Sole proprietors deduct business expenses without any formalities. However, S Corporations have a basis limitation, making the deduction of losses a more complex process.
As we previously discussed in this blog, there are two types of basis in S Corporations: stock basis and debt basis. This blog is about stock basis problems only. You can read about debt basis situations here.
Anyway, What is Stock Basis?
In simple terms, the stock basis reflects your contributions to your business and its earnings, reduced by any personal withdrawals and business losses. Typically, your initial stock basis equals the cash you invested to buy shares in the S Corporation. Think of your stock basis as a bank account—you can’t withdraw more than you have, so your stock basis must always stay above zero. And if you overdraft your funds, the bank will punish you with overdraft fees. Well, the IRS in this case is your bank and they will make sure to punish you.
By the way, you can learn how to calculate stock basis here.
The Main IRS Rule on Basis.
The IRS says that an S Corp owner cannot deduct losses beyond their basis in S-Corporation. For example, if you’ve invested $10,000 in your S Corporation and want to deduct $50,000 in losses, you can only deduct $10,000. The remaining $40,000 of losses must be carried over until you have sufficient basis (which usually means that you either contribute more money into your S-Corp or the S Corp starts bringing income).
Under normal circumstances, stock basis is typically enough to deduct losses. However, there are situations where losses may be disallowed due to low stock basis. Let’s explore some of them:
Depreciation Problem with Financed Equipment:
Generally, to deduct an expense, you must first spend cash on that expense. However, depreciation expenses can be different. When you finance an equipment purchase, the IRS allows you to start depreciating (expensing) an asset even though you haven’t fully paid for it yet. For example, the IRS permits taking a bonus depreciation, allowing you to expense the asset in full the same year. However, in real life you get to spread your payments for the asset over several years. As a result, you get to have an immediate tax deduction and also keep cash in your bank account. But, here is a problem: if you do not have sufficient basis, the loss generated by excessive depreciation will not run through your personal return. The unused portion of the loss will be carried over to future years until you inject more money into the company or the company generates enough profit to increase your basis.
So, not everything that glitters is gold. Before taking on debt to buy a shiny new truck in hopes of writing off the full amount on this year’s tax return, make sure you have enough stock basis in your S Corporation.
A Twist on the Depreciation Problem:
Let’s say you financed that truck and had just enough basis to write it off in full. Your personal tax return now shows minimal income due to this deduction, meaning you don’t owe much in taxes this year. Yay! Your business checking account still has the cash you set aside for taxes. Excited by the unexpected savings, you decide to take the money out. However, here is a catch: because your basis was already low due to the depreciation expense, you take out a distribution in excess of your basis. When this happens, the distribution becomes a long-term capital gain on your personal return, resulting in a tax liability. Ugh.
Problem with Third Party Loans.
Your S-Corp received an SBA loan. You took the money out and spent it on some other investments. What happens to these distributions? Yes, your guess is correct. If your S-Corp's basis was zero or close to zero these distributions are taxed as long term capital gains.
How to Handle Basis Problems:
There are a few ways to avoid or mitigate such unpleasant surprises:
- Proactively Take Care of Your Stock Basis: Avoid taking too much money out of the S Corporation to preserve your tax basis. Talk to your tax advisor first to see how much you can take out. You can also find information on your basis on form 7203 of your personal tax return (form 1040).
- Stretch Out Depreciation: Consider spreading the depreciation deduction over several years instead of taking the immediate deduction.
- Offset Capital Gains: If you have capital gains associated with distributions, check if you also have any capital losses on your personal return. Capital losses are offset by capital gains and may be there is a possibility that capital losses will "eat up" all unfortunate capital gains caused by S Corp distributions.
- Read Up on S Corp Loans. Instead of taking money out of the S Corporation as a distribution, consider creating a loan from the S Corp to yourself. These types of loans must be supported by proper documentation, and the shareholder is required to pay fair interest for the use of the borrowed funds. Otherwise, the IRS may reclassify your loan as a taxable distribution ( or even worse, wages subject to self employment tax).
- Check if You Have a Loan Basis. If you ever personally loaned money to your S Corporation, there is a possibility that you still have a loan basis. Loan basis, just like stock basis will give you an opportunity to deduct S Corp losses on your personal return and also take out a non-taxable distribution. You can read more about loan basis here.
Understanding and managing your basis in an S Corporation is critical for maximizing your deductions and avoiding unexpected capital gains. Keep track of your stock basis to make sure that your S corp loss deductions are not useless.
And now a little bit of self-promotion. If you ever need help with your business, please keep us in mind. We’ve helped hundreds of business owners to sort out their accounting and tax issues. You can find out about our services here.