C corporation
In accounting, c corporation means a corporation taxed as a taxpayer in its own right: it files Form 1120 and pays 21% of its taxable income, and its shareholders are taxed again on what it pays them as dividends. Every corporation is a C corporation unless it elects S status.
Also called C corp.
Authority: 26 U.S.C. §11(b) (opens in a new tab). Sources
The lessons that teach this
From the free founder back-office course, taught on one company's books, with exercises to work it yourself.
- The entity menu › C corporationA corporation that pays its own 21% tax, with owners taxed again on dividends. Northwind is one.4 min
- How each entity is taxedSchedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120-S and Form 1120 — and Northwind's illustrative year taxed twice as a C corporation (32.85%) or once as a partnership.10 min
- Why startups are Delaware C corporationsPreferred stock, option plans, ISOs, QSBS and investors' own taxes all need a corporation; Delaware's statute and court are what the documents assume.9 min
- Choosing an entity in practiceA decision table by goal — raise VC, bootstrap, consult, side project, real estate — and why Northwind is a Delaware C corporation.8 min
For founders
The same idea written for a founder: what it costs a startup that ignores it, and what to do in a real month.
- W-9s and backup withholding: a vendor onboarding guideWhen to ask for a W-9, how IRS TIN matching works, and what happens when a vendor won’t give you one: 24% backup withholding, owed by you.
- Form 1120: what to give your tax preparer, and whenWhat a startup hands its tax preparer for Form 1120: closed books, a balance sheet that ties to Schedule L, book-to-tax items, ownership and 1099s.
- Cash vs accrual accounting for startups, and the IRS ruleCash or accrual for a startup: why investors and auditors read accrual, when the IRS lets a C-corp file on cash, and the 2026 gross receipts limit.
What it is not called
Each of these means something else. Use one here and an accountant reading the product notices.
- S corporation
- corporation unqualified when the tax treatment matters
Also in Entity types
Defined in Lexicon. This page is generated from that document, so the two can't disagree.