Should You Choose S Corp Tax Status for Your LLC? - SmartAsset

If you have a limited liability company (LLC), electing to have it taxed as an S corporation could be helpful. Of course, the process for choosing a tax status is entirely dependent on your business’s financial situation. Numerous factors at play can help you with your decision. For instance, you should know how you treat your income, whether you’ll use some of it as dividends and more. Some financial advisors even specialize in small business taxes.

What Are the Benefits of Being an LLC?

A limited liability company is a popular business entity choice because of its simplicity and liability protection. The LLC business entity has some appealing advantages over its alternatives. Some of the most popular advantages include:

Limiting liability: LLC owners have limited personal liability for debts owed by the business. Typically, liability is no more than the amount they invest in the business. Partnership owners and sole proprietors may be personally liable for all business debts.
Avoiding double taxation: An LLC is a pass-through entity. Its income passes straight to the owners as self-employment income, avoiding corporate income tax.
Minimizing paperwork and overhead: Compared to a regular corporation, an LLC has fewer record-keeping and meeting requirements. This makes it simple for smaller businesses to operate.

In addition to these benefits, there are a lot of choices that LLC owners have when setting up the entity, especially from a tax standpoint.

Tax Treatment of LLC Income

As mentioned, the LLC’s income automatically passes straight through to the owner’s tax return. However, there are multiple tax choices that you can elect when setting up an LLC that could make it more beneficial for your situation. When an LLC opts for an S corporation tax structure, for example, it typically changes the way the IRS treats that LLC’s income.

When income from traditional LLCs passes through to owners, they pay tax on it as self-employment income. The self-employment tax comes to 15.3%, with Social Security and Medicare taxes representing 12.4% and 2.9%, respectively. That isn’t the case with an S Corporation tax structure. Instead, the income of the business falls to the owners and the owners typically receive a paycheck as an employee of the corporation, where the company pays taxes.

As anyone who’s checked their pay stub knows, self-employment tax rates are higher than Social Security and Medicare taxes paid by workers who aren’t self-employed. As a result, in 2023, employers withhold just 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. That’s because employers pay another 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare without passing it on to employees. Self-employed people pay both halves.

There are two key factors to consider here:

Income from a corporation is treated as a dividend rather than earnings. That means dividend recipients don’t have to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on that income.
The owner of an S corporation can let some of their business profits pass through as earnings. Meanwhile, other profits pay out as dividends that are free of self-employment tax.

By having an LLC treated as an S Corp for tax purposes, a business owner may save a considerable amount in tax payments.

How an LLC Being Taxed as an S Corp Works

Say you are the sole member of an LLC that earns $100,000 in net income. All $100,000 will pass through to you as self-employment income. In addition to income taxes, you’ll owe self-employment tax of $15,300, or 15.3%.

If you have elected to be taxed as an S corporation, you might have $50,000 pass through as earnings and $50,000 distributed as dividends. Then you’d owe just $7,650 in self-employment tax, for a tax savings of $7,650.

Another potential advantage of an S corporation is that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made certain pass-through businesses eligible for a 20% Qualified Business Income deduction. This can produce additional tax savings that are not available to C corporations.

These potential tax benefits are the main reason LLCs elect to be taxed as S corporations.

Choosing LLC Tax Status

An LLC can choose an S corporation tax structure because an LLC is a business entity defined by state law. Meanwhile, S corporation describes how the IRS treats a business for tax purposes. If the LLC doesn’t choose, the IRS applies a default tax structure depending on the number of members of the LLC.

A single-member LLC will by default be treated as a sole proprietor by the IRS.
An LLC with more than one member will default to partnership status.

An LLC can choose to be treated as an S corporation in a two-step process:

File a Form 8832, Entity Classification Election. This causes the business to be taxed as a C corporation.
Then, file Form 2553 to elect an S corporation tax structure.

What Are the Disadvantages of Being an S Corporation?

Despite the potential benefits, S corporation status for an LLC isn’t a no-brainer. There are some disadvantages to be aware of as well:

Not every business is eligible: First, not all LLCs are eligible for S corporation status. Only U.S. corporations with no more than 100 owners, all of whom are U.S. residents, can choose S corporation status. Plus, they can only have a single class of shareholders. These restrictions can prevent an S corporation from attracting investors.
Added costs: There are also extra administrative costs. S corporations have extra recordkeeping and meeting requirements compared to sole proprietorships. However, the paperwork burden is lighter than that of C corporations.
Earnings could impact retirement plan contributions: Meanwhile, earnings determine caps on annual IRA or other retirement plan contributions. So the more you receive in dividends, the less you can put into a tax-deferred plan like a traditional IRA.
Potential audits: S corporations are also somewhat more prone to IRS audits and, if the IRS determines you aren’t paying yourself a reasonable salary, it may reclassify some dividends as earnings. Then you might owe a self-employment tax plus penalty and interest on those earnings.

Bottom Line

The S corporation is the only business tax status that lets you save on Social Security and Medicare taxes while avoiding double taxation. An LLC taxed as an S corp offers the benefits of a corporation while also providing flexibility on income treatment. If you want to operate on the most bare-bones, tax-conscious structure possible, an LLC taxed as an S corp may be right for you.

Tips for Business Taxes

If you’re wondering if an LLC taxed as an S corp is the right path for your business, consider consulting with a financial advisor. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Choosing an LLC, but having it taxed as an S corp is a complex matter. While benefits often outweigh costs, you should talk to a professional tax advisor before choosing. However, SmartAsset’s tax guide can help you figure out some of the liabilities before you consult a pro.