Steven Wu, CPA

IRS just released the 2027 inflation numbers. Joint standard deduction: $33,200 (up $1,000). Child tax credit max: $2,300. Sec. 179 expensing: $2,640,000. Same seven rates. Higher brackets. Applies to 2027 returns filed in 2028.

A big refund isn't a tax win. It usually means more was withheld or paid in during the year than you owed. Same total tax either way; you just lent the difference to the IRS at 0%. Owe a lot every April instead? Check your W-4 or quarterly estimates before year-end.

I'm a CPA, not a developer. I built a team of AI agents in Grok Bot, one job each. A few of them: - Chief of staff that routes everything to me - Email and messages - Travel bookings - Website updates - Purchases What made it work: one bot, one job, and one place to check in.

FDIC and SIPC aren't the same protection. FDIC: covers deposits if an insured bank fails, generally $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category. SIPC: covers missing cash and securities if a member brokerage fails, not market losses. Know which covers your cash.

Forming an LLC doesn't change your federal income tax by itself. By default, a one-owner LLC is ignored for income tax: the profit lands on the owner's return. Two or more owners: taxed as a partnership. Corporate or S corp treatment takes an election (Form 8832 or 2553).

The usual advice: keep spending money in checking, park the rest in a high-yield savings account. That works if your cash sits still. Mine doesn't. Payroll, bills, deposits, every week. So I stopped moving money around and changed where it lives:

Calendar-year C corps have one more estimated payment this year: Dec 15. Each payment is generally 25% of the smaller of this year's tax or last year's. Catch: a large corp ($1M+ taxable income in any of the prior 3 years) can use last year's tax only for the 1st payment.

That client dinner? Generally 50% deductible. The ballgame tickets after it? Usually 0%. The temporary 100% restaurant deduction ended after 2022. Food at an entertainment event can qualify only if it's bought or billed separately. Keep the who, when and why with the receipt.

Before you switch banks, check: your direct deposits and autopays, wire and ATM needs, whether you handle cash, and how your deposits are insured (FDIC vs. SIPC). Full checklist in the article:

A C corp with $1M of taxable income that gives $8,000 to charity in 2026 gets no deduction. New for tax years beginning after 2025: only giving above 1% of taxable income counts. The 10% cap still applies. Small, steady gifts can lose the write-off.

Moving off a big bank isn't all upside. Fidelity won't take physical cash, its debit card isn't available on business accounts, and X Money's 6% depends on your plan or direct deposit. I wrote up the tradeoffs before you switch:

300+ fake returns seeking $100M+ in refunds, allegedly filed with stolen identities, per a federal case in Atlanta this week. As a CPA: the simplest defense is an IP PIN, a 6-digit code that blocks anyone else from filing with your SSN. Anyone with an SSN or ITIN can get one.

The $600 rule for 1099-NEC is gone for 2026 payments. A business generally files one once it pays a nonemployee $2,000+ for services in the year. Before 2026 it was $600. Common myth: no 1099 means no tax. The contractor still reports all of the income.

"Profitable companies paid $0 in federal income tax." As a CPA: that figure is usually "current tax expense" from a 10-K, not cash paid to the IRS that year. What gets it to zero is mostly the Code as written: bonus depreciation, R&D expensing, stock comp, NOLs, credits.

10+ years with Chase. Now my personal cash is all in X Money (6% APY, up to 3% card cash back, free wires and ATMs on Premium) and my two businesses run on Fidelity. What I learned, plus the real tradeoffs 👇

I used Grok Bot to revamp my CPA firm's website: a redesign, new copy, a refreshed logo, and online call booking, all moved onto the live Squarespace site. It took a fraction of the time I expected. Take a look: tswcore.com

My aunt asked why I'm moving my business checking to Fidelity instead of just using a HYSA. Business cash isn't savings. It's working capital, with money moving in and out constantly. Payroll runs every 2 weeks, and I'm not shuffling money back and forth to earn interest. I need checking-level flexibility that still pays. Fidelity's CMA earns ~3.5% on idle cash and works like a checking account. Idle operating cash should still be earning.