I started my own business (C-Corp) with no revenue and no FTEs, but $20K in costs. What do I need to do for taxes?

[SeanW13]

Hello!

I started my own business (Incorporated in Delaware) late in 2023. I have ~$20K of costs in 2023 (paid to 1099 independent contractors), no FTEs, and no revenue. I need to both (1) File business taxes, and (2) file personal taxes (all income in Ohio). What should I do to file my business taxes? And how does that impact my personal taxes? 

Best,

Sean

[RobertB4444]

As a C Corp you are required to file form 1120.  That is a completely separate tax return from your personal return.  Ohio has a similar form and filing the federal return will take care of Ohio as well.

Going into next year when you will assumedly make more money it might be a good idea to look into taking an S-election which will complicate your paperwork life a lot but will save you a bunch in taxes.  Here's an article about it.

@SeanW13 

[Edited 02/29/24  07:01 PST]

[SeanW13]

Thanks so much @RobertB4444! Does this mean that I do not need to file a separate tax return for the business? Or what do I need to do to file that?

[RobertB4444]

Yes!  Sorry, you will need to file a form 1120 for your C-corp. 

TurboTax has the resources to file business returns for your form 1120 at this link.  You'll file that return and then file your personal return separately.

Since the C-corp has a loss for this year then it doesn't make much difference but going forward you should still sit down with an advisor to discuss whether or not an S-election is for you.

@SeanW13 

@SeanW13 

[Edited 02/29/24  07:11 AM PST]