Complete Form 851 for a consolidated 1120 or 1120S return
Form 851 is printed from the top consolidation return. Generally, information for Form 851 comes from 3 places:
- The top consolidation return
- The parent return
- The subsidiary returns
When you create a consolidation return, you select the active members to include in the consolidation on the
What to Consolidate
screen. The program transfers certain information from the entities you have listed from the General Information
area to the consolidation.
caution
Be careful not to enter any of this information in the top consolidation’s Organizer or Tax Forms. If you enter payments on Form 851 in the top consolidation return, these amounts will override the carry information. If you enter any data in these fields manually, the application overwrites this information each time you consolidate when it transfers the Consolidation Carry Information into the Organizer.
Page 1,
top section: General information
- Go toGeneral Information,Basic Return Data, thenEntity Information.
- In theparentreturn, enter the following:
- Common parent corporation name
- Address
- Federal employer identification number (FEIN)
- Tax year end
- PBA code number
- In thesubsidiaryreturn, enter:
- Name and address of corporation
- Principal business activity (PBA)
- PBA code number
- In the top consolidation return, go toConsolidated Returns, thenWhat to Consolidateand enter the company number.
- In the parent return, go toPayments and ExtensionsthenPayment of Taxesand enter the following:
- Portion of Form 7004 tax deposits
- Portion of estimated tax credits and deposits
- In the top consolidation return, go toInformational Forms,Affiliations Schedule, then851 Page 1and enter the following:
- Company number
- Whether the subsidiary made any non-dividend distributions
- Stock holdings at the beginning of the year
- Number of shares
- Percent of voting power
- Percent of value
- Number owned by the corporation
Information for Part I carries from the parent/subsidiary returns to the top consolidation return. - You aren't required to complete Part III for all members of the affiliated group. If the affiliated group has members who need to complete Part III, go toInformational Forms,Affiliation Schedule, then851 Page 2and enter the following information to the Organizer screens:
- Company number
- Stockholder (corporation number)
- Change in stock holdings during the year, including the date the shares were acquired and the date the shares were disposed of (if applicable)
- Percent of voting power and percent of value (if there were changes in stock holdings)
- Full details if any of the equitable owners of any capital stock listed here were other than the holders of record.
- You aren't required to complete Part IV for all members of the affiliated group. If the affiliated group has members who need to complete Part IV, enter the following information on the Organizer screens inInformational Forms,Affiliations Schedule, then851 Page 3.
- Answer question 1. If you answered yes, list and describe each class of stock.
- Answer question 2. If you answered yes, list and explain the circumstances.
- Answer questions 3a through 3d.
- If you have any inactive subsidiaries that you need to report on Form 851 and don't have returns included in the consolidated return, do these steps:
- In the top consolidation return, open the Organizer, go toInformational Formsand thenAffiliation Schedule.
- SelectInactive Subsidiary InformationthenAdd New Inactive Subsidiary.
- Enter the information for the subsidiary. For the company number, use the next consecutive number after the last active subsidiary (from the Locator List Information screen).
