An S corporation can significantly reduce taxes, often saving owners between $5,000 and $20,000 annually by reducing self-employment tax liability. By paying a "reasonable salary" and treating remaining profits as distributions, owners avoid the 15.3% Social Security and Medicare taxes on the distributed portion.
Operating as an S corporation provides a way to reduce the amount of self-employment tax that the owners must pay because an owner can also be a corporate employee. This means that owner-employees can receive money from the corporation in two ways: Dividends: No employment tax is due on amounts received as dividends.
The QBI deduction allows eligible S corp owners to deduct up to 20% of qualified business taxable income on their personal tax return.
Because an S corporation passes its profits on to its shareholders, it is generally not subject to the 21-percent corporate income tax; its owners are instead liable for federal individual income and payroll taxes, as well as state and local income taxes.
The Income Threshold: $60,000 is the Magic Number
Because it lets you: Pay yourself a reasonable salary and cover payroll taxes. Start enjoying the tax savings from distributions that aren't subject to self-employment taxes.
The "2% rule" for S Corporations treats shareholders owning more than 2% of the company's stock (or voting power) differently for fringe benefits, classifying them like partners in a partnership, not regular employees; this means benefits like health insurance premiums paid by the S Corp must be included as taxable wages on their W-2, rather than being tax-free, though the shareholder can often deduct these premiums as an "above-the-line" deduction. This rule prevents them from participating in tax-advantaged Section 125 cafeteria plans, making benefits like Health FSAs unavailable on a pre-tax basis.
S-Corp election lets you split your profits into “shareholder wages” (subject to 15.3% self-employment taxes) and “distributive share” (NOT subject to 15.3% self-employment taxes). Active owners in an S-Corp must pay themselves a reasonable salary, but realize a 15.3% savings on the rest of their retained profits.
S corp–owned vehicles allow full expense deductions but raise fringe benefit reporting risks. Two primary deduction methods are available: the standard mileage rate and actual expenses. Accurate mileage logs and an accountable plan are essential to remain compliant.
The biggest tax mistakes people make include filing late, math errors, incorrect personal info (like Social Security numbers), forgetting deductions/credits (like EITC), misreporting income, not signing forms, and making errors with bank details for direct deposit, all leading to delays, penalties, or missed savings, with using tax software or professionals helping avoid these common pitfalls.
Examples of S Corp tax savings
Likewise, the more profit your business earns, the more you'll save. You need to earn at least $40,000 in profit for an S Corp to make sense, though. Otherwise, the costs of forming and running it exceeds the benefits of an S Corp.
Bonuses under $1 million are typically taxed at a flat rate of 22%. Example: If you receive a bonus of $20,000, the flat federal tax rate of 22% would amount to $4,400. If you receive a bonus above $1 million, you'd pay the 22% rate on the first million. Beyond that, the rate jumps to 37%.
You can't entirely avoid taxes on a bonus, but you can significantly lower the amount by contributing to tax-advantaged accounts (401(k), IRA, HSA), deferring the bonus to a year you expect to be in a lower tax bracket, or making charitable donations, thereby reducing your taxable income or increasing deductions at tax time.
Bonus contributed pre-tax to super
For example, tax on a $50,000 bonus: Paid to you and your marginal tax rate is 32.5% = $16,250. Paid to you and your marginal tax rate is 37% = $18,500.
To avoid the 22% tax bracket (or any higher bracket), focus on reducing your taxable income through strategies like maxing out 401(k)s and HSAs, deferring bonuses, tax-loss harvesting, smart charitable giving, and strategic asset location, understanding that higher rates only apply to income within that bracket, not your entire income.
How can S corporations reduce their taxes?