C Corporation Tax Return Preparation (Form 1120)

Taxed at the corporate level, then again on dividends.

A C corporation files Form 1120 and pays tax on its own profits. When those profits are distributed as dividends, shareholders are taxed on them again. The IRS overview of business structures explains how that differs from pass-through entities like partnerships and S corporations.

April 15 for both returns.

A calendar-year corporation files Form 1120 by the 15th day of the fourth month after year end, Thursday, April 15, 2027, for 2026, as IRS Publication 509 lays out. Form 7004 extends the federal return six months, to October 15, 2027.

The North Carolina corporate return, Form CD-405, follows the same 15th-day-of-the-fourth-month rule.

North Carolina franchise tax applies too.

North Carolina imposes a franchise tax on corporations for the privilege of doing business in the state, even when income tax does not apply. It is computed on the same CD-405 as the corporate income tax.

Bring the records the corporate return depends on.

• Last year's Form 1120 and North Carolina CD-405, and any notices since.
• Year-end profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
• Dividends paid to shareholders during the year.
• Officer compensation records and year-end payroll reports.
• Estimated tax payments made by the corporation.
• Purchases and sales of equipment, vehicles, or other business assets.

If double taxation or owner pay is raising questions about whether a C corporation still fits, business consulting and tax planning is the place to review it.