
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act creates an above-the-line deduction of up to $25,000 in qualified tips for tax years 2025 through 2028, available only to workers in IRS-listed tipped occupations and phased out above $150,000 MAGI ($300,000 joint).
Transfer Pricing for Small Multinationals: Section 482, OECD Pillar Two, and Defensible Documentation
Section 482 reaches any small multinational with intercompany transactions, and missing Forms 5472 carry $25,000 penalties each. A working guide to the arm's-length standard, the five transfer pricing methods, contemporaneous documentation, and how OECD Pillar Two affects US-headquartered groups in 2026.
Form 706 Portability and the DSUE: How Surviving Spouses Inherit Up to $30 Million of Federal Estate Tax Exemption
Filing IRS Form 706 to elect portability lets a surviving spouse inherit up to $15 million of unused federal estate tax exemption (the DSUE), shielding combined estates of up to $30 million from the 40% federal estate tax in 2026. Miss the nine-month deadline and Rev. Proc. 2022-32 still allows a late election within five years of death.
PCAOB QC 1000 and AICPA SQMS No. 1: What Small CPA Firms Must Implement Before December 2026
Small CPA firms must implement PCAOB QC 1000 by December 15, 2026, alongside AICPA SQMS No. 1, already effective since December 2025. A practical guide to the eight components, four required roles, Form QC reporting, and a five-phase plan to reach compliance.