United States · planning estimate

LLC vs S Corporation Tax-Savings Calculator

Compare estimated federal employment taxes for a sole-proprietor LLC with an S corporation paying a reasonable owner salary. Include extra payroll, tax preparation, administration and state entity fees before judging potential savings. The result shows a fixed-salary break-even scenario and separates an optional retirement-deduction effect from the payroll-tax comparison.

Your scenario

Enter your own numbers or load the worked example. Values are calculated in this browser and are not saved.

Tax / distribution year

Filing status

Profit before owner salary, contributions and extra costs ($)

Reasonable owner salary ($)

Other annual W-2 wages ($)

Extra annual payroll service cost ($)

Extra annual tax-preparation cost ($)

Extra annual state/entity fees ($)

Other extra annual administration ($)

Eligible LLC retirement contribution ($)

Eligible S corporation employer retirement contribution ($)

Combined marginal income-tax rate for deduction difference (%)

Your estimate

Complete the scenario to see a result, its breakdown and limitations.

Next steps

Check the assumptions with your records before making a decision. Related calculators can help compare the next part of your plan.

How the estimate works

For the LLC, apply Social Security and Medicare to 92.35% of net profit with wage-base and Additional Medicare adjustments. For the S corporation, calculate employer and employee payroll tax on salary. Subtract extra administration costs and show any entered retirement-deduction difference separately.

Worked example

At $100,000 profit with no other wages, LLC self-employment tax is $14,129.55. A $60,000 owner salary produces $9,180 combined payroll tax; $3,000 extra administration leaves $1,949.55 before income-tax interactions.

Sources and review scope

Source comparison: 2026-09-23. Methodology owner: Toolistify. Implementation reviewed through automated source checks and regression tests; this is not professional tax, legal, benefits or financial certification.

Calculation inputs stay in this page; CSV downloads are created locally. The optional sales-tax lookup has separate disclosure above. Privacy · Corrections

Questions and answers

Does an S corporation always save money?

No. Salary, payroll taxes, extra costs, state rules and income-tax effects can remove any savings. A positive estimate is not an election recommendation.

Can I select any owner salary?

No. Salary must be reasonable for the services performed. The calculator cannot establish reasonable compensation.