Today’s column6 min read
The IRS posted its annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2027. For small businesses, the headline is quieter than the brackets: the 1099 filing line moves to $2,100, Section 179 expensing rises and the QBI income limits climb.
+ 1 more in the column
A Labor Department rule published Nov. 2 makes pharmacy benefit managers spell out their pay to self-insured health plans, but only plans tied to 100 or more employees or participants. Here's where level-funded and fully insured small employer plans stand.
5 min read · 4 to-dos · 2 key dates
The SBA is raising the contractor fee on Prior Approval surety bond guarantees from $6.00 to $7.29 per $1,000 of contract value, and the surety's share from 20% to 26% of the premium. Manufacturing projects and Preferred Surety bonds keep the old rates.
5 min read · 4 to-dos · 1 key date
A new Wage and Hour Division bulletin withdraws three decades-old opinion letters and says time limits on side work inside a tipped job are no longer federal enforcement policy. Here's what that means for restaurants and bars that take the tip credit, and what it doesn't change.
5 min read · 4 to-dos
U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave mail importers until Jan. 20, 2027, before packages carrying Section 232 or 301 tariffs, or other agencies' import rules, need formal entry or the new electronic mail entry. A separate proposal, open for comment until Dec. 7, would go further.
5 min read · 5 to-dos · 2 key dates
Rev. Proc. 2026-34, effective Oct. 22, rewrites the IRS's retirement plan correction program. More errors can be fixed without an IRS filing or fee, missed-enrollment fixes get cheaper, and comments are open until Jan. 20, 2027.
5 min read · 5 to-dos · 3 key dates
After Executive Order 14435, the IRS says it won't penalize highway use or sale of dyed diesel from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026. Whether the excise tax on that fuel will be postponed, or ever forgiven, waits on further guidance.
5 min read · 4 to-dos · 3 key dates