Form 1120-S — S Corporation
Our core business return. The federal 1120-S, your state return where one is required, and a Schedule K-1 for each shareholder.
Business Tax
S Corporation filing, handled properly
Form 1120-S for small businesses — the return, the K-1s your shareholders need, and the coordination with your personal return that most people underestimate.
Serving Washington, California, New York, Illinois, Texas, and Florida. More states coming.
What we file
We are deliberately narrow here. We would rather do a small number of entity returns properly than list every form and hope for the best.
Form 1065 — Partnership
Multi-member LLCs and partnerships. Offered only when a qualified preparer and a reviewer are both available for your situation — so ask, and we will tell you straight away whether we can take it.
Schedule C — no separate return
If you have not formed an entity, your business income belongs on your personal return, not a business one. That is Individual Tax.
Not currently offered: Form 1120 (C Corporation), payroll returns, bookkeeping as a standalone service, non-profit returns, and international business filings. If you need one of these, say so — we would rather refer you to someone who does it well than take work we are not set up for.
Is this you?
Single-owner S corporation
You elected S-corp status, you take a salary plus distributions, and you need the return and your own K-1.
A few shareholders
Two or three owners, each needing a K-1 that agrees with the return and arrives in time for their personal filing.
Business plus personal
Most S-corp owners need both returns. Handled together, in the right order, so the K-1 flows correctly into your 1040.
Not sure what you are
LLC, S corp, partnership — the labels confuse almost everyone, and how you are taxed is not always what you registered as. Tell us the situation and we will work it out.
What an S corporation return includes
- Form 1120-S — the federal S corporation return.
- Schedule K-1 for every shareholder, reporting each person's share of income, deductions, and credits.
- Balance sheet and reconciliation schedules where your business is required to file them.
- Shareholder basis tracking — often overlooked, and it determines whether your distributions are taxable.
- One state return, where the state requires an entity filing.
- A review step before anything is filed, and electronic filing once you approve.
Priced separately when needed
- Additional state returns, where the business files in more than one state.
- Bookkeeping cleanup, where the records need sorting before a return can be prepared.
- The shareholders' personal returns — related work, separate returns.
- Extensions, amended returns, and prior-year filings.
Deadlines worth knowing
Entity returns are due earlier than personal returns, and the penalty for filing late is charged per shareholder, per month. It adds up quickly, and it is entirely avoidable.
- The S corporation return comes first. Your shareholders cannot finish their personal returns until they have their K-1s.
- Late filing is penalised per shareholder. A return with three owners accrues three times the penalty of a single-owner return, for every month it is late.
- An extension moves the filing date, not the payment date. Amounts owed are still due on the original deadline.
- Start earlier than feels necessary. Entity returns surface questions — basis, distributions, reasonable compensation — that take time to answer properly.
Specific deadline dates change year to year and vary by state and fiscal year-end. We confirm the dates that apply to your business rather than publishing a general one here.
What to have ready
None of this is needed for an estimate — only to complete the return.
About the business
- Last year's business tax return, if the business has filed before.
- Profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the year.
- Your S election confirmation, and the date it took effect.
- Formation documents and the states where the business operates.
Money in and out
- Bank and credit card statements, or a bookkeeping export.
- Payroll reports, including officer compensation, if the business runs payroll.
- Contractor payments and any 1099s issued.
- Loan documents, and records of money you put in or took out.
About the shareholders
- Each shareholder's name, ownership percentage, and any change during the year.
- Distributions taken by each shareholder.
- Prior-year basis figures, if you have them tracked.
To protect your information, please do not send sensitive documents through this public page or regular email. After you start, you can securely upload documents from your personal account. We may also provide a secure upload link in your confirmation email.
Personal accounts and secure upload are launching soon.How it works
- Tell us about the business. Entity type, states, number of shareholders, whether you run payroll, and the state of your books. No sensitive documents yet.
- We confirm we can take it. Entity work depends on having a qualified preparer and reviewer available for your situation. You will get a straight answer, not a maybe.
- You get a scope and an estimate. Including whether bookkeeping cleanup is needed, before any work starts.
- You share records securely. Through a secure channel once you decide to proceed.
- We prepare, then review. Entity returns go through a review step before filing.
- You approve, we file, shareholders get their K-1s. Nothing is submitted until you have seen the return and authorised it.
How pricing works
A base price for the entity return, plus additions for the specific complexity your business involves.
- The base covers the federal 1120-S, one state return, and K-1s for the shareholders.
- Additional states are priced per state.
- Bookkeeping cleanup is quoted separately once we have seen the records. This is the single largest variable in a business quote.
- Shareholders' personal returns are separate returns with their own pricing.
Clean books make an entity return straightforward and inexpensive. Disorganised books do not make it impossible — they make it a bigger job, and we would rather say so up front than surprise you with an invoice.
Specific fee amounts are not published on this page yet. Ask for an estimate and you will get a figure for your actual situation.
Where we file
- Washington
- California
- New York
- Illinois
- Texas
- Florida
- More states coming soon
State treatment of S corporations varies more than most owners expect. Some states impose an entity-level tax or fee even where there is no personal income tax, and a business that operates across state lines may have filing obligations in each. We confirm what applies to your business during scoping rather than generalising here.
Not on the list? Send your details anyway and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Common questions
Do I need a separate return for my LLC?
It depends on how the LLC is taxed, not on the letters in its name. A single-member LLC usually reports on the owner's personal return. An LLC that elected S-corp treatment files an 1120-S. A multi-member LLC generally files a 1065. Tell us the situation and we will identify which applies.
Can you do my business and personal returns together?
Yes, and for most S-corp owners that is the sensible approach. They are separate returns with separate pricing, but doing them together means your K-1 flows into your personal return correctly and in the right order.
My bookkeeping is a mess. Is that a problem?
It is common, and it is workable. It affects the quote rather than whether we can help. We look at the records first and tell you what cleanup is needed before quoting.
Do you file partnership returns?
Conditionally. Form 1065 is offered only when a qualified preparer and a reviewer are both available for your situation. Ask and you will get a clear yes or no rather than being strung along.
Do you handle C corporations?
Not currently. Form 1120 is not part of our service today. If that is what you need, tell us and we will point you elsewhere.
What about payroll?
We do not run payroll or file payroll returns. We do use your payroll reports when preparing the S corporation return, so have them to hand.
What is reasonable compensation, and does it apply to me?
S corporation owners who work in the business are generally expected to pay themselves a reasonable salary before taking distributions. What counts as reasonable depends on your role, industry, and the business's finances — it is a judgement call, and one worth discussing with your preparer rather than guessing at.
Ready to talk about your business return?
Send us a few details about the entity, the states, and the state of your books. No documents, no sensitive information. We'll review your request and explain the next step.
Request a Review & Quote