Business Taxation Organizational Choices and Federal Considerations

In the United States, how a business is taxed at the federal level is partly dependent on how it is organised. Publicly traded corporations known as subchapter C corporations are taxed once at the corporate level according to the corporate tax system, and then a second time at the individual-shareholder level according to the individual tax system when corporate dividend payments are made or capital gains are realised. This leads to the so-called "double taxation" of corporate profits. Businesses that choose any other form of organisation are, in general, taxed only once at the individual level. That is, the income of certain businesses passes through to the individual business owners and is taxed according to the individual income tax system. Examples of these alternative "pass-through" forms of organisation include sole proprietorships, partnerships, subchapter S corporations, and limited liability companies. This book summarises the general tax treatment of corporate and pass-through businesses and analyses the most recent business data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).