S-corp salary calculator
How much payroll tax an S election actually saves, and what your salary has to be for it to hold up.
- Payroll tax saved
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- Income tax the election costs
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- Taken as distribution
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- Employer half of the payroll tax
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- Salary as a share of profit
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- Payroll tax on the salary
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- Self-employment tax without the S election
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- Effective payroll rate on profit
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Point at any line to see what it means.
What this is actually calculating.
The saving from an S election comes from exactly one place. A sole proprietor pays self-employment tax on the whole profit. An S corporation owner pays payroll tax on the salary, and distributions above that are not subject to it. So the entire question is how much of the profit is salary.
That is also where the risk sits. There is no formula in the code for a reasonable salary, only a facts and circumstances test, and a salary set too low is the most common reason the IRS reclassifies distributions as wages, with back tax and penalties attached. The calculator shows your salary as a share of profit for that reason: it is the number an examiner looks at first.
The parts that decide the answer.
The saving is not free money
Payroll tax funds your Social Security record. A lower salary for years means a lower benefit later, which rarely shows up in the enthusiasm for the strategy.
Reasonable means defensible
What would you have to pay someone else to do your job? That is the test. Comparable pay data, hours and duties are what support the number, not the saving it produces.
There is a cost side too
Payroll filings, a separate return, and often more from your CPA. Below roughly forty thousand of profit the saving frequently does not cover the administration.
It interacts with the QBI deduction
Wages reduce qualified business income, so part of the payroll tax saving can be given back through a smaller deduction. This calculator does not model that.
Before you rely on it.
What is a reasonable salary?
There is no safe harbour percentage. It is what the work is worth in the open market, supported by comparable pay data, your hours and your duties. Your CPA should document it.
Why is the wage base an input?
The Social Security wage base changes every year. Making it a field keeps the calculator correct rather than quietly stale. Enter the figure for the year you are modelling.
Does this include income tax?
No, and the two routes do not produce the same taxable income. A sole proprietor deducts half of the self-employment tax; an S corporation deducts only the employer half, and paying yourself a salary can shrink the qualified business income deduction. Both work against the payroll saving shown here, so read this as the payroll figure rather than the net one.
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