S-corp election check · 50 states + DC · 2026 rules
Should your business be an S corp?
See what the election would save or cost a one-owner business in your state, with every payroll, state and city tax counted, line by line.
Quick check
Runs in your browser
How it works
Three numbers in, a line-by-line answer out
The check compares a year as you are today with the same year as an S corporation, using the rules of the place your business is.
Enter your profit and state
Your net profit before paying yourself, and where the business is. Add your city if it has its own tax.
Pick a salary you can explain
The salary finder shows what employees in your job earn in your state or metro area.
Read the difference
A six-line worksheet: today’s tax, the S-corp payroll tax, state and city changes, added costs and the income tax change.
What the check counts
Every cost the election adds, not just the payroll tax it saves
Most calculators stop at Social Security and Medicare. This one adds the state, city and paperwork costs that decide the answer.
Self-employment tax today
15.3% on 92.35% of profit, the baseline
Payroll tax on your salary
Social Security and Medicare, both sides
Federal unemployment tax
6.0% on the first $7,000, less the state credit
State unemployment and leave
Unemployment, paid leave and disability where they apply
Entity and franchise taxes
California 1.5%, Tennessee, New Hampshire and more
City and county taxes
New York City, Philadelphia, Portland and others
Payroll service and the return
A payroll plan and the extra Form 1120-S
The 20% QBI deduction
Your salary is not qualified business income
Checkers
Tools for the decisions that cost money
Each checker takes your own facts and returns a dated, sourced answer. Start with the S election.
S-corp election check
Payroll tax saved against every cost the election adds, for all 50 states and DC, with a salary range for your job and every source dated.
Employer setup by state
The payroll accounts to open in each state where work is done, for you or your team.
LLC good-standing calendar
Your next annual report and state fee dates, added to your calendar.
By state
Where the answer changes most
The same business, $120,000 of profit and a $60,000 salary, in every state. The legend gives each shade’s range. Tap a state for its guide.
Single filer, 22% bracket, default payroll and return costs, 2026 rules. City taxes move it further: in New York City the saving is $321; a Philadelphia resident pays $852 more.
Guides
Plain answers to the questions around the election
Written from the same verified research as the calculator, with every source linked.
What is an S corp?
What the election is, why owners make it, and when it pays.
Read the guide →GuideLLC vs. S corp
One is a business structure, the other is a tax election. What changes for one owner.
Read the guide →GuideElecting S corp status
Form 2553, the March 15 deadline, late relief and the state steps.
Read the guide →GuideReasonable salary
What the IRS weighs, the cases it cites, and BLS pay data for your job.
Read the guide →How we check
Built like an audit, not a blog post
Every rate, base and threshold is read on the official page, quoted, and checked a second time by a separate pass before it reaches the calculator.
Questions
What owners ask first
Is an S corporation a different kind of business from an LLC?
No. An LLC is a business structure set up under state law. An S corporation is a federal tax election. A one-owner LLC can elect S status on Form 2553, and the election does not change the structure your state set up.
At what profit does the S election start to pay?
It depends on your state, your city and your salary. At $120,000 of profit and a $60,000 salary, most states land between $2,145 and $3,336 a year lower; District of Columbia comes out higher. At lower profits the added costs can erase the saving.
How much salary do I have to pay myself?
Enough to be reasonable for the work you do. The IRS sets no formula. The salary finder shows what employees in your job are paid in your state or metro area, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Is anything I type sent to you?
No. The check runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us or stored.
Where do the numbers come from?
From the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and each state’s revenue and labor agencies. Every figure was read on the official page and checked a second time.