When creating a business, the owners must decide on what taxable year to give the business. What choices of taxable years are available for "C" corporations, "S" corporations and partnerships? What impact does the choice of taxable year have on the taxation of the owners? In choosing a taxable year, C corps. as well as any other form of business have 3 choices. 1) a calendar year, 2) a fiscal year or 3) a 52/53 week year. You need to discuss what each of these taxable years is. For example, what is a calendar year? What is a fiscal year? What is a 53/53 week year? You also need to discuss if there are any limitations or restrictions on C corps. in choosing a taxable year. There are specific restrictions or requirements for partnerships and S corps. when selecting a taxable year. You need to discuss what these restrictions or requirements are for partnerships and for S corps. An S corporation and a partnership are flow-through entities. This means the S corp. and partnership income and deductions flow through the business to the owner. The S corp. and the partnership do not pay income tax. The owner pays the income tax on their share of the business taxable income. When the S corp. and the partnership have a taxable year that is different from the owner, a question of timing arises. For example, suppose the partnership or S corp. has a year-end of March 31, 2023 and the partner/shareholder has a year end of December 31, 2023. Three months of the partnership's/S corp.s year are in the 2023 taxable year for the partner/shareholder and 9 months of the partnership/S corp. year are in the 2022 taxable year of the partner/shareholder. Since the partnership/S corp. income flows-through to the partner/shareholder, when does the partner/shareholder report his share of partnership/S corp. income?