The Bolt Corporation, a C corporation, is owned 100% by Dave Cooper and had taxable income in 2018 of $525,000. Dave is also an employee of the corporation. In December 2018, the corporation has decided to distribute $440,000 to Dave and has asked you whether it would be better to distribute the money as a dividend or salary. Dave, a single taxpayer, is in the 37% marginal tax bracket. How would you respond to Bolt Corporation? Consider only income taxes for this problem. (Dave's taxable income exceeds $425,800.) (Click the icon to view the tax rates for 2018.) .... Calculate the taxes for Bolt and Dave under each option. (For the purpose of this analysis, we will only consider the marginal and capital gain rates for Dave. Ignore additional taxes imposed on high income taxpayers.) Distributed as dividend Distributed as salary Taxes for Bolt Taxes for Dave Total tax liability More Info Capital Gains and Dividends Capital gains and losses are assigned to baskets. Five possible tax rates will apply to most capital gains and losses: Ordinary income tax rates (up to 37% in 2018) for gains on assets held one year or less 28% rate on collectibles gains and includible Sec. 1202 gains Preferential tax rates for gains on assets held for more than one year and qualified dividends based on the taxpayer's taxable income and filing status as shown in the following table: Preferencial Rate Single Filing Jointly* Head of Household 0% Up to $38,600 Up to $77,200 Up to $51,700 > $38,600 but not over > $77,200 but not over > $51,700 but not over 15% $425,800 $479,000 $452,400 20% Over $425,800 Over $479,000 Over $452,400 * The corresponding amounts if married filing separately are half of the amounts for filing jointly. The preferential rate is zero for taxable income up to $38.600 if married filing separately. Corporate Income Tax Rates: In a significant change in the corporate tax rate structure, the TCJA revised the corporate tax rates from a graduated rate structure with rates ranging from 15% to 35% to a flat rate of 21%. This revised corporate rate structure applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 Print Done