What is a C Corporation?

A C Corporation in the United States is any corporate entity that is taxed separately from its owners, rather than having profit and loss pass through to the shareholders. The majority of major corporations are treated as a C Corporation for income tax purposes. In fact, a corporation is generally classified by default as a C Corporation unless it qualifies for and requests to be treated as a pass-through entity, in which case, it would be considered an S Corporation.

C Corporations are more complicated to operate than pass-through entities, and financial statements are required, but the appointment of auditors is not needed unless the company is publicly traded.

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