deepdive.

EBITDA is only part of the picture. Learn how cash flow, customer concentration, owner dependence, and financial records influence buyers and lenders.

Offering paid family and medical leave may come with a federal tax benefit. Learn how the now-permanent credit works, which employees qualify, and what employers need to claim it.

Is the interest on your loan tax-deductible? The answer often depends on how you use the borrowed money, not just the type of loan. Learn how these rules affect the deductibility of business, investment, mortgage, and personal loan interest.

Financed a new vehicle? You may qualify for a federal deduction of up to $10,000 in loan interest. Learn which vehicles qualify, income limits, and what records to keep.

Buying an established business can give you a head start, but you are also buying its financial history. Know what the numbers reveal about earnings, cash flow, customers, debt, and risk before you make an offer.

Learn how accountable plans allow businesses to reimburse employee expenses without creating taxable wages and the IRS requirements that must be followed.

Crowdfunding can have unexpected tax consequences. Learn how personal donations, rewards, investments, Form 1099-K, and gift tax rules may apply.

Clean financial statements can build buyer confidence, support due diligence, and help prevent financial surprises when selling your business.

Planning to sell your business? Clean financial records can build buyer confidence, support financing, and help you prepare for due diligence.

A new federal tax credit begins in 2027 for qualifying K-12 scholarship donations. Learn how the $1,700 credit works, why state participation matters, and what donors should know before contributing.

A Supreme Court decision left in place a ruling allowing the IRS to assess tax indefinitely when return fraud is committed by a tax preparer.

Learn what to do if the IRS says your tax return was never received, including how to verify filing, respond to notices, and protect a refund. 

Does your business accept large cash payments? Receiving more than $10,000 can trigger Form 8300 reporting requirements. Learn what counts as cash, key deadlines, and why accurate filing matters.

Roth conversions, RMDs, and the senior deduction can affect your 2026 taxes. Review five retirement tax moves to consider before December 31.

Learn how scammers target older adults through fraud schemes and discover warning signs, prevention tips, and steps to protect finances.

Recent court rulings have complicated self-employment tax rules for limited partners. Learn why a partner's role, authority, and structure matter.

Crypto investors are being targeted with official-looking IRS letters directing them to a fake digital asset portal. Learn the warning signs before sharing wallet or tax information.

FinCEN has permanently ended federal BOI reporting for U.S. companies. Learn what changed, what records to keep, and which entities may still have obligations.

Learn how Roth conversions work, when they may offer tax advantages, and how tax brackets, RMDs, IRA basis, and other factors can affect the decision.

Learn how PLESA accounts work, who may benefit, contribution limits, and why this SECURE 2.0 emergency savings option may help workers.

Treasury and the IRS finalized backup-withholding rules for third-party payment networks. Learn what the $20,000 and 200-transaction thresholds do—and don't—mean.

Financial flexing can make expensive spending feel normal. Learn how social media, lifestyle pressure, and easy credit can quietly interfere with long-term financial goals.

New federal disaster tax rules may affect casualty losses and wildfire relief payments. Learn what changed and who may qualify.

A 2026 CFO survey shows cash management is a top finance priority. Here are five cash-flow metrics business owners should monitor before problems appear.

The October 15, 2026 deadline is approaching for extended 2025 tax returns. Learn why early filing and complete documents matter.

Learn how life insurance can affect taxes, including cash value growth, MEC rules, policy loans, life settlements, and accelerated death benefits.

As college athletic departments face rising costs and multimillion-dollar athlete payments, some states are using tax revenue and public funds to help schools compete. Here's what's changing.

A living inheritance can help children when they need it most, but large gifts can create tax and estate-planning consequences. Here’s what to consider before transferring wealth.

A new rule may let eligible taxpayers use retirement funds to pay qualified long-term care insurance premiums without the 10% early-withdrawal penalty.

Supporting children, helping aging parents, and protecting your own retirement can turn you into the family CFO. Here’s how to manage the financial overlap.

Business expenses can reduce taxable income, but many learn too late that a deduction is only as good as the records behind it.

Should you pay off debt or invest? Higher interest rates have shifted the balance. Learn how to evaluate high-interest debt, emergency savings, retirement planning, and taxes when making important financial decisions.

An executor of a decedent’s estate must administer the estate and distribute assets in the statutory order of priority; failure to follow those legal requirements can expose the executor to personal liability.

If you make or receive income that is not fully covered by withholding, September 15, 2026, is an important date on the tax calendar. It is the due date for the third installment of 2026 federal estimated tax payments for individuals who are not paying enough through withholding during the year. 

Your final decade before retirement can have the biggest impact on your financial future. Learn the key planning opportunities at ages 50, 55, and 60—and why proactive tax planning matters.

Donating long‑term appreciated stock (publicly traded shares held for more than one year) to a qualified charity is a high‑impact way for donors to support causes while obtaining favorable tax treatment.

If you inherited a Traditional IRA after 2019, the rules are not always what people expect. The SECURE Act changed the way many inherited retirement accounts must be paid out, and now who inherited the account and whether the original owner had already started required minimum distributions, or RMDs, controls. In some cases, a surviving spouse still has the most flexibility. In other cases, the money must come out within 10 years.

The holiday season starts earlier than many business owners realize. Discover seven proactive financial moves to strengthen cash flow, manage inventory, and optimize taxes before Q4.

As kids head back to school, give your business a mid-year report card. Discover seven key areas every small business owner should review before year-end.

Under the Internal Revenue Code Section 61, gross income generally means all income from whatever source derived, and unless a specific rule says it is excluded, it is taxable. In simple terms: if you got something of value and the tax law does not carve it out, the IRS probably sees it as taxable.