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1,423 plain-English guides on cross-border moves, US and Canadian returns, and small-business money. Each one ends in what to do next, and says when a written Position Check is the smarter first step.

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CROSS-BORDER A Canadian Corporation With a U.S. Shareholder

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Fairlight Accounting · US + Canadian Tax Desks

1,423 guides

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Sales Tax on Services: Where It Applies and Where It Doesn't

October 4, 2026

Sales tax on services by state: the general rule that services are exempt unless listed, the states that tax most services, commonly taxed categories (repairs, cleaning, digital products, software, amusements), bundled transactions, sourcing and nexus for remote services, and the taxable services in Florida.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Seasonal Businesses: Cash Flow and Tax in the Off-Season

October 4, 2026

Seasonal business cash flow and tax planning: the 13-week forecast and the off-season reserve, annualized estimated taxes, timing equipment purchases and expenses, seasonal employees and unemployment tax, deposits and deferred revenue, inventory timing, a line of credit before it is needed, and the fiscal year option.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Section 1035: Swapping Insurance Policies Without Tax

October 4, 2026

Section 1035 exchanges: permitted swaps among life insurance, annuities, and long-term care contracts, the direct-transfer requirement, basis carryover, loans and cash as taxable boot, partial annuity exchanges, modified endowment contract status, surrender charges, and business-owned policies.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Section 174A: Research Costs Are Deductible Again

October 4, 2026

Section 174A explained: immediate deduction of domestic research and software development costs from 2025, the transition for unamortized 2022–2024 costs, the small-business retroactive election, foreign research under Section 174, and coordination with the research credit.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Section 179 or Bonus Depreciation: Choosing the Write-Off

October 4, 2026

Section 179 versus bonus depreciation: dollar and income limits, asset-by-asset versus class-wide elections, 100 percent bonus after January 19, 2025, qualified improvement property and nonresidential building systems, vehicles, state conformity, ordering, and recapture.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Section 179D Before It Ends: The Building Energy Deduction

October 4, 2026

Section 179D energy-efficient commercial building deduction: who qualifies (owners, tenants, and designers of government and tax-exempt buildings), the 25 percent energy savings test, the per-square-foot amounts and the prevailing wage bonus, certification, the basis reduction, and termination for construction beginning after June 30, 2026.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Tax-Free Reorganizations: Section 368 Basics

October 4, 2026

Tax-free reorganizations under Section 368: the main types (statutory merger, stock-for-stock, assets-for-stock, divisive, recapitalization, and change of form), continuity of interest and business enterprise, business purpose, boot, carryover basis, loss limitations, and the F reorganization used before selling an S corporation.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Section 409A: Rules for Deferred Compensation Plans

October 4, 2026

Section 409A for small businesses: what counts as nonqualified deferred compensation, election timing, permitted payment events, no acceleration, the short-term deferral exception, stock options at fair market value and the valuation safe harbor, severance exceptions, phantom stock and bonus plans, and the 20 percent penalty.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

The 83(b) Election: Paying Tax Early on Restricted Stock

October 4, 2026

The Section 83(b) election: restricted stock and vesting, tax at grant versus tax at vesting, the 30-day filing deadline, capital gain and holding period benefits, the QSBS clock, the risk of forfeiture, profits interests in an LLC, and Form 15620.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Health Insurance Deduction When You Work for Yourself

October 4, 2026

The self-employed health insurance deduction: who qualifies, what premiums count, the income limit, the employer-plan rule, Form 7206, and S corporation W-2 reporting.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Renting Property to Your Own Business: The Self-Rental Rule

October 4, 2026

The self-rental rule under the passive activity regulations: net income recharacterized as non-passive, net losses that remain passive, the grouping election for a rental and the business it serves, the net investment income tax, fair market rent, lease documentation, and the sale of a self-rented building.

Small Business Tax

Self-Storage Deductions: The Building and the Cost Segregation, the Gates and the Paving, the Tenant Insurance Commission, the Lien Sale, the Boxes and Locks Florida Taxes, and the Rent It No Longer Does

October 4, 2026

Tax deductions for self-storage facility owners: the building over 39 years and the gates, fencing, paving, lighting, and security systems a cost segregation study pulls out, management software and access systems, tenant insurance commissions and late fees as income, lien sales of abandoned units, retail boxes and locks as taxable sales, the end of Florida's sales tax on commercial rent, and the rental trade-or-business question for the qualified business income deduction.

Small Business Tax

Self-Storage Entity and Estimated Taxes: The LLC per Facility, the Management Company, the Passive Question and the Real Estate Professional, the Development Year, and the 1031 Exit

October 4, 2026

Entity structure and estimated taxes for self-storage owners: one LLC per facility with a management company above them, the passive loss rules and real estate professional status, investor partnerships and the operating agreement, estimated taxes on steady rent with a first-year cost segregation loss, the development and lease-up year, refinancing, and exiting through a 1031 exchange or a sale to a consolidator.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Selling the Building Your Business Owns: What Gets Taxed

October 4, 2026

Selling business real estate: Section 1231 netting, unrecaptured Section 1250 gain at 25 percent, Section 1245 recapture on cost-segregated components, land, the net investment income tax, installment sales, 1031 exchanges, and selling the building separately from the business.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Keeping Business Money Separate: Why It Matters for Tax

October 4, 2026

Separating business and personal finances: substantiation in an audit, the LLC liability shield and commingling, cleaner bookkeeping, how owners properly move money between the two (draws, distributions, salary, reimbursements, loans), and building business credit.

Small Business Tax

Septic Service Deductions: The Vacuum Truck and the Heavy Highway Tax, the Disposal Fees at the Plant, the Tanks and Drainfields You Pay Tax On, the State Registration, and the Rainy Season That Floods Every System

October 4, 2026

Tax deductions for septic pumping and installation companies: vacuum trucks and Form 2290, disposal fees at treatment facilities, installation materials (tanks, drainfield pipe, aggregate) under Florida's real property rule, excavation equipment, Florida's septic contractor registration and permits, crews under the construction workers' compensation rule, inspections and real estate transaction work, additive products as taxable sales, and the wet-season surge.

Small Business Tax

Septic Service Entity and Estimated Taxes: The Registered Contractor, the LLC the Pollution Policy Names, the S Election, the Pumping Line and the Installation Line, and the Wet-Season Quarter

October 4, 2026

Entity structure and estimated taxes for septic companies: the state-registered contractor and the entity he qualifies, the LLC for spills and failed systems, the S election once profit exceeds an operations manager's salary, pumping as a service line and installation as construction, crews under the construction rule, estimated taxes through the rainy season and real estate inspection cycles, and selling a pumping route.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Shareholder Benefits Under Section 15: The Double Tax

October 4, 2026

Shareholder benefits under subsection 15(1): personal use of corporate property, personal expenses paid by the company, shareholder loans and the one-year repayment rule, imputed interest, double taxation, how the CRA finds them, and the U.S. parallel for American owners.

Bookkeeping

Shopify Bookkeeping: From Gross Sales to the Bank Deposit

October 4, 2026

Shopify and e-commerce bookkeeping: recording gross sales rather than net payouts, processor and platform fees, refunds and chargebacks, sales tax collected as a liability, gift card liabilities, multi-channel reconciliation with Amazon and Etsy, inventory and cost of goods sold, Form 1099-K reconciliation, foreign currency, and the monthly close.

Small Business Tax

Siding Installer Deductions: The Panels and the Trim You Pay Tax On, the Brake and the Lift, the Scaffolding, the Crew Under the Construction Rule, and the Storm That Strips a Neighborhood

October 4, 2026

Tax deductions for siding and exterior cladding contractors: vinyl, fiber cement, and metal siding as materials under Florida's real property rule, brakes, lifts, scaffolding, and pump jacks as equipment, trucks and trailers, crews as construction employees, permits and manufacturer certifications, insurance, and the post-storm replacement surge.

Small Business Tax

Siding Installer Entity and Estimated Taxes: The LLC, the S Election at the Second Crew, the Builder Draws, the Construction Rule, and the Storm Quarter

October 4, 2026

Entity structure and estimated taxes for siding contractors: the LLC for the fall and the water intrusion, the S election once a second crew produces profit beyond the owner's hours, subcontracting to builders and general contractors, Florida's construction workers' compensation rule, estimated taxes between slow builder draws and homeowner deposits, and the hurricane year that reshapes the following year's estimates.

U.S. Tax Explained Series

Bookkeeping That Is Ready for the Tax Return

October 4, 2026

Small business bookkeeping basics: a chart of accounts mapped to tax lines, separate accounts, cash versus accrual, monthly reconciliation, owner draws versus expenses, assets versus expenses, payroll and sales tax liabilities, and the year-end close.

Small Business Tax

Snow Removal Deductions: The Plow and the Truck, the Salt by the Ton, the Seasonal Contract Paid in October, the Subcontractor at 3 a.m., and the Slip-and-Fall Policy

October 4, 2026

Tax deductions for a snow and ice management business: plows, spreaders, and trucks with full first-year depreciation, salt and de-icer as supplies, seasonal contracts paid in advance as income, per-push versus seasonal pricing, subcontractors and their 1099s, liability insurance for slip-and-fall claims, equipment that sits idle eight months a year, and the landscaping business the snow operation usually lives inside.

Small Business Tax

Snow Removal Entity and Estimated Taxes: The Landscaper's Winter Line, the Contract Prepayments That Land in Q4, the Storm Payroll, and the LLC That Holds the Slip-and-Fall Risk

October 4, 2026

Entity structure and estimated taxes for snow and ice management: running snow as a line inside the landscaping entity or in a separate LLC for liability, the S election on the combined year's profit, estimated taxes when seasonal contracts are paid in the fourth quarter and costs fall in the first, storm payroll and overtime, the cash and accrual choice for prepaid contracts, and multistate work across a metro area.

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