Small Business

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Strategic Tax Planning: Key Factors When Selling a Business

Summary: Tax Essentials for Selling Your Business

In a qualifying asset sale of a trade or business, federal tax law generally treats the transaction as a sale of separate assets. A stock or ownership-interest sale is analyzed differently, except where a special deemed-asset-sale rule applies.

Key Tax and Financial Steps Before Listing:

  1. Obtain Accurate Valuation: Ensure the listing price is realistic and maximizes value.
  2. Organize Financials: Prepare current and prior year’s balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and tax returns for buyer scrutiny.
  3. Understand Asset Classification: Allocate sale proceeds across assets (inventory, goodwill, and real property), which are taxed differently (as ordinary income vs. capital gains).
  4. Know Your Entity: C-Corporations face double taxation on asset sales, while S-Corps and LLCs (pass-through entities) offer more flexibility for tax-advantaged structuring.

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How To Avoid The IRS Hobby Tax Trap With Your Side Hustle

Turning a passion project or freelance gig into extra cash is a classic move, but it comes with a major compliance hurdle. Whether you are selling digital products online or picking up local client work, the IRS demands that you report every single dollar of that income. However, whether you can deduct your expenses depends entirely on whether the tax collector views your side hustle as a legitimate business or just a hobby.

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IRS Eases Partnership Sale Reporting Rules

Final regulations released by the IRS stipulate that partnerships no longer need to provide detailed gain and loss information to selling partners by January 31. This deadline had become a contentious issue.

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Simple Retirement Solutions for Small Business Owners

Offering employees retirement options can be an effective way for small business owners to attract and retain talent. If you’re concerned about cost and administrative complexity, you’re not alone. Fortunately, several options are available, including a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan.

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Small Business Tax Thresholds and IRS Accounting Exemptions

Although your company may feel expansive to you, you might wonder how the federal government officially classifies it for tax purposes. If your organization qualifies as a small business, you can lock in several critical tax advantages.

However, the specific rules for individual tax provisions vary. Depending on your exact operational size, you might be eligible for some small-business breaks while being excluded from others.

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Layoff Alternatives: Strategies to Reduce Costs and Retain Talent

Laying off staff is every business owner’s least-favorite task. While reducing your workforce can restore short-term stability, it often comes with hidden long-term costs: severance pay, legal fees, loss of institutional knowledge, and the massive expense of rehiring when the economy rebounds.

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A Guide to Maximizing Tax-Free Gains with QSB Stock and OBBBA

If you operate your business as a C corporation, you may be sitting on one of the most powerful wealth-building tools in the Internal Revenue Code: the Qualified Small Business (QSB) stock exclusion. Historically known as Section 1202, this provision allows founders and investors to exclude significant portions of their capital gains from federal income tax.

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Common Growth Mistakes Small Businesses Make

A recent survey found that 45% of small businesses reported growth, but 78% wanted to grow. This January 2026 data from Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights suggests that many small businesses are struggling to achieve their expansion goals. Small businesses usually don’t have extra cash, people, or time to absorb mistakes. One wrong move can strain cash flow, overwhelm staff, or stall momentum. The good news? Many growth missteps are predictable and preventable.

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