A small business corporation elects federal S corporation status by filing federal Form 2553 (Election By a Small Business Corporation) with the Internal Revenue Service. When a corporation elects federal S corporation status it automatically becomes an S corporation for California.
How to Form an S Corporation in California Step 1: File the Articles of Incorporation with the California Secretary of State (required) ... Step 2: Prepare Corporate Bylaws. Step 3: Appoint the Corporation's Directors (required) ... Step 4: Hold a Board of Directors Meeting (required) ... Step 5: Issue Stock (required)
After conversion from a C corp, an S corporation can inherit income such as rent, interest, retained earnings, funds derived from stock sales, etc. Passive income that makes up more than 25% of an S corp's gross income is subject to tax.
Once calculated, current E&P is pro ratably applied to distributions made during the taxable year. If the earnings and profits of the taxable year are sufficient in amount to cover all the distributions made during that year, then each distribution is a taxable dividend.
What is the tax rate for S corporations? The annual tax for S corporations is the greater of 1.5% of the corporation's net income or $800. Note: As of January 1, 2000, newly incorporated or qualified corporations are exempt from the annual minimum franchise tax for their first year of business.
The California Franchise Tax rates depend on your business's tax classification: C corporations: 8.84% S corporations: 1.5% Partnerships (such as LLCs, LPs, LLPs, LLLPs): $800.
The Accumulated Adjustments Account (AAA) tracks your S Corporation's gross income, expenses, and distributions. This account is found on Form 1120-S on Schedule M-2. The goal of the Accumulated Adjustment account is to determine if you took any taxable distributions during the year.
The 15-Day Rule If you register your new business entity within the last 15 days of the year and do not conduct any business in California during that year, you are exempt from the Franchise Tax for that year.
The IRC §1368(e)(3) election allows for an S corporation with E&P to quickly distribute its entire E&P.