The Service Continues its Warm Approach to Taxpayers with S Corporation Inadvertent Terminations (PLR 201340001)
As we know, in accordance with Code Section 1362(f) and the corresponding Treasury Regulations, a corporation will continue to be treated as a Subchapter S corporation during a period of termination, if:
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- The election was terminated, either because the corporation was disqualified as an electing small business corporation, or as a result of running afoul of the passive investment income rule;
- The Service determines the termination as inadvertent;
- The corporation promptly takes steps to correct the defect after discovery; and
- The corporation and its shareholders acted as if the election was continuously in effect.
To qualify as an S Corporation for the current tax year, a corporation must make an election: (1) at any time during the entity’s preceding tax year; or (2) at any time before the 15th day of the 3rd month of the current tax year. If a corporation fails to make a timely election, it is considered a “late S election” and it will not qualify as an S Corporation for the intended tax year.
The consequences of a late S election or failing to file an S election can be severe. First, the corporation will be taxed as a C Corporation and subject to corporate income taxes. Second, the corporation may be subject to late filing and payment penalties, and interest on unpaid taxes. Finally, if the corporation filed IRS Forms 1120S as if it were an S Corporation, then all prior tax years would be subject to IRS examination because the tax years remain open.
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Larry J. Brant
Editor
Larry J. Brant is a Shareholder and the Chair of the Tax & Benefits practice group at Foster Garvey, a law firm based out of the Pacific Northwest, with offices in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; New York, New York, Spokane, Washington; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Beijing, China. Mr. Brant is licensed to practice in Oregon and Washington. His practice focuses on tax, tax controversy and transactions. Mr. Brant is a past Chair of the Oregon State Bar Taxation Section. He was the long-term Chair of the Oregon Tax Institute, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Portland Tax Forum. Mr. Brant has served as an adjunct professor, teaching corporate taxation, at Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College. He is an Expert Contributor to Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Catalyst. Mr. Brant is a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel. He publishes articles on numerous income tax issues, including Taxation of S Corporations, Reasonable Compensation, Circular 230, Worker Classification, IRC § 1031 Exchanges, Choice of Entity, Entity Tax Classification, and State and Local Taxation. Mr. Brant is a frequent lecturer at local, regional and national tax and business conferences for CPAs and attorneys. He was the 2015 Recipient of the Oregon State Bar Tax Section Award of Merit.
