Does Rhode Island recognize the federal S-corporation election?

Yes. Rhode Island follows the federal S election, and no separate state election form is required — filing federal Form 2553 with the IRS is enough. The corporation does still file Form RI-1120S (Rhode Island Subchapter S Business Corporation Tax Return).

Which Rhode Island return does an S corporation file?

Form RI-1120S (Rhode Island Subchapter S Business Corporation Tax Return).

S-corp election · RI

Rhode Island S-Corporation Election

By Edmond Hui · Facts verified July 29, 2026 against primary state sources

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

Rhode Island follows the federal S election. Filing IRS Form 2553 is enough — there is no separate Rhode Island election form. Rhode Island is one of 43 states that follow the federal election with no state form of their own.

State treatmentFollows the federal election

Separate state formNot required

State corporate income taxYes

Does Rhode Island recognize the federal S election?

State treatment of the S election

Follows the federal election	Yes
Separate state election form	None required
State return	Form RI-1120S (Rhode Island Subchapter S Business Corporation Tax Return)

No separate state election to file: the federal election on IRS Form 2553 carries over. That is the election only — the corporation still files Form RI-1120S. Of the 50 states, 43 follow the federal election with no state form of their own, and 1 more — New York — recognizes S status but requires an election of its own as well.

What an S corporation still owes Rhode Island

Yes — the $400 minimum tax applies to S corporations. A corporation with a federal Subchapter S election must file Form RI-1120S and is subject to the income tax with a minimum of $400. If the S corporation is taxable at the federal level (e.g., built-in gains, excess net passive income), it must attach RI Schedule S and pay tax at the 7% rate. RI-1120S is due the 15th day of the third month after year end (September 15 for June 30 fiscal-year filers); RI-1120C is due the 15th day of the fourth month.

Franchise or gross-receipts tax

The operative entity-level floor is the $400 minimum corporate tax under RIGL Sec. 44-11-2, owed whether or not business is conducted or a profit is made, and not pro-rated. The Rhode Island Department of State states plainly that all legal business entities must pay a minimum annual tax of $400 to the RI Division of Taxation. The same $400 amount applies as an 'annual charge' to LLCs, LLPs, LPs and single-member LLCs not treated as corporations federally, under RIGL Sec. 44-11-2(e).

Rhode Island corporation vs Rhode Island LLC

State filing charges only. Corporate income tax and franchise tax are excluded because both depend on income or net worth, so no flat figure exists for either entity.

	Corporation	LLC
Formation filing fee	$230	$150
Report cadence	Every year	Every year
Report fee	$50	$50
Entity-level tax on the LLC side	—	Annual charge (minimum corporate tax)

An LLC is $80 cheaper to file here. That is a one-off charge, so it should not decide the entity type on its own.

Full Rhode Island LLC cost breakdown · LLC vs C-corp explained · LLC vs S-corp explained

How Rhode Island compares

State treatment of the federal S election	States
Follows the federal election, no state form needed	43
No corporate income tax, so no state election exists	4
Has a corporate income tax and does not follow the election — the corporation is taxed like a C corporation	2
Follow the election but still impose some entity-level tax on the S corporation — California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Delaware among them	—
Require a separate state election form as well	1

Compare all 50 states · LLC vs S-corp · S-corp salary and savings calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

: Yes. Rhode Island follows the federal S election, and no separate state election form is required — filing federal Form 2553 with the IRS is enough. The corporation does still file Form RI-1120S (Rhode Island Subchapter S Business Corporation Tax Return).
: Yes — the $400 minimum tax applies to S corporations. A corporation with a federal Subchapter S election must file Form RI-1120S and is subject to the income tax with a minimum of $400. If the S corporation is taxable at the federal level (e.g., built-in gains, excess net passive income), it must attach RI Schedule S and pay tax at the 7% rate. RI-1120S is due the 15th day of the third month after year end (September 15 for June 30 fiscal-year filers); RI-1120C is due the 15th day of the fourth month.
: Form RI-1120S (Rhode Island Subchapter S Business Corporation Tax Return).

Where these numbers come from

This page covers how Rhode Island treats the federal S-corporation election and what an S corporation still owes the state. Every figure was checked against Rhode Island's own published sources on July 29, 2026— the state business filing agency's fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state tax applies, the state Department of Revenue. Commercial formation-service pages were used as leads only and are never cited. Anything the review could not confirm from an official source is left blank on this page rather than filled with an estimate.

Corporate income tax and franchise tax are quoted as the state publishes them, as rate schedules and thresholds, and are excluded from every dollar total here. They depend on income or net worth, so there is no flat figure that would be true for every corporation.

Primary sources: