business taxation

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A sole proprietor is one who owns an unincorporated business by himself or herself. But if  you are the sole member of a limited liability company (LLC), you are NOT treated as sole proprietor if you elect to treat the LLC as a corporation

A partnership must file an annual information return to report the income, deductions, gains, losses, etc., from its operations, but it does not pay income tax. Instead, it "passes through" profits or losses to its partners. Each partner reports their share of the partnership's income or loss on their personal tax return in form-1040.

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is created by state laws.  The IRS will treat an LLC either as a corporation, partnership, or as part of the owner's tax return (a "disregarded entity"). An individual owner of a single-member LLC that operates a trade or business is subject to the tax on net earnings from self employment in the same manner as a sole proprietorship.

Electing to be treated as an S corporation allows income to flow through the corporation without being taxed until it is claimed as income by the shareholders. This avoids double taxation of corporate income. 

For federal income tax purposes, a C-corporation is recognized as a separate taxpaying entity. A corporation generally takes the same deductions as a sole proprietorship to figure its taxable income

A 501(c) organization is a non-profit established for charitable, education, or religious purposes that is exempt from paying federal income tax, as well as potentially certain state taxes.