Now that we know what an S corporation is, this leads to a big question. What does the s in S corporation stand for? Also, what happened to A corporations, B corporations, and so on? It turns out the “s” isn’t an order of corporation, but rather stands for “Subchapter S” of the Internal Revenue Code. This subsection outlines the special tax status that S corporations elect to receive from the IRS. I have also seen the S in S corporation stand for “Small Business” corporation. In this case, “small business” refers to the limited number of shareholders. An S corporation can have no more than 100 shareholders. In comparison, C corporations and partnerships can have many more.  “Small business” may also refer to the fact that the entity structure is commonly used by small and medium-sized businesses. With that being said, S corporations do not have a cap on income. S corporations commonly have higher revenues than C corporations. I hope this helps solve the mystery (I’m sure that was keeping you up at night) of what the s in S corporation stands for.