Dividends received as property — sometimes called dividend in kind — are taxable on the fair market value of the property. Any corporate benefit conferred on shareholders, usually done by a closely held corporation, are treated as a constructive dividend, which is taxable at its fair market value.

How do you declare qualified dividends?

Qualified dividends are reported on Form 1099-DIV in line 1b or column 1b. However, not all dividends reported on those lines may have met the holding period requirement. Those non-qualified dividends, as well as other ordinary dividends, may be taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, which can be as high as 37%.

Who are the owners of closely held C corporations?

Following the Act’s substantial reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate, [viii] the owners of many closely held businesses – who would otherwise have probably chosen a pass-through entity in which to “house” their business – have expressed an interest in the use of C corporations.

What do you need to know about qualified dividends?

In order to be considered “qualified”, dividends received must meet three conditions: The dividends must have been paid by a U.S. corporation or a qualified foreign corporation. The dividends are not of those listed under “Dividends that are not qualified dividends”.

How does a closely held corporation avoid double taxation?

In the past, most closely held C corporations avoided double taxation of corporate earnings by paying salary and bonuses to shareholder-employees to “zero out” the corporation’s income— resulting in having this amount taxed only once at the employee level.

What happens when a corporation declares a dividend?

Please note that this post assumes that the corporation will pay a cash dividend to its shareholders. If, instead, the corporation wishes to pay a stock dividend (issue more shares to existing shareholders), then somewhat different rules will apply. Please note, too, that this post assumes that there is one class of common shares.