7 Penalty Taxes

US Tax Code Essentials · 2:59

Listen on 93

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When a company hoards its cash and doesn't pay out
The IRS might wonder what that's all about
If you're keeping profits just to dodge the tax
Section five-three-one will get you back on track

There's a credit that protects you from the penalty bite
Two-fifty thousand keeps most companies right
But service corporations get a smaller deal
One-fifty thousand is their credit ceiling

[Chorus]
Penalty taxes, they're watching what you do
Accumulated earnings, personal holding too
Two-fifty, one-fifty, know your credit line
Section five-three-one and five-four-one combined

[Verse 2]
Personal holding companies face a different test
When passive income makes up most of what's possessed
If sixty percent or more comes from investments made
Dividends and royalties, rent that tenants paid

Five or fewer people own more than half the stock
This penalty tax will give you quite a shock
Section five-four-one will tax what you retain
Unless distributions flow like cleansing rain

[Chorus]
Penalty taxes, they're watching what you do
Accumulated earnings, personal holding too
Two-fifty, one-fifty, know your credit line
Section five-three-one and five-four-one combined

[Bridge]
These taxes exist to make sure money flows
Not trapped in corporations where the revenue grows
The government wants taxes paid on what you earn
Not hidden in companies where profits churn

[Verse 3]
Manufacturing companies get the higher credit
Service firms get less, that's how Congress said it
Personal holding status has a two-part test
Ownership concentration and income at rest

Know these penalty taxes, plan your business right
Keep distributions flowing to avoid the bite
The tax code has these weapons to ensure compliance
Don't let your corporate planning show defiance

[Chorus]
Penalty taxes, they're watching what you do
Accumulated earnings, personal holding too
Two-fifty, one-fifty, know your credit line
Section five-three-one and five-four-one combined

[Outro]
Remember these sections when you plan ahead
Keep money moving or pay the tax instead
Five-three-one and five-four-one will always be
Watching corporate earnings carefully

← 6 Corporate Reorganizations | 1 Partnerships (Subchapter K) →