Practical updates on R&D credits, international tax, multi-state compliance, and founder tax — the questions founders actually ask, answered in plain English.
Texas changed its R&D franchise tax credit beginning with 2026 reports. The credit now starts with federal Form 6765, focuses on research actually conducted in Texas, and can be refundable for certain startups that owe no Texas franchise tax.
Florida recently mailed businesses a corporate tax update that has been showing up in startup payroll accounts. It is not a tax bill, but startups filing in Florida should pay attention to differences in R&D deductions, bonus depreciation, and other federal tax changes.
A federal tax bill does not necessarily have to be paid all at once. Businesses may qualify for an IRS payment plan, sometimes without providing detailed financial statements. The rules depend on how much the company owes and, importantly, whether the balance includes payroll taxes.
After more than two years of uncertainty, FinCEN has finalized the rules under the Corporate Transparency Act. U.S. companies and U.S. persons are no longer required to report beneficial ownership information (BOI), and FinCEN has announced it will delete previously reported information relating to U.S. persons.
Paying a founder in crypto, USDC, or a simple bank transfer does not automatically avoid payroll. If the payment is for CEO services, the IRS may still treat it as wages.
The IRS is making penalty relief automatic for many compliant taxpayers. Here's what the new program means for businesses and why you may still receive penalty notices during the transition.
California will begin taxing most SaaS subscriptions and prewritten software in 2027. Here's what startup founders should do now to prepare.
From January 2026, most employer-provided office meals stop being deductible — while client meals, entertainment, and company parties each follow a different rule. What changed, and what to track.
Employers can put up to $2,500 a year into an employee's child's account — deductible to the company, tax-free to the employee. When it beats a bonus, and how to set it up.
For founders with restricted stock or early-exercised options, a timely 83(b) election can move future gain from ordinary income to capital gain — and start the QSBS clock. The 30-day deadline, the common mistakes, and what to check.
Why exercising your ISOs can trigger a tax bill on stock you can't sell yet — the phantom-income problem, the 83(b) fix, staggering exercises, and the credit you recover later.
What to get right before you pay your first contractor — worker classification, the W-9 and 1099-NEC paperwork, foreign-contractor forms, and state nexus.
How to reimburse business expenses without creating payroll-tax problems — what an accountable plan is, and how to set one up.
Why C corporation founders usually need a W-2. The narrow exceptions, and how to stay clean.
When electing S corp status actually saves a sole proprietor money — the self-employment math, reasonable salary, QBI, the state curveballs, and the filing deadline.
Who qualifies for the IRS Business Tax Account portal, what you can do, and how access changes by entity type — officers, shareholders, partners, sole props, and LLCs.
When a foreign entity actually needs an EIN, who's eligible without an SSN, and how to apply on Form SS-4 — plus how it differs from an ITIN.
A refundable employment credit and a capital credit for investors. Who qualifies as a QETC — and what to check before you claim.
Permanent establishment, payroll registration, IR35. The questions we wish founders asked us before the offer letter went out — not after.
The five-year clock, the active-business test, the $50M asset cap. The small moves that cost millions at exit — and when we catch them.
Most software companies won't need to amend prior returns. The short list of situations where we'd actually change course — and how we tell the difference.
One question from a board observer, answered overnight: modeled both ways, with a one-page reply the founder could forward by morning. No deck, no fee.
Project descriptions, time tracking, contractor classification. The three things we ask for up front — and why reconstructing them later never holds.
Washington, Texas, Tennessee, and the slow drift toward taxing software. Where the rules moved this year, and where they're about to.
If something here raised a question about your own situation, get in touch.