What do the new DOL opinion letters say about wage-and-hour rules? On May 28, 2026, the Department of Labor issued four FLSA opinion letters answering when meal breaks and clock-in lines must be paid, whether a salaried exempt employee can take a second hourly role, and how percentage-of-earnings bonuses satisfy overtime rules. If you run…
Do you owe tax when you rent out your vacation home? It depends on how many days. Understanding vacation home rental tax starts with one number: 14. Rent the place 14 days or fewer a year and the income is tax-free; rent it more and the income is taxable — but you can deduct expenses,…
What is the FASB changing about hedge accounting in 2026? On June 17, 2026, the FASB issued a proposed hedge accounting update to Topic 815 with three targeted changes: hedging interest rate risk on held-to-maturity securities, using any tenor of SOFR, and expanding eligible net investment hedging instruments. Comments are due August 17, 2026. If…
What rights do you have when dealing with the IRS? Ten of them. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights groups long-standing protections in the tax law into ten fundamental rights — from the right to be informed to the right to a fair and just tax system. They are adopted in Internal Revenue Code § 7803(a)(3)…
Can you defer tax when you sell investment property? Often, yes. A Section 1031 exchange lets you defer capital gains tax when you swap real property held for business or investment for like-kind real property. The trade-off: strict deadlines — 45 days to identify a replacement and 180 days to close — and, since 2018,…
Do private companies have to change their income tax disclosures? Yes — in part. FASB ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, requires all entities to disclose income taxes paid (net of refunds) by federal, state, and foreign jurisdiction — and by any individual jurisdiction equal to or greater than 5%…
Are the Opportunity Zone rules changing? Yes. In IRS Notice 2026-40, the Treasury Department and the IRS announced that they intend to issue proposed regulations on Qualified Opportunity Zones under Internal Revenue Code §§ 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2, as amended by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The notice provides transitional guidance for investments made…
Is the SALT deduction cap going away in 2026? No. Federal courts continue to uphold the SALT deduction cap, with a New Jersey federal court dismissing another constitutional challenge in May 2026. But there is relief: the One Big Beautiful Bill raised the cap from $10,000 to $40,000 beginning in 2025, with a 1% annual…
Can I open and manage a Trump Account online? Yes. The IRS now lets taxpayers view and submit Trump Account elections directly inside their IRS Individual Online Account using Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s). A Trump Account is a new tax-advantaged account for a child under 18 with a valid Social Security number, created by…
What is the SEC’s proposed filer status overhaul? On May 19, 2026, the SEC proposed collapsing public-company reporting into two categories — large accelerated filers (LAFs) and nonaccelerated filers (NAFs) — raising the LAF public float threshold to $2 billion and exempting NAFs from ICFR auditor attestation. If you advise public companies, the SEC filer…
