How to Find Out If You Are an S Corp or a C Corp
Subchapters S and C of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code (which is where businesses get the terms "S corporations" and "C corporations", or S corps and C corps) are Internal Revenue Service designations for tax processing. Sometimes you might need to find out if your business is an S or C corp to complete a business application or financial statement, or for a tax purpose. It's relatively easy to find this information through your business corporate office or attorney, past business tax returns, by contacting the IRS, or in the business Articles of Incorporation.
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Instructions
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Contact the business accounting or legal departments. Resources within your business, such as bookkeepers, comptrollers, accountants and attorneys, typically know (or can quickly look up) if the business is an S or C corporation.
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Look at a past income tax return. Check your past business tax returns, which show whether that business is an S or C corp. You can find these past tax records through the company Certified Public Accountant, accounting office or company attorney. In addition, if your business has issued you an IRS K1 statement (which lists business profit distributions) with your W-2 form, the S or C corporation designation is on the K1 statement.
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Call the IRS. Call the IRS 800-taxline number (1-800-829-1040). You must be an authorized, listed representative of the business for them to release information to you. Be prepared to give the Employer Identification Number, the business name, and ask whether the business is an S or C corporation. You can also ask if the business filed a form 2553 (S corp designation)--if not, your business is a C corp.
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Look it up in the Articles of Incorporation. Sometimes businesses state if they are an S or C corporation within their Articles of Incorporation, which are filed with the Secretary of State's office (or similar state agency), and often also with the business attorney's office or through the corporate business office. Also, most Secretary of State offices provide online business databases where you can look up information in an Articles of Incorporation. To find your Secretary of State contact information and website link, go to the National Association of Secretaries of State at Nass.org, select "Secretaries of State" in the left menu, and select your state in the "Contact Roster" menu. Business database procedures vary from state to state, so call the Secretary of State contact number (listed on the main page of its website) if you have questions about accessing the business database.
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References
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