Is a repayment to an S corp taxable income for the owner?
By Ryan Himmel •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The sole owner of an Illinois S corp contributed capital and equipment to get the business going. If he later takes back some of the capital infusions he had made to start that business, are those funds considered to be income to him and does he owe federal taxes on those funds?Based on the information you have provided, you would not owe income taxes on the repayment of capital as long as the distribution doesn't exceed your stock basis.
The Internal Revenue Code states that a non-dividend distribution from an S corporation to a shareholder is tax-free to the extent that it does not exceed the stockholder's stock basis. If the S corporation had income or experienced another taxable event (i.e. sale) during the year then you would likely be subject to income taxes.
As a S corporation shareholder it is very important to understand how to compute your stock basis. Your stock basis starts with your initial capital contribution and then is increased and/or decreased based on the flow-through amounts from the S corporation.
An income item will increase stock basis while a loss, deduction or distribution will decrease stock basis. Also keep in mind that each year you should be issued a K-1 to reflect the S corporation's income, loss and deductions which are allocated to you.
S corporation tax laws can get complicated so let us know if you have any additional questions.
