Introduction

in 2021 to $92.0 billion in 2022, while Finance and Insurance experienced the largest percentage decrease, down 3.8% from $70.1 trillion in 2021 to $67.4 trillion in 2022.

Total receipts from operations and investments increased 13.9%, from $39.8 trillion in 2021 to $45.3 trillion the following year. This was driven by a 14.3% increase in business receipts, from $35 trillion in 2021 to $39.9 trillion, as well as a 49.2% increase in interest, from $1.2 trillion to $1.8 trillion. Notably, short term capital gains decreased by 84.8% from $177.6 billion in 2021 to $27.0 billion in 2022. Long term capital gains decreased by 33.9%, from $366.3 billion in 2021 to $242.0 billion in 2022. By sector, Mining experienced the largest percentage increase in total receipts, up 37.7% from $464.9 billion in 2021 to $639.9 billion in 2022, while Retail Trade recorded the smallest percentage increase of 4.8% from $6.0 trillion in 2021 to $6.2 trillion in 2022.

Total deductions increased 13.5% from $36.4 trillion in 2021 to $41.3 trillion in 2022. Interest, a component of total deductions, increased by 36%, going from $710.1 billion to $965.9 billion. Of all specified components of total deductions, Net Gain/Loss experienced the largest percentage increase of 54.1% from $47.9 billion in 2021 to $73.8 billion in 2022.

Corporate pretax profits, also known as net income (less deficit), increased 17.7%, from $4.1 trillion to $4.8 trillion (Figure B). By sector, Mining experienced the largest percentage increase in pretax profits, up 159.6% from $41.1 billion in 2021 to $106.6 billion in 2022. The largest percentage decrease in net income was in the Educational Services sector, down 10.9% from $4.7 billion in 2021 to $4.2 billion in 2022. When excluding passthrough entities from the total, pretax profits increased from $2.6 trillion in 2021 to $3.3 trillion in 2022. For 2022, S corporations reported $763.3 billion in pretax profits, an increase of 1.1% from 2021. Regulated investment companies (RICs) reported $625.4 billion, down 2.9% from 2021. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) reported $97.9 billion, up 4.6% from 2021 (Figure C).

Income subject to tax (the tax base) increased 18.9%, from $2.4 trillion in 2021 to $2.9 trillion in 2022. Total income tax before credits increased by 19.8%, from $528.8

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2022 Corporate Tax Returns Complete Report Introduction

Figure A. Returns of Active Corporations: Number of Returns, Total Assets, Total Receipts, Net Income (Less Deficit), Income Subject to Tax, Total Income Tax Before Credits, Total Income Tax After Credits, by Size of Total Assets, Tax Years 2021 and 2022

[All figures are estimates based on samples—money amounts are in thousands of dollars and size of total assets is in whole dollars]

d-To avoid disclosure of information for specific corporations, these data have been deleted. Data are included in appropriate totals. NOTE: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. See text for “Explanation of Terms” and “Description of the Sample and Limitations of the Data.” SOURCE: IRS, Statistics of Income Division: 2022 Publication 16, September 2025

billion to $633.3 billion in 2022. Income tax also increased 18.8% during the year, from $508.6 billion to $604.2 billion. Total income tax after credits, the amount paid to the U.S. Government, increased by 20.8%, from $371.4 billion in 2021 to $448.7 billion in 2022.

Of the 6.8 million active corporations for TY 2022, approximately 5.3 million were passthrough entities. These entities include RICs, REITs, and S corporations [1]. Passthrough entities pay little to no federal income tax at the corporate level. By law, they are required to pass any profits or losses to their shareholders, where they are taxed at the individual rate. Pretax profits for passthrough entities decreased 0.4% ($6.2 billion) during 2022.

The remaining 1.6 million non-passthrough corporate returns reported total receipts of $33.6 trillion, an increase of 15.7% from 2021 to 2022. 47.5% of the non-passthrough corporation returns reported net income for 2022 [2]. Additionally, 39.0% of non-passthrough corporations had a net income and tax liability.

The number of returns with total assets of $2.5 billion or more represented 0.07% of total returns but 84.5% of total assets (Figure A). These 4,759 returns for 2022 accounted for 57.2% of total receipts, 76.7% of net income (less deficit), 83.4% of income subject to tax, 83.9% of total income tax before credits, and 79.9% of total income tax after credits. Approximately 48.6% of all returns with net income and total assets greater than $2.5 billion had a tax liability for 2022. Excluding passthrough entities, 97.9% of returns reporting net income and with total assets greater than $2.5 billion had a tax liability for the year.

Activities Covered The estimates include corporate business activities in the United States, certain foreign activities as reported on returns of domestic corporations, and foreign corporations with U.S. business activities. “Domestic corporations” refers to companies incorporated in the U.S., but this does not mean that all their activities are domestic. For instance, data for a U.S. corporation conducting business abroad through foreign subsidiaries may include dividends remitted

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Introduction 2022 Corporate Tax Returns Complete Report

[1] Pretax profits are net income (less deficit) in the statistics.

[2] Excludes net long-term capital gain reduced by net short-term capital loss of regulated investment companies and portfolio income (including capital gains) for S corporations (qualifying corporations electing to be taxed through their shareholders). NOTE: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: IRS, Statistics of Income Division: 2022 Publication 16, September 2025.

Figure C. Pretax Profits and Pretax Profits with Certain Inclusions for All Corporations, Regulated Investment

[1] Pretax profits are net income (less deficit) in the statistics.

[2] The inclusions to pretax profits are: net long-term capital gain reduced by net short-term capital loss for regulated investment companies and investment, rental, and portfolio income (including capital gains) for S corporations. The amounts listed under “All corporations” include both items. SOURCE: IRS, Statistics of Income Division: 2022 Publication 16, September 2025.

from those subsidiaries and, to a certain extent, their undistributed earnings. The effect of foreign activity on the statistics varies by industry type and asset size [3]. For foreign corporations (defined as those incorporated abroad) engaged in trade or business in the U.S., only the income considered effectively connected with conducting a trade or business in the U.S. was included in the statistics. The estimates exclude foreign corporations that were incorporated abroad, not engaged in trade or business in the U.S., and liable for tax

only on investment income from U.S. sources. Most foreign corporations are concentrated in the Finance and Insurance and the Real Estate and Rental and Leasing sectors.

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6012 requires all corporations in existence at any time during the tax year to file a tax return, regardless of whether they had income. This requirement applies to active and inactive domestic corporations, unless expressly exempt from filing. IRC Section 6012 also applies to active foreign corporations that filed with insufficient

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2022 Corporate Tax Returns Complete Report Introduction

taxes withheld at the source to satisfy their U.S. tax liability on income earned in the U.S. The statistics presented here include active domestic and foreign corporations and exclude inactive corporations. See Section 3 for more information on the sample.

The IRC also recognizes as corporations other businesses with characteristics typical of those that are legally defined as corporations. The guiding principles, practices, or structures of these businesses include continuity of life, centralization of management apart from ownership, limited liability of owners, and transferability of shares of capital ownership. Examples of organizations recognized as corporations include joint stock companies, and unincorporated associations, such as business trusts, savings and loan associations, certain partnerships, mutual savings banks, and cooperative banks.

Time Period Employed SOI based the statistical estimates on data from returns with accounting periods for: (1) the calendar year ending December 2022, and (2) non-calendar years ending July 2022 through June 2023. This span, in effect, defines the tax year so the accounting periods for non-calendar years are centered at the calendar year ending in December.

There are 12 accounting periods covered in this report. In general, IRC Section 441 specifies that a taxpayer’s accounting period ends on the last day of the month. There is a span of 23 months between the first-included accounting period, which began on August 1, 2021, and closed on July 31, 2022, and the end of the last included accounting period, which began on July 1, 2022, and closed on June 30, 2023. This report shows income received or expenses incurred during any or all the months in this 23-month span. For balance sheet items, the report shows a corporation’s position only at the end of its accounting period. IRC Section 441 requires corporations to file returns for the accounting period customarily used in keeping their books.

Corporations were usually required to file within threeand-one-half months after the corporate accounting period closed, except corporations with fiscal years ending June 30,

which must file within two-and-one-half months. However, most corporations could receive 6-month filing extensions (7 months for returns with tax years ending June 30) in accordance with IRC Section 608. In addition to returns with 12-month accounting periods, the total number of active corporations also includes “part-year returns,” or those with accounting periods of a shorter duration. Any corporations filing part-year returns were mainly corporations that changed their accounting periods, existed for less than 12 months, merged, or liquidated.

Calendar year returns made up 94.4% of all active corporate returns and 71.9% of net income (less deficit) for 2022 (Figure D). These returns accounted for 74.3% of total assets, 78.7% of total receipts, 76.0% of income subject to tax, and 74.8% of total income tax after credits.

Notes and References

[1] For more detailed information on S corporations, see

Parisi, Heather, “S Corporation Returns, 2006,” Statistics of Income Bulletin, Volume 29, Number 1, Summer 2009, pp. 92-100.

[2] Includes returns filed on Forms 1120, 1120-F, 1120-L,

and 1120-PC.

[3] For more detailed information, see Wenrich, Jason,

“Controlled Foreign Corporations, 2010,” Statistics of Income Bulletin, Volume 34, Number 2, Fall 2015, pp. 111-118.

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Introduction 2022 Corporate Tax Returns Complete Report

Figure D. Returns of Active Corporations: Number of Returns, Total Assets, Total Receipts, Net Income (Less Deficit), Income Subject to Tax, Total Income Tax Before Credits, and Total Income Tax After Credits, by Ending Accounting Period for Tax Year 2022 [All figures are estimates based on samples—money amounts are in thousands of dollars]

Total income tax

after credits

[1] Includes full and part-year returns.

NOTE: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. See text for “Explanation of Terms” and “Description of the Sample and Limitations of the Data.” SOURCE: IRS, Statistics of Income Division: 2022 Publication 16, September 2025.

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