Latest · Startups and investing

Section 174 is fixed: the R&D tax credit and expensing for a small US software company in 2026

What the July 2025 law changed for software development costs (deductible again from 2025, the 2022-2024 balance written off over one or two years), who qualifies for the research credit, how a startup takes up to $500,000 a year of it against payroll taxes, a six-person company worked through ($699,000 of research costs, a $73,360 credit used over five quarters), the records courts ask for, what specialists charge and nine questions for your accountant.

October 25, 2026

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AI in business

A cloned voice asks for a wire: the payment checks a small business adds against deepfake fraud

Real cases from the EUR 220,000 voice clone of 2019 to Arup's $25.6m video call, the 2025 loss figures (FBI: $3.05bn to business email compromise; UK CEO fraud averaging GBP 28,000 a case), and five checks that cost a 12-person company about $300 a year: call back on a known number, two approvers, a code word, the bank's name check and a one-day hold on changed details. Plus the first hour after a payment goes wrong.

October 25, 2026

SaaS

Sales tax on software subscriptions: which US states tax SaaS and when a small vendor has to register

About 21 states and DC tax SaaS in October 2026, and California and Colorado join on 1 January 2027. The state-by-state table, the economic nexus thresholds after Wayfair, a $49-a-month business with 2,000 customers worked through (it owes Ohio and Maryland, not Texas or New York), what Paddle, Stripe Tax and Stripe Managed Payments cost at $1.18m a year, and the first three registrations a small vendor usually needs.

October 25, 2026

SaaS

Chargebacks at a small SaaS: what a dispute costs and which ones you can win

Dispute fees at Stripe ($15 plus a $15 counter fee since June 2025), PayPal, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy and others; the dispute rates that get an account flagged (Stripe 0.75%, Paddle 0.65%, Visa VAMP 1.5%) and where 0.65% comes from; who really disputes; the reason codes and evidence that win, Compelling Evidence 3.0 included; the arithmetic of fighting, accepting or refunding a $20 charge; and a refund-first policy.

October 25, 2026

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