Final answer:
An S corporation must have not more than 100 shareholders, be organized in the United States, and can only have one class of stock. The correct answer to the characteristics that an S corporation must possess is (d) all of these.
Step-by-step explanation:
An S corporation is a special kind of corporation that is designed to avoid double taxation by having its income taxed only at the shareholder level. To qualify as an S corporation, a company must meet several specific Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements, which are as follows:
- It must have not more than 100 shareholders.
- The corporation must be organized in the United States.
- It can only have one class of stock.
- All shareholders must be individuals, certain trusts, or estates and must be U.S. citizens or residents.
Therefore, the correct answer to the question about the characteristics an S corporation must possess is (d) all of these.