The Profitjets Blog
Finance Writing for People Running the Business
Practical articles on bookkeeping, accounting, tax, payroll and financial strategy, written for founders and operators rather than for other accountants.
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What is Bookkeeping: A Step-by-Step Guide
What bookkeeping covers, how it differs from accounting, and the five-step process behind a clean set of books.
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How to File IRS Form 5498-SA: HSA, Archer MSA, and Medicare Advantage MSA
Who Files Form 5498-SA, Due Date, and What Form 5498-SA Reports.
How to File IRS Form 6198: At-Risk Limitations
What you are at risk for, and which rule is really restricting the loss.
How to File IRS Form 709: The United States Gift Tax Return
Who Must File Form 709, Annual Exclusion vs. Lifetime Exemption, and Gift Splitting with Spouse.
How to File IRS Form 720: Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return
Who Must File Form 720, Major Excise Taxes on Form 720, and Quarterly Filing Deadlines.
How to File IRS Form 8275: Disclosure Statement to Avoid Accuracy Penalties
What Is the Accuracy-Related Penalty, How Form 8275 Avoids the Penalty, and Form 8275 vs. Form 8275-R.
How to File IRS Form 8288: FIRPTA Withholding on U.S. Real Property Transfers
Why the buyer carries it, and how reduced withholding works.
How to File IRS Form 8379: Injured Spouse Allocation
What Is an 'Injured Spouse', Injured Spouse vs. Innocent Spouse, and Who Qualifies for Injured Spouse Relief.
How to File IRS Form 8582: Passive Activity Loss Limitations
What Is a Passive Activity, The Seven Material Participation Tests, and Rental Activity, Presumed Passive.
How to File IRS Form 8594: Asset Acquisition Statement
When Form 8594 Is Required, The Seven Asset Classes, and Why Both Parties Must File.
How to File IRS Form 8621: Complete Guide to PFIC Reporting
Spotting one, the elections, and the records that span years.
How to File IRS Form 8802: US Tax Residency Certificate Application
What Is Form 8802, Who Needs Form 8802, and What Is Form 6166.
How to File IRS Form 8821: Tax Information Authorization
What Is Form 8821, Form 8821 vs. Form 2848: Key Difference, and Common Use Cases for Form 8821.
How to File IRS Form 8854: Expatriation Tax Compliance Guide
The certification, the planning window, and what continues after.
How to File IRS Form 8867: Paid Preparer's Due Diligence Checklist
What it certifies, and how to make it part of the engagement.
How to File IRS Form 8889: HSA Contributions and Deductions
What Is Form 8889, Who Must File Form 8889, and HSA Eligibility Requirement.
How to File IRS Form 8915-F: Qualified Disaster Retirement Distributions
Qualifying, the multi-year reporting, and whether to repay.
How to File IRS Form 8949: Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets
What Is Form 8949, Who Must File Form 8949, and Short-Term vs. Long-Term.
How to File IRS Form 8959: Additional Medicare Tax
Why withholding rarely matches, in either direction.
How to File IRS Form 926: Reporting Transfers to Foreign Corporations
Which transfers trigger it, and why valuation is the real work.
How to File IRS Form 940: The Employer's Annual FUTA Tax Return
Who Must File Form 940, FUTA Tax Rate and Wage Base, and The FUTA Credit.
How to File IRS Form SS-4: Applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Who Needs an EIN, Three Methods to Apply, and Information Required on Form SS-4.
How to File Previous Years' Tax Returns: A Step-by-Step Guide
Why You Should File Late Returns Even If You Cannot Pay and If You Are Owed a Refund: File Quickly.
How to File a Business Tax Extension Online in 2026
What Is a Business Tax Extension, Form 7004: The Business Extension Form, and How to File Form 7004 Online.
How to File a Business Tax Extension: Form 7004 Complete Guide
Overview: Business Tax Extensions Are Entity-Specific, Extension Deadlines by Entity Type, and How to File Form 7004.
What we write about
Eight topics we come back to
Pick a topic and the library above filters to it.
Bookkeeping
Clean books, reconciliations, chart of accounts and month-end close.
Accounting
Close process, financial statements, cash against accrual, and reporting that gets used.
Tax
Preparation, planning, entity choice, deductions, quarterly estimates and the IRS forms behind them.
CFO
Forecasting, cash flow, fundraising readiness and the executive roles founders confuse.
Payroll
Withholding, payroll taxes, W-2s and 1099s, and multi-state teams.
Metrics
The ratios and statements that tell you what is actually happening in the business.
Software
QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite and the tools that feed them.
Business Finance
Entity formation, banking, budgeting, funding and getting the finances in order.
Would You Rather We Just Did It?
Reading about reconciliation is useful. Not having to do it is better.