Belk On Business

Basis, Limitation of Losses and Additional Tax Exposure – Belk on Business – Episode 190 There are a number of ways that one can look at a company’s balance sheet and determine the health of the business and financial discipline of the business owner. One way is to look at the shareholder’s basis in the company, handling of debt and it’s methods or process of making distributions. Most small businesses owners run their business checkbook like their personal checkbook. Not only can this be detrimental to the financial health of the company but also can create unexpected tax issues (and asset protection issues). Also, the shareholder needs to be aware for tax planning purposes when they can recognize losses and when they can take distributions without an additional tax exposure. Basis in an entity (tax implications for this podcast will be primarily focused on an entity taxed as an S Corp) is a number that you must track. There are two types of basis, stock basis and debt basis. Stock basis is calculated as