What is an S-Corp?

An S-Corporation is a filing designation with the IRS that elects to file your LLC as a corporation; this means that you can still function as an LLC which is a pass-through entity (more on that in a bit), but also gain some of the benefits of a corporation, such as: 

* Paying yourself a salary 

* Paying for your and your family’s health insurance premiums from the
business as an employee benefit 

* A Solo 401(k) for your business with contributions from both yourself as the employee and yourself as the owner (up to the annual limits) and write it off as an expense from the employer side

* Purchasing assets (such as equipment and vehicles) for the business to use
and take deprecation expenses for

* Showing legitimate separation between your personal and business
finances and enabling the ability to apply for credit from the business
instead of personal 

Now an LLC by itself as we mentioned is a pass-through entity; this means that the net income from the operations each year “passes through” the business to land on your 1040 as taxable income. You will not pay any income taxes from the company itself but rather you will add to your income taxes with the net income from the business that you pay on your 1040.

What the S-Corporation does, is allow you to leverage the same benefits of a full corporation to pay yourself a salary and benefits, something unavailable to California Sole Proprietorships normally, while reducing your self-employment tax.

The primary benefit from the list above is the payroll and benefits piece; until you elect to be an S corporation, it is challenging to get payroll for yourself. You will be limited in your ability to truly leverage your business income to save the maximum you can each year on your taxes. Every dollar you pay yourself in salary can reduce your taxable income from the business. And, if you go the extra step of contributing to a 401(k), it further reduces your taxable income (often by a significant sum) each year.  

Do you want to learn more about the S-Corp and how it can benefit your business?