Emerald Tax & Accounting

10/27/2026

10/27/2026

The founder of Ring still puts his personal email address on every product box so he can get real intel from customer emails that land in his inbox.

Talk about a customer care strategy!

The entrepreneur says customer emails give him “ground truth data.” Experts say the tactic only works under one condition.

10/26/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿?

To donate stock to charity, transfer the shares directly into the charity's brokerage account without selling them first.

Here's how:
1. Ask the charity for its stock transfer instructions, including its DTC number and brokerage account information.
2. Contact your brokerage firm to authorize the transfer, specifying which stock and how many shares you're donating.
3. Notify the charity beforehand. Electronic transfers don't always identify the donor, so the charity needs to know the shares are coming from you.
4. Request a written acknowledgment confirming the gift and whether you received anything in return.

And remember: 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦.

For year-end planning, you'll want the shares to reach the charity's account by December 31. I'd recommend starting by early December to leave time for processing and confirming receipt.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘰?

10/23/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸?

It's probably on this list of spending decisions that haunt Americans long after Halloween.

Many Americans (60%) have spent money on something expensive they later regretted, and a majority with regrets have more than one, according to a new NerdWallet survey.

10/22/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸?

Yes, the IRS can impose an Accumulated Earnings Tax on C corporations that retain profits beyond their reasonable business needs to avoid paying shareholder dividend taxes.

The tax rate is 20%. But having a large cash balance doesn't automatically mean you owe this tax. The IRS first looks at 𝘸𝘩𝘺 your corporation is holding onto that money.

Maybe you're building reserves to cover operating expenses during a slow period. Or you're planning a major equipment purchase.

Those are legitimate reasons for retaining cash, but you still need documentation showing why the money is necessary.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳?

10/22/2026

S corporation owners who work in their business may face IRS scrutiny if their salary is too low, even when they take regular distributions.

Learn how reasonable compensation is determined, what the IRS looks for in an audit and how a written report can help protect your position.

If you own an S corporation and work in the business, the IRS expects you to pay yourself a reasonable salary.