Six sections. Same math as our interactive calculator. Fill in your numbers online and print a clean one-pager, or print it blank and fill by hand.
FigureNerd • figurenerd.com/calculators/s-corp-savings-worksheet/ • Educational use only, not tax advice. Bring to your CPA.
Last reviewed May 2026
Your net profit from self-employment, before any income tax or self-employment tax. This is Schedule C line 31 (sole proprietor) or your LLC's net operating income.
As a sole proprietor or single-member LLC (no S-corp election), every dollar of net profit gets hit with self-employment tax. The IRS taxes 92.35% of your profit as SE income. Half of SE tax is deductible for federal income tax.
Under an S-corp election, profit splits into two buckets: a W-2 salary (subject to full payroll tax) and distributions (income tax only, no SE tax). The split is determined by a "reasonable salary" requirement.
The raw tax savings from the S-corp structure before you account for the additional cost of running an S-corp. This is the headline savings before reality check.
S-corps require actual payroll, a second business tax return (Form 1120-S), and often a bookkeeper. These costs eat into the tax savings. Enter your real or estimated costs below.
Gross tax savings minus S-corp administrative cost. A positive number means the S-corp election puts more money in your pocket each year.
This worksheet is designed to do one thing: give you a structured, printable document you can bring to your CPA to start a real S-corp conversation. The six sections walk through the full comparison from raw income to net savings, section by section, so you can see exactly where the money goes and where it gets recaptured.
Fill in the numbers online and the worksheet calculates automatically. Hit "Print this worksheet" and you get a clean one-page version with your numbers filled in, formatted for handing to your CPA or filing in a folder. If you prefer to fill it out by hand, print a blank and work through it with your advisor.
Start with net self-employment profit, not gross revenue. Net profit is revenue minus legitimate business expenses: the number on Schedule C line 31 for sole proprietors, or the total distributions your LLC operating agreement reflects. If you have not filed yet, use your best estimate. The worksheet is a planning tool, not a tax return.
Section B shows what you pay now as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC without any election. The IRS taxes 92.35 percent of your net profit as self-employment income. That income gets hit with SE tax at 15.3 percent (12.4 percent Social Security plus 2.9 percent Medicare) up to the 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500, then 2.9 percent Medicare above that.
One piece that surprises people: half of your SE tax is deductible on your federal return as an above-the-line deduction. That deduction reduces your federal taxable income, which is why Section B's federal tax number is slightly lower than you might expect from a flat percentage of profit.
Section C shows what you would pay under an S-corp election, using the salary you entered. The critical difference: payroll tax only applies to the W-2 salary, not the distributions. Distributions still get hit with income tax. They just skip the 15.3 percent payroll tax piece. That is the entire arbitrage.
The employer half of payroll tax is a business deduction that reduces the taxable income flowing to your K-1, which is why Section C's federal income tax is slightly lower than a flat percentage of profit plus distributions.
Section D is the headline number most S-corp articles lead with: the gross tax difference between the two structures. This is real money, but it is not the full story.
Running an S-corp is not free. You need a payroll provider to run actual W-2 payroll. You need a CPA to file a separate Form 1120-S tax return every year. You need to maintain a registered agent and keep the state happy with annual reports. These costs vary but typically run $1,500 to $3,500 per year for a solo operator.
The default values in Section E ($800 payroll processing, $1,200 for the 1120-S return, $300 for registered agent and state fees, $200 misc) are conservative estimates for a one-owner S-corp with a payroll provider and a competent but not boutique CPA. Your actual numbers may differ.
Section F is the number that matters. Gross tax savings minus admin cost. If this number is positive and significant, the S-corp election is probably worth it. If it is small (under $1,000) or negative, the math is telling you to wait until your income grows.
Filling out this worksheet is step one. Actually making the election is step two. Here is what you need to know about the timeline.
To have S-corp tax treatment apply to the full 2026 tax year, Form 2553 must have been filed with the IRS by March 15, 2026 (two months and 15 days into the tax year for calendar-year filers). If you missed that deadline, you may be able to file for a late election with a statement of reasonable cause, but it is not guaranteed.
If you are reading this in mid-2026, you are planning for 2027. File Form 2553 by March 15, 2027 for the 2027 tax year to apply from the beginning of the year. You can also file mid-year if you want S-corp treatment from the date of your entity's formation, subject to timing rules.
Form 2553 references:
This worksheet is a planning tool. It uses simplified math, flat federal brackets, and approximate state rates. It does not account for:
Use Section F as your call-to-action threshold. If the worksheet shows more than $3,000 in net savings, that justifies a paid conversation with a CPA. The cost of a one-hour consultation with a small business CPA ($200 to $400) is typically recovered in a single year if the election makes sense for your situation.
An S-corp savings worksheet is a structured document that walks through six sections: your gross income, your tax burden as a sole proprietor, your estimated tax burden as an S-corp, the difference between the two, your S-corp administrative costs, and your net annual savings. It is designed to be filled out and handed to a CPA as a starting point for a formal S-corp analysis.
A worksheet is useful when you want a printable, shareable document to bring to your CPA, when you want to fill out numbers by hand and think through each section deliberately, or when you want a structured record of your assumptions for year-over-year comparison. The interactive version on this page fills everything automatically, but you can also print a blank version and fill it by hand.
To have S-corp tax treatment for the full 2026 tax year, Form 2553 must have been filed by March 15, 2026. For 2027 treatment, file by March 15, 2027. Late elections with reasonable-cause statements are sometimes accepted but are not guaranteed.
The IRS requires S-corp owner-employees to pay themselves a salary that is reasonable for the services they perform, based on industry, role, duties, experience, and comparable wages. Most planners use 50 to 70 percent of net profit as a starting heuristic, but the only legally defensible answer is what someone in your role would earn in the open market. Below 40 percent of profit is the leading audit trigger.
No. This is an educational planning tool. The numbers are directional and use simplified tax math. Your actual tax outcome depends on your filing status, specific deductions, state, industry, and many other factors. Use this worksheet as a conversation-starter with your CPA, not as a final tax analysis.
Disclaimer. This worksheet and article are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. Sources: IRS Publication 542 (Corporations), IRS Publication 535 (Business Expenses), IRS Form 2553 instructions. Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances. S-Corp elections should be evaluated with a qualified CPA for your specific situation.
References: IRS Publication 542 • IRS Publication 535 • IRS Form 2553