First year filing single member LLC as S Corp in California. Do I file California taxes as S Corp or as an LLC? Thank you.

[WillK · Accepted solution]

Since you are taxed as an S-Corporation, you will need to fill out and file form 1120S: U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation. You can use Turbo Tax Business to prepare and file that return:https://turbotax.intuit.com/small-business-taxes/ . The state forms will be prepared using this program as well. 

Once your 1120S has been prepared and filed, the program will generate a Schedule K-1 which will be reported on your personal tax returns. You can choose what version of Turbo Tax you need for your personal return here: https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/

[Rick19744]

To address your specific question, you will file a Calif 100S.  See the attached Calif Franchise Board discussion on this about 3/4 of the page down.

http://www.taxes.ca.gov/corps.shtml

This of course assumes you have made the appropriate federal filings and elected to be an LLC taxed as an association and then made the S election.  

[alexsirb]

Question on this discussion 

It sounds like you can use TurboTax Business to file the federal 1120S for S corp taxation, but does TurboTax has a software for form 100S for State of California taxes (S corp taxation)? If so can you add a link to the software?

[tagteam]

@alexsirb Yes, you can use TurboTax Business to prepare and file Form 1120-S. I believe Form 100S has been available in past years' editions of TurboTax Business, but note that, according to the link below, the forms availability table is not complete at this point in time.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-planning-and-deadlines/help/irs-forms-availability-table-for-t...

Also note that you purchase the California S corporation package (100S) directly from within the TurboTax Business program; there is no link to purchase it separately.

[Carl]

Just to help clarify things in case you have future questions, since you've filed the 2553 to have your LLC "treated like an S-Corp" for tax purposes only, there's really no need *in* *this* *forum* to even reference the business as a LLC.

When you file the form 2553 for this, they you are required to follow all the laws, rules and regulations at the state and federal level that apply to an S-Corp. This includes things like the owner(s) taking the yearly required RMD's, and filing quarterly board meeting reports with the state.

In other words, if you elect to be "Treated" like an S-Corp, then the business must *act* like an S-Corp.

I myself can't wrap my head around why someone would do this, though I"m sure there are reasons. It seems to me that it would just make more sense to either register as an S-Corp from the start, or just convert to an S-corp by incorporating the LLC.

It doesn't make sense to me because the 2553 election is *for* *tax* *purposes* *only* and that's it. So if a customer sues your business, they are NOT suing an S-Corp - they are suing a disregarded entity which means the owner(s) personal assets are still at risk.