Determine a client's check-the-box election in a few clicks. The tool applies Treas. Reg. §301.7701-3 and Rev. Proc. 2009-41 to the entity and links every answer to its source. Free, no signup, nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Without any filing, a U.S. LLC with two or more owners is taxed as a partnership and a one-owner LLC is treated as directly taxable to its owner. If that is what the client wants, there is no form to file (Treas. Reg. §301.7701-3(b)).
A Form 2553 filed on time counts as also electing corporate treatment, so one form does both jobs. Filing Form 8832 as well is unnecessary and starts the five-year waiting period (§301.7701-3(c)(1)(v)(C)).
The election takes effect on the date you write on the form, which can be up to 75 days before filing and up to 12 months after. An earlier or later date is moved to those limits (§301.7701-3(c)(1)(iii)).
If the date the client needs is more than 75 days in the past, it can still be reached without a private ruling for up to 3 years and 75 days after that date, if the only problem was timing, the returns match the treatment wanted, and there was a reasonable cause. The form is marked "Filed Pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2009-41".
After a change by election, a business cannot change its tax treatment by election again for 60 months, unless the IRS allows it because more than half of the ownership has changed hands (§301.7701-3(c)(1)(iv)).
A corporation that becomes a partnership or directly taxable to its owner is treated as if it closed down, with tax under §336 and §331. A partnership or one-owner business that becomes a corporation is treated as if it handed its assets to the corporation for shares, usually tax-free under §351 (§301.7701-3(g)).
The full walkthrough of the regulation, with a five-question quiz, is in our guide Check-the-Box Election: How Form 8832 Works, and When Not to File It.
General information from the regulation, not advice on a particular client's facts. Verify every conclusion through the official sources before filing.