Assuming you actively participate in the operation of your S corporation and you’re not merely a passive investor, if your S corporation suffers a loss in any tax year you can deduct your share of the loss against your other sources of income, such as dividends, interest, your spouse’s wages, etc.

How are S Corp losses treated?

A taxpayer cannot take S corporation losses and deductions on their return to the extent they exceed the sum of their stock and debt basis in the corporation. Losses and deductions in excess of this aggregate amount are suspended and carried forward indefinitely until the basis limitations allow them to deduct them.

What do you need to know about S Corp losses?

S corp losses are the expenses that can be deducted from the tax return of a registered S corporation owner depending on his or her tax basis.3 min read. S corporations are taxed as pass-through entities, which means each shareholder reports a percentage of the business’s income, credits, and deductions on his or her individual tax return.

Is the S Corp required to file a tax return?

Even though the tax liability is passed to the individual shareholders, the S corp is required to file a tax return each year on IRS Form 1120S, which includes attaching Schedule K-1 that reports the profit or loss for each shareholder of the S corp.

How are business losses reported on the tax return?

Business losses pass through the business to the owners’ individual tax returns. However, you use IRS Schedule K-1 to report your losses. If you’re the shareholder in a C corporation, the corporation deducts any losses, not the shareholders.

How is the tax basis of a s Corp calculated?

Tax basis is calculated by adding the debt basis to the stock basis. Only a sufficient tax basis will result in deductible S corp losses. When debt or stock basis is increased before the S corp’s tax year ends, it can be used to deduct both previous and current losses.