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Taxable Asset Acquisition Of A Freestanding C Corporation Essay

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Taxable Asset Acquisition of a Freestanding C Corporation
Potentially two layers of Tax: Corporate layer – Target recognizes a taxable gain or loss on the sale of assets. Shareholder layer – Selling shareholders recognize a gain taxed as ordinary income if the target liquidates equal to the after-tax liquidating dividend less shareholders’ basis in the stock. The acquirer assumes a stepped-up (FV) basis in the target’s net assets. The acquirer allocates the purchase price to the acquired assets and liabilities for tax purposes in the same manner as it does for accounting purposes. The depreciation and amortization of all asset write-ups and intangibles recognized in the transaction, including goodwill, are tax-deductible. The target’s tax attributes, such as non-operating losses (NOLs), may be used immediately to offset the target’s taxable gain. Any remaining tax attributes are lost if the target liquidates. An acquisition of a freestanding C corporation will usually be structured as a purchase of stock because an asset purchase usually results in double taxation (i.e. the seller is taxed on the sale of assets, and the seller’s shareholders are taxed on any after-tax proceeds from the sale distributed by the seller).
Taxable Acquisition of a Corporate Subsidiary
In some situations, an asset sale will not result in double taxation. For example, if the target is a corporate subsidiary (with at least 80% ownership by the parent company), the target can generally sell its

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