2025 Corporate Tax Rate

Who it applies to

The rate applies to corporations that file Form 1120. Unless it is exempt under section 501, every domestic corporation, including one in bankruptcy, must file an income tax return whether or not it has taxable income, and it files Form 1120 unless it is required or elects to file a special return. A domestic entity that elects to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation also files Form 1120 and attaches Form 8832, Entity Classification Election, for the year of the election. Many organizations are routed elsewhere by the Special Returns table in the instructions: an S corporation under section 1361 files Form 1120-S, a life insurance company under section 801 files Form 1120-L, a real estate investment trust under section 856 files Form 1120-REIT, and a political organization under section 527 files Form 1120-POL. An LLC with more than one owner formed under state law is generally treated as a partnership and files Form 1065 instead.

What changed this year, and why

The federal corporate income tax rate for 2025 is a flat 21%. The 2025 Instructions for Form 1120 carry that rate in the Schedule J tax computation: line 1a tells a corporation to multiply its taxable income by 21% and enter the result there. No graduated bracket table stands behind it, so a small corporation and a large one apply the same 21% to whatever taxable income they report. Nothing in the What's New section of the 2025 instructions touches the rate. The items flagged there are an election for gain on sales of qualified farmland to qualified farmers, penalty relief connected to the corporate alternative minimum tax, new direct deposit fields on the form, and a deduction for domestic research and experimental expenditures under section 174A.

Common questions

What is the federal corporate income tax rate for 2025?

It is 21%, applied as a single flat rate to a corporation's taxable income. The Instructions for Form 1120 put the calculation on Schedule J, line 1a: take taxable income from the face of the return and multiply it by 21%. There is no graduated schedule of brackets behind that figure, so the same 21% applies to the first slice of taxable income and to the last, no matter how large the corporation is.

Is the corporate tax rate flat or graduated?

Flat. The tax computation in the Instructions for Form 1120 is a single multiplication rather than a bracket table: taxable income times 21%, entered on Schedule J, line 1a. Other lines of Schedule J can add to the chapter 1 tax, such as tax from Form 1120-L for a mutual savings bank conducting a life insurance business, section 1291 tax from Form 8621, and a tax adjustment from Form 8978. None of those lines changes the 21% rate itself.

Which corporations have to file Form 1120?

Unless it is exempt under section 501, every domestic corporation must file an income tax return whether or not it has taxable income, and corporations in bankruptcy are included. Form 1120 is the default return: a corporation uses it unless it is required to file, or elects to file, one of the special returns listed in the instructions. A domestic entity electing to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation also files Form 1120 and attaches a copy of Form 8832.

When is Form 1120 due for a 2025 tax year?

Generally by the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the corporation's tax year. The same rule sets the deadline for a short-period return by a new corporation and for a corporation that has dissolved. A corporation with a fiscal tax year ending June 30 files by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of its tax year instead. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the corporation can file on the next business day.

Can a corporation get an extension of time to file Form 1120?

Yes. File Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns, and generally file it by the regular due date of the return. An extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. The instructions state that interest is charged on taxes paid late even if an extension of time to file is granted, so the rate applied on Schedule J does not change what a late payment costs.

Does the 21% rate apply to an S corporation?

No. The Instructions for Form 1120 list an S corporation under section 1361 among the organizations that file a special return, Form 1120-S, rather than Form 1120. Because the 21% computation lives on Schedule J of Form 1120, an entity routed to a different return does not use it. The same table sends a Subchapter T cooperative association to Form 1120-C, a regulated investment company under section 851 to Form 1120-RIC, and a homeowners association electing under section 528 to Form 1120-H.

Does a corporation have to make estimated tax payments?

Generally yes, once it expects its total tax for the year, less applicable credits, to reach the amount named in the instructions. The installments are due by the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th months of the tax year, moving to the next business day if a date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. A corporation that does not deposit estimated tax when due may owe a penalty, figured on Form 2220, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Corporations.

Does a corporation have to file Form 1120 electronically?

Often. For returns filed on or after January 1, 2024, a corporation must e-file Form 1120 if it files at or above the count of returns of any type set by Regulations section 301.6011-5 during the calendar year, counting income tax, employment tax, excise tax, and information returns together. A corporation can request a waiver of the electronic filing requirement. E-filing also covers Form 7004 and the employment tax returns, and a balance due can be settled by electronic funds withdrawal while e-filing.

Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Corporate income tax calculator takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.