Is there any real difference between a corporation and an LLC that elects to be taxed as a corporation?

The main differences are legal, not tax-related. When an LLC elects to be taxed as a corporation (by filing Form 8832), it's only changing its tax treatment - not its legal structure. Here are the key distinctions: 1. Legal liability protection remains under state LLC laws rather than corporate laws 2. Corporate formalities differ - LLCs generally have fewer requirements for meetings, minutes, etc. 3. Ownership flexibility - LLCs have members with membership interests rather than shareholders with stock 4. Management structure - LLCs can be member-managed or manager-managed without a formal board 5. Dissolution process follows LLC rules rather than corporate rules You're correct that neither receives 1099s for services provided - both will receive 1099-NECs for non-employee compensation. But the real advantages come from the flexibility of the LLC structure combined with corporate tax treatment.

After spinning my wheels for months trying to figure out the LLC vs. corporation question for my side business, I finally used this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which really cleared things up. I uploaded my business plan and financial projections, and it analyzed whether an LLC with corporate tax election would actually save me money compared to just forming a regular corporation. The analysis even factored in the state-specific fees where I live, which turned out to be really important! It was super helpful to see a clear comparison of both options based on my actual numbers instead of just general advice.

Ok I have to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai in my earlier comment. I decided to try it because I was really struggling with this exact same LLC vs corp question. I uploaded our partnership agreement draft and some financial projections, and it spotted several issues we hadn't considered. The most helpful part was how it broke down the self-employment tax differences between being taxed as a partnership vs a corporation. We're going with an LLC taxed as an S-corp based on the analysis, which apparently will save us almost $7,000 in taxes in our first profitable year compared to our original plan. Just wanted to share since it actually helped us make the decision.

If you're still trying to figure this out and need personalized advice, you might want to talk to an actual IRS agent. I spent weeks calling the IRS business line with no success until I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this system that gets you through to a human at the IRS without the endless hold times. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I used it to ask specific questions about entity classification elections for my LLC, and the agent walked me through the exact forms and timelines. Saved me from making a costly mistake on my election timing!

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After calling the IRS 9 times over two weeks and never getting through about my LLC tax election question, I tried it out of desperation. Got a call back in about 40 minutes with an actual IRS business tax specialist on the line. She clarified that my specific situation (converting from sole prop to LLC with S election) had different filing deadlines than I thought. Would have screwed up my whole tax year if I hadn't gotten that info. Pretty impressed tbh and feeling slightly embarrassed about my skeptical comment earlier.

One big thing nobody's mentioned yet is that an existing LLC can change its tax election pretty easily, but changing your actual entity type (from LLC to corporation) is much more complicated and potentially taxable. So if you're not 100% sure, starting as an LLC with partnership taxation gives you more flexibility - you can later elect corporate taxation if it makes sense, without the headache of actually converting your business structure.

Just a heads up that if ur state has a franchise tax for corporations (like California) you might still have to pay it even as an LLC electing corporate tax treatment. Learned this the hard way last year with my LLC lol. Check your state's specific rules!!!

Something else to consider is if you ever want outside investors, many prefer traditional corps over LLCs. My tech startup started as an LLC taxed as a corp, but when we sought angel funding, we had to convert to a C-corp anyway. Investors didn't want pass-through tax consequences and preferred the standard shareholder structure. Just something to keep in mind if future funding is a possibility.