Guides · plain English, every source linked
Guides for one-owner businesses
Plain answers to the questions around the S election, written from the same verified research as the calculator.
The S election
Start here
Three guides that cover the decision, the filing and the salary, plus the state registers and the calculator.
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.
Read the guide →GuideElecting S corp status
Form 2553, the March 15 deadline, late relief and state steps.
Read the guide →GuideSingle-member LLC
What it is, how it’s taxed, and how it compares with a sole proprietorship.
Read the guide →S-corp retirement
Solo 401(k) and SEP limits: your salary sets them.
Read the guide →GuideS corp health insurance
The 2% shareholder rule: W-2 wages, no payroll tax, your own deduction.
Read the guide →GuideAccountable plan
Repaying yourself for business expenses without it counting as wages.
Read the guide →GuideQBI deduction
Up to 20% of business income, and why an S-corp salary shrinks it.
Read the guide →GuideDoes an S corp get a 1099?
Generally no. The exceptions, Form W-9 and the new $2,000 threshold.
Read the guide →GuideForm 1120-S
The S corporation’s own return, the K-1 and the March 15 deadline.
Read the guide →GuideForm 940
Federal unemployment tax on your salary: amount, deposits, due date.
Read the guide →GuideS-corp setup checklist
Every step and deadline in the first year, in order.
Read the guide →GuideS-corp payroll costs
Published one-person prices from seven payroll services, compared.
Read the guide →GuideLLC taxed as an S corp
Same LLC, new tax: how the election works and what stays the same.
Read the guide →GuideS corp vs. C corp
Taxed once or taxed twice: how the two corporations differ.
Read the guide →GuideSelf-employment tax
What it is, how it is figured, and what does and doesn’t lower it.
Read the guide →GuideHow to pay yourself
Salary, distributions and owner’s draw, and how the split works.
Read the guide →GuideReasonable salary
What the IRS weighs and the pay data to check against.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does an LLC cost?
Every state’s fee to form an LLC and what it charges each year after.
Read the guide →GuideCalifornia LLC fee
The $800 tax, the fee from $250,000 of income, and what the S election changes.
Read the guide →LookupSales tax permit by state
Where to register in each state, and what it costs.
Open the lookup →LookupBusiness license by state
Which states license every business, and who licenses in the rest.
Open the lookup →LookupWorkers’ comp by state
When coverage is required, and how each state treats you as the owner.
Open the lookup →ToolEmployer setup by state
The payroll accounts to open in each state where work is done.
Open the checker →ToolLLC annual report calendar
Your LLC’s state filings, fees and due dates, added to your calendar.
Open the calendar →LookupLLC lookup by state
Every state’s official business search in one place.
Open the lookup →CheckerS-corp calculator
What the election would save or cost in your state.
Run the check →