There are two criteria in determining whether a company is a personal holding company 1) more than 50% of the stock must be owned by 5 or fewer individuals and 2) at least 60% of the adjusted ordinary gross income must consist of certain investment income. The stock ownership test is 50% and income test is 60%.

Personal holding company status applies if a corporation is owned more than 50% by five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of the tax year and if at least 60% of adjusted ordinary gross income for the tax year is personal holding company income.

When dealing with a Subchapter S corporation, the election is only valid when agreed upon by all shareholders of the organization in writing.

The dividends-received deduction (DRD) depends on the percentage of the investor’s share of the investee. To take advantage of the DRD, investors must hold the investee’s stock for a specific period prior to the ex-dividend date. The DRD is only available to domestic C corporations, and is limited to the investor’s taxable income for the period.

For the dividends-received deduction (DRD), less than 20% ownership results in a 50% deduction, so Rohr gets a DRD of $1,500 (50% of the $3,000 dividend received).

Generally, the minimum dividends-received deduction (DRD) is 50%, which would mean in this case a $100,000 would result in a $50,000 DRD. However, the DRD is limited to the lesser of the DRD % applied to dividends received or the DRD % applied to taxable income without consideration of the DRD. Since we are told the taxable income is $90,000, the maximum DRD at 50% would be $45,000. (Had the company been eligible for a 65% DRD, the DRD could only have been $58,500, which was not an option.) 

The corporate DRD is affected by a requirement that the investor corporation must own the investee’s stock for a specified minimum holding period of more than 45 days.

Per the DRD rates, with a 15% ownership in Apple, the percentage used for the deduction is 50%. 50% * $3,000 = $1,500.

Of the following choices, only a C Corporation in the United States would be applicable for the DRD under current US tax law.

Under the section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, the charitable contribution deduction only applies to specific organizations. Among these include organizations such as government owned possession (if made exclusively for public purposes), a foundation organized exclusively for the public good, religious organizations, and nonprofit cemetery companies. Chambers of Commerce are considered political organizations and are disallowed, and supplemental unemployment benefits are not IRS designated charities.