Tax Advantages of C Corporations

The Tax Advantages of C Corporations

Beyond the new corporate tax rate, there are many reasons entrepreneurs can benefit from opting for a C corp. Even with the possibility of double taxation, this business structure can actually help entrepreneurs lower their overall tax burden. This traditional structure can serve as an immensely useful tool for shifting income for tax purposes, on top of numerous tax write-offs and advantages in attracting future financing. In fact, many companies use the C corporation structure, regardless of size. Here are some powerful reasons for choosing to incorporate as a C corp.

Minimizing your overall tax burden.

As mentioned earlier, the 2018 tax reform bill was a big win for C corporations. The new corporate tax rate of 21 percent can mean significant tax savings for all C corporations, especially if a business doesn’t regularly make distributions to owners in the form of dividends. If business owners are only taking a salary, that amount is not taxed at the corporate rate thus shifting the tax equation further in their favor. Not taking a dividend often makes sense for new or small businesses where the money is being reinvested into growing operations.

Carrying profits and losses forward and backward.

Whereas the fiscal year must coincide with the calendar year for LLCs and S corps, C corps enjoy more flexibility in determining their fiscal year. Thus, shareholders can shift income more easily, deciding what year to pay taxes on bonuses and when to take losses, which can substantially reduce tax bills.

Accumulating funds for future expansion at a lower tax cost.

The C corporation model allows shareholders to shift income readily and retain earnings within the company for future growth, usually at a lower cost than for pass-through entities. Since profits from S corporations appear on shareholders’ tax returns whether they have taken a distribution or not, owners can get bumped into higher tax brackets even though they plow profits back into the company.

Writing off salaries and bonuses.

Shareholders of C corps can serve as salaried employees. While these salaries and bonuses fall subject to payroll taxes and Social Security and Medicare contributions, the corporation can fully deduct its share of payroll taxes. Moreover, the company can pay employees enough so that no taxable profits remain at the end of the fiscal year (within reason, of course; the IRS does check that the salaries correspond to the services that shareholders provide as employees). Shareholders frequently use this option rather than receive dividends, which would indeed be taxed twice.

Deducting 100 percent of medical premiums and other fringe benefits.

As long as the company makes fringe benefits equally available to all employees, not just shareholders, there are many hefty tax write-offs possible for a C corp that individual employees also receive tax free. Common examples are medical reimbursement plans, premiums for health, long-term care, and disability insurance. It’s a wash for S corporations.  Shareholders deduct medical costs from gross income but have to declare these same fringe benefits as income.

Writing off charitable contributions.

C corps are the only kind of corporate entity that can deduct contributions (of not more than 10 percent of taxable income in any given year) to eligible charities as a business expense. You can carry over charitable donations above the limit to the next five tax years, too.

Enjoying fewer ownership restrictions than S corps.

S corporations have numerous rules limiting ownership, no more than 100 shareholders, no non-resident alien owners and no non-individual owners (with few exceptions). They also may not issue more than one class of stock. When entrepreneurs are seeking equity investors, these limitations may keep their hands tied.

Encouraging passive investors.

The advantage of S corporations is the ability to pass losses through to individual tax returns. However, this only applies to partners who participate actively in the management of the corporation. Thus, passive investors tend to fare better tax-wise under C corporations.

Attracting financing and going public.

Venture capitalists prefer the flexible ownership of the C corp business structure, and some forms of small business financing are only open to C corporations, such as 401(k) business financing (see below). Down the road, a small business enterprise might grow into a very big one, large enough to attract funding as a publicly traded company on a national stock exchange, in which case it must be a C corp.

C Corporations and 401(k) Business Financing

One of the less-often talked about, yet financially significant advantages of the C corporation structure is that it’s the only entity that supports 401(k) business financing (formally called ROBS arrangement).  ROBS allows entrepreneurs to use their retirement funds as business financing without incurring tax penalties or early withdrawal fees. This increasingly popular funding arrangement is executed by taking the proper steps to allow for a pre-tax retirement account to invest in a business. As a result, the 401(k) plan becomes a shareholder in the corporation and the retirement funds are transferred to a plan hosted by the corporation. Because C corps are the only entity that allows selling stock ownership for cash, they’re the only structure that supports the ROBS arrangement.

Those who are looking to recapitalize an existing business via the ROBS structure can elect to change a pass-through entity, such as an LLC, to a C corp, so they too can benefit from this type of debt-free business financing.

C Corps Are Beneficial for Small Business

Selecting a corporate structure isn’t a decision that entrepreneurs take lightly. As businesses grow and evolve, owners may need to change the structure. The C corp model doesn’t just fit huge multinationals.  Small companies can benefit greatly from the potential small business tax deductions.  They may even completely mitigate the effects of double taxation.

Feel free to contact us and see if a C Corporation is right for your business.