#s-corp
S Corporation tax strategies, payroll, and accounting requirements
IRS rule: pre-tax disability premiums mean taxable benefits; after-tax premiums mean tax-free ones. Gross-up premiums into W-2 wages to protect employees.
An S-Corp loses its election if any share gets different distribution rights. Five IRS traps, plus the straight-debt safe harbor for shareholder loans.
A loan-out corporation restores the business-expense deductions the IRS permanently denies W-2 performers — at $3,000 to $6,000 a year to run.
Mississippi's franchise tax falls to $0.50 per $1,000 of capital over $100,000 for 2026, then repeals in 2028 — S corps still owe it at the entity level.
US self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit — about 14.1% effective. Price it in with a five-step rate formula, not salary divided by 2,080.
North Carolina's corporate rate hits 0% in 2030, but S corporations never paid it — and the state imposes no built-in gains tax. Here's what actually changes.
Three ways to move an LLC across state lines — domestication keeps your EIN, contracts, and tax elections when both states allow it; foreign qualification suits businesses staying active in both states; dissolve-and-reform means a new EIN and a new S election — plus a 7-item tax and paperwork checklist for the transition year.
A late Form 1065 or 1120-S costs $255 per owner per month for up to 12 months under IRC 6698/6699 — even when the entity owes zero tax. Here is how the math works, why first-time abatement does not apply, and how Revenue Procedure 84-35 can zero out the bill for partnerships with 10 or fewer partners.
An S corporation K-1 loss is deductible only up to your stock basis plus debt basis, and a personal guarantee of a corporate bank loan creates zero debt basis. This guide covers the two basis buckets, the $25,000 open-account-debt threshold, the repayment gain trap, and the documentation that keeps a shareholder advance from being reclassified as equity.
An accrual-basis employer can deduct year-end bonuses in the year earned only if employees actually receive the money within 2½ months after year-end — March 15 for calendar-year businesses. The deduction also requires a liability fixed by December 31 under the all-events test, and it fails for bonuses owed to related parties under Section 267 regardless of payment timing.
Since 2005, the IRS has limited most vehicle donation deductions to the charity's actual sale proceeds reported on Form 1098-C — not Blue Book value. This guide covers the $500 and $5,000 paperwork thresholds, the three exceptions that allow full fair market value, and why a fully depreciated work truck can produce a $0 deduction plus taxable recapture income.
USDA's June 2026 final rule lets farm LLCs and S corporations claim one ARC/PLC payment limit per actively engaged owner — up to $164,000 per person for 2026 — but only if entity structure, per-member contributions, and farm/non-farm income splits are documented with FSA by September 15, 2026. Here's the bookkeeping that proves it.
