What is a multistate corporation?
Andrew Mclaughlin
Published Apr 11, 2026
Multistate S corporations are allowed to apportion their income to the states with which they have nexus. For many years, most states followed an evenly weighted three-factor apportionment by sales, tangible property and payroll in each state. Recently, states have been changing their apportionment formulas.
Do corporations pay taxes in multiple states?
You must file tax returns in each state in which your business has a “nexus” (connection). This is so even if your business is a pass-through entity not subject to state income taxes. If you are an owner in a pass-through entity, you must file individual income tax returns in the multiple states.
What was the original purposes of the Multistate tax Commission and the Multistate tax Compact?
The Compact was drafted in 1966 by a widely representative group of state officials, including tax administrators, attorneys general, state legislators, and a special committee of the Council of State Governments, its primary purpose is to promote uniformity in tax administration procedures among the states.
What is the purpose of Uditpa?
The Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act (UDITPA) provides a uniform method for dividing income between states for tax purposes, thereby assuring that a taxpayer is not taxed more than once on his or her net income.
Are dividends nonbusiness income?
It also holds a portfolio of stock and interest-bearing securities, the acquisition and holding of which are unrelated to the manufacturing business. The dividends and interest income received are nonbusiness income.
Is the Multistate Tax Commission a federal agency?
The Multistate Tax Commission is an intergovernmental state tax agency whose mission is to achieve fairness by promoting compliance and consistent tax policy and practice, and to preserve the sovereignty of state and local governments over their tax systems.
What is the purpose of Uditpa describe how the states have approached it?
Originally issued in 1957 by the Uniform Law Commission, UDITPA provides a model law for allocating and apportioning income among the states. In 1966, a group of state officials drafted the Multistate Tax Compact, which incorporates UDITPA, to address income tax issues affecting multistate taxpayers.
What is considered nonbusiness income?
Nonbusiness income means all income other than business income or compensation. Business income means all income (other than compensation) that may be apportioned by formula among the states in which you are doing business without violating the Constitution of the United States.
What is a nonbusiness capital gain?
Non-business capital gains and losses are gains and losses from other than a trade or business. Examples of this type of gain or loss include sales of stock, metals, and other appreciable assets as well as any recognized gain from the sale of your principal residence.
Can I be taxed twice on the same income?
Double taxation is a tax principle referring to income taxes paid twice on the same source of income. It can occur when income is taxed at both the corporate level and personal level. Double taxation also occurs in international trade or investment when the same income is taxed in two different countries.
What is Joyce and Finnigan?
[23] This means that under Joyce, a corporation is determined to be taxable in a state only if the corporation itself possesses taxable nexus, whereas under Finnigan, a corporation is taxable if any member of its unitary group is taxable. Whatever choice a state makes, it cuts both ways on tax authority.
What is the Joyce method?
Under Joyce, a state will not tax a portion of the income of a unitary business that may be attributed to entities over which it lacks jurisdiction. In this way, the factors used to apportion income will exclude state-sourced amounts (typically receipts) attributed to entities over which the state lacks jurisdiction.
How are state taxes calculated for multiple states?
Some states separate the income, and tax only their state’s income. Or a state may calculate the tax on all income as if you were a resident, and then allocate the tax based on “in state sources/all sources.”
Is there a way to file multiple state tax returns?
While Credit Karma Tax®, a free online tax-filing service, can help you with your single-state tax return, it doesn’t support multistate filings. But you may be able to file multiple state tax returns on your own by visiting each state’s tax website and filling out each state’s tax return.
How is government contracting affected by multi state tax?
As an industry, Government contracting has high exposure to multi-state taxation. A single contract with multiple performance sites is sufficient to expose a contractor to a myriad of state tax filing requirements. The situation can become even more complicated if the company happens to be an S Corporation.
How does unemployment tax work for multi state employees?
Unemployment tax rules for multi-state employees determine which state unemployment tax fund employers pay into for an employee. But, some employee work situations might cause confusion, such as an employee who: The state you pay unemployment taxes to, for an employee, is the state that funds the employee’s unemployment benefits.