See if electing S-corp taxation could save you thousands.
A calm, honest calculator for single-member LLC owners, freelancers, and consultants weighing an S-corp election. It shows the savings and the costs, so you know if it's actually worth it.
Your estimated savings range
Self-employment tax you'd avoid vs. S-corp overhead. The net after costs.
A defensible salary range
An estimated reasonable-compensation band framed the way the IRS thinks.
The trade-offs, up front
State taxes, admin costs, and the assumptions behind your number, all shown.
Who this is for
The S-corp math works the same way for most one-person businesses. This calculator is built for:
Freelancers
Designers, developers, writers, and other solo pros with steady 1099 income.
Consultants
Independent advisors billing clients directly, not through an employer.
Single-member LLCs
Already formed an LLC and taxed as a sole proprietor by default.
Owner-operated service businesses
One-person shops where the profit is mostly your own labor.
It's not built for multi-owner partnerships, C-corps, or businesses where most of the profit comes from employees or capital rather than your own work. And the election only helps if you run payroll correctly. It's not a set-and-forget move.
When it pays off, and when it doesn't
It hinges on your salary, not just your profit. An election starts to pay once your profit clears a defensible salary by enough to cover annual admin and any incremental state entity cost. Because that salary is your occupation's market rate, the threshold is different for every trade. The three engine breakevens below assume a single filer in Colorado who is currently a sole proprietor. They're illustrations, not rules.
When is it not worth it? Usually when a defensible salary consumes most of the profit, or the remaining payroll-tax savings can't cover the added costs. See the full S-corp breakeven examples before treating any profit target as a rule.
Photographer
BLS median salary used $45,000
Engine breakeven $73,000 profit
A lower market salary leaves more to take as distributions, so the election clears its costs sooner.
Accountant
BLS median salary used $84,000
Engine breakeven $134,000 profit
A higher salary means you need more profit before distributions cover the overhead.
Software developer
BLS median salary used $136,000
Engine breakeven $354,000 profit
A high defensible salary leaves little to distribute, and that salary isn't QBI-eligible.