Owners of a C corporation are sometimes hit with a double tax whammy. The corporation pays tax and the owner is taxed personally on dividends received from the company.

One potential tax break for both is to have the owner buy property and assets personally and then lease them to the company. By doing this, the owner is paid deductible lease payments instead of nondeductible dividends. The business owner’s income is offset with depreciation or amortization deductions.

The company benefits by gaining cash it may need for expansion. In addition, the business can deduct rental payments. Money paid to the owner in dividends is not deductible for the business.

There are five basic requirements for such a deal to satisfy the IRS that the transaction is legal.

Source: Small Business Strategies, March 2010

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