Guide · 2026 rules

How to set up an S corp: the checklist and first-year calendar

Electing S status takes one form. Running as an S corporation takes a few accounts, a payroll and a calendar of filings. This page lists each step in order for a one-owner business, then every deadline in the first year.

Updated October 24, 202617 official sources

In short

The election itself is Form 2553. The ongoing work is payroll for yourself and a second tax return.
As a new employer you deposit payroll taxes monthly, by the 15th of the next month, and always electronically.
Form 941 is due every quarter; W-2, W-3 and Form 940 each January; Form 1120-S by March 15.
A payroll service can make the deposits and file the payroll forms for you.

Before you start

Check the numbers first. The election adds costs, and below a certain profit it costs more than it saves. What is an S corp? explains the trade, and the calculator runs it for your state.

You also need a business that can elect: an LLC or a corporation formed under your state’s law. A sole proprietorship with no entity can’t elect. LLC lookup links every state’s business records if you want to check what you have.

The setup, step by step

1. Get an EIN

The business needs its own employer identification number to run payroll. The IRS issues it free online, in minutes, and immediately once approved. You never have to pay a fee for an EIN.

2. File Form 2553

Form 2553 makes the election. To take effect for a year, file it no later than 2 months and 15 days after the year begins, which is March 15 for a calendar year, or any time in the year before. There is no IRS fee. Electing S corp status walks through the form, late relief and the state steps.

3. Register with your state as an employer

Your salary makes the business an employer, so it needs state accounts for income tax withholding and unemployment tax before the first payroll. Some payroll services register for you for a fee; others leave it to you.

4. Set your salary

Pay yourself a reasonable salary for the work you do, with evidence you can keep on file. Reasonable salary covers what the IRS looks at, and the calculator’s salary finder shows pay data for your job.

5. Choose how you will run payroll

You can run payroll yourself or use a service that withholds, deposits and files for you. S-corp payroll costs compares published one-person prices.

6. Run your first payroll and deposit the taxes

In your first calendar year as an employer you are a monthly schedule depositor: deposit the payroll taxes on each month’s pay by the 15th day of the following month. All federal tax deposits must be made electronically, through EFTPS, IRS Direct Pay or your business tax account, or by a payroll service on your behalf.

7. Take distributions after your salary

Once your salary runs through payroll, you can take the rest of the profit as distributions. How to pay yourself explains the order and the records to keep.

8. Plan for estimated tax

Your share of the profit is taxed on your own return, and no one withholds from distributions. If your salary’s withholding won’t cover it, pay estimated tax with Form 1040-ES.

The first-year calendar

For a business on a calendar year. When a date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day: for example, Forms W-2 and 940 for 2026 wages are due February 1, 2027, because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday.

When	What	Form
15th of every month	Deposit the payroll taxes on last month’s pay (monthly depositor)	Electronic deposit
April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31	Quarterly payroll return for the quarter just ended	Form 941
January 31	Give yourself a W-2 and send Forms W-2 and W-3; file the federal unemployment return	W-2, W-3, Form 940
March 15	The S corporation’s return, with a Schedule K-1 to you (or an extension)	Form 1120-S (Form 7004 to extend)
April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15	Estimated tax on your share of the profit, if withholding won’t cover it	Form 1040-ES

Your state adds its own dates for withholding and unemployment tax returns, and many states require an annual report for the LLC or corporation itself.

Download these deadlines as a calendar file (.ics) for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Each reminder repeats every year and arrives five days ahead. The file stays on your device; nothing is sent to us.

Check the numbers before you set anything up.Profit, state and salary. Two minutes, nothing sent anywhere.

Open the check

Sources

Sources: 17 official pages

Every figure was read on an official page and checked a second time. Checked October 24, 2026. How we check facts.

An explanation of public rules, not tax advice.

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