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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/biz-s-corp-family-one-shareholder

For the S corporation 100-shareholder limit, how is a married couple counted?

As one shareholder. Family members can count as one too.

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  1. As one shareholder ✔
  2. As two shareholders
  3. They can't both own shares

Why: Federal law treats a husband and wife, and all members of a family, as one shareholder for the 100-shareholder limit. That makes room for family businesses with many relatives.

Huh, didn't know that: The law's definition of family reaches back to a common ancestor, up to six generations.

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References

Answer: As one shareholder. Federal law treats a husband and wife, and all members of a family, as one shareholder for the 100-shareholder limit. That makes room for family businesses with many relatives.

  1. 26 U.S. Code 1361 (Cornell LII) www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1361
    Members of a family treated as 1 shareholder
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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