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“C” Corporation
The “C” in C corporation has a few legal ramifications, but it is primary a designation for tax purposes. Put in layman's terms, the designation simply means the corporation will act as its own tax entity. In contrast, an “S” corporation acts as a pass through tax entity, pushing its financials down to the shareholder who report the information on their personal tax returns.
The Internet Revenue Code sets out the law on tax and it contains a few juicy provisions for corporations. Lets take a look at one of the advantages.
Incorporating
When a party transfers something of value to another party, the IRS gets interested. It views the receipt of something of value as a taxable event. In simply terms, if you pay me for forming a corporation, I have to report and pay taxes on the money. Since a C Corporation is a stand alone tax entity, what happens when you purchase stock?
You have made arrangements to form a “C” corporation. Now you have to buy stock in it to become a shareholder. If you exchange money or property for the shares, the IRS takes the position no taxable event occurred. In essence, this means the corporation will not have to report you contribution as part of its revenues. If the money isn't considered a part of the corporate revenues, no tax must be paid on it.
The exact rules for funding a corporation are a bit more complex. With any tax issue, you can expect there to be roughly fifty exceptions and qualifiers. For instance, if you were to exchange services instead of money for the stock, the above example would not apply. Make sure you speak with a tax professional to handle your particular situation correctly.
In Closing
Many people choose a business entity without considering all relevant aspects. Taxes definitely constitute one of these aspects. Make sure you look into them prior to making your decision.
“C” Corporation
The “C” in C corporation has a few legal ramifications, but it is primary a designation for tax purposes. Put in layman's terms, the designation simply means the corporation will act as its own tax entity. To become a shareholder in the corporation, you must exchange property, cash or services in exchange for stock.
The Internet Revenue Code sets out the law on tax and it contains a few juicy provisions for corporations. In the case of a business failure, the code delineates some favorable tax write-offs for the investment you made in stock.
Taking A Loss
Assume you and I go come to the conclusion that we can start a new search engine that will wipe Google, Yahoo and MSN off the map. Noting the litigious nature of those companies, a lawyer advises us to form a C corporation. We do so and each of us contribute $20,000 in cash for stock. In exchange for our contribution, we receive shares totaling 90 percent of the shares issued by the corporation. We are ready to go.
After a year passes, we come to realize that the search engine game isn't so easy. In fact, the corporation is broke and neither of us are going to throw any additional funds at this turkey of a business. We decide to close shop and swear to never speak of the venture again.
From a tax perspective, all is not lost in the above scenario. When it comes time to file taxes, each of us will be able to deduct all or part of the $20,000 we spent to acquire stock in the C corporation. The specific percentage is going to depend on your exact situation, but you can expect to get a sizeable deduction.
As always, there are qualifies and restrictions to this write-off. Make sure you speak with a tax professional, so you can at least get something out of that turkey of a business.