S Corporations: Key Issues, Compliance, and Tax Strategies - Tax Staff Essentials

Explaining the misunderstood

The S corporation form is unique and often misunderstood. You'll learn how to assist your clients with the most misconstrued areas of S corporation taxation and how they can use S status to their advantage.

Updated for recent legislation, including H.R. 1

The world of taxation is never static. H.R. 1, commonly referred to as OBBBA and passed in 2025, affected virtually every type of taxpayer, including S corporations. Refreshed materials discuss the H.R. 1 provisions that affect S corporations and their shareholders, including the qualified business income deduction and Section 179 expensing.

The course has also been updated for legislative and regulatory developments related to:

• Inflation Reduction Act
• SECURE 2.0
• SECURE 1.0

Weighing the pros and cons

S corporation status doesn't suit every business. Throughout the course, you'll learn when it is advantageous or disadvantageous to be taxed as an S corporation.

Making the model work

You'll be exposed to methods of effectively communicating with potential business clients and existing shareholders about how you can make the S corporation business model work for them.

Part of Tax Staff Essentials Level 1 This self-study online course is part of Tax Staff Essentials Level 1, a comprehensive learning program that provides tax staff with the technical training required to support their teams.

Key Topics

• Advantages and disadvantages of S corporations
• Electing S corporation status
• Termination of S corporation status
• S corporation tax on built-in gains
• S corporation pass-through to shareholders, basis, and losses
• S corporation distributions
• Taxable year of S corporations
• S corporation passive activity rules, fringe benefits, and other considerations

Learning Outcomes

• Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of S corporation status.
• Recognize when the S election becomes effective.
• Identify shareholder consent rules and causes of invalid elections.
• Identify permitted fiscal years, elections, and user fees.
• Recognize events causing involuntary termination.
• Recognize when an S corporation is subject to tax at the entity level.
• Recognize how accumulated earnings and profits, accumulated adjustments accounts, other adjustments accounts, and shareholder bases are affected by distributions.
• Recall the applicability of various S corporation filing requirements.

Who Will Benefit

• Public accounting firm staff and senior associates
• CPAs
• S corporation tax filers