When an S corporation has a loss, the loss flows through to its’ shareholders. But shareholders can only take the loss if they have a basis in the corporation; the basis is (in general) the shareholder’s share of the profits (to date), plus his share of the capital and his share of any loans made to the corporation.
In order for a shareholder to increase his basis in an S corporation, the shareholder must make a real outlay; as the Tax Court stated today,
“…to satisfy this requirement, even in circumstances where the taxpayer purports to have made a direct loan to the S corporation, the taxpayer must show that the claimed increase in basis was based on “‘some transaction which when fully consummated left the taxpayer poorer in a material sense.’” Bergman v. United States, 174 F.3d 928, 932 (8th Cir. 1999) (quoting Perry v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 1293, 1296 (1970), affd. 27 AFTR 2d 71-1464, 71-2 USTC par. 9502 (8th Cir. 1971)); see Hitchins v. Commissioner, 103 T.C. 711, 715(1994). This doctrine ensures that the transaction has some economic substance beyond the creation of a tax deduction. Oren v. Commissioner, 357 F.3d 854, 857 (8th Cir. 2004), affg. T.C. Memo. 2002-172.” [Kaplan v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2005-218]
In the case decided today, an owner of multiple S corporations took out a bank loan, then “loaned” one of his S corporations money which loaned another S-corporation….The Tax Court decided that there was no economic basis for the transactions and sustained the IRS’ determination of a loss with no basis. Additionally, the petitioner claimed legal fees but had no back-up documentation; he lost that argument, too.