Tax Strategy
When Should Your LLC Elect S Corp Status?
There is no universal profit cutoff. Here are the salary, tax, cost, eligibility, and cash-flow facts to model before filing Form 2553.
ScorpConvert Team
7 min Apr 12, 2026
The Mello Journal
Plain-English tax writing for business owners.
Field notes from our practice: when the S corp election pays off, how to defend reasonable compensation on audit, payroll mechanics, and the state filings most owners miss. No jargon. No fluff.
S Corp Basics
Form 2553 Filing Deadline, Explained Without the Jargon
How the filing window works, what records to keep, and when IRS late election relief may be available.
ScorpConvert Team
6 min Mar 28, 2026
Reasonable Comp
How to Defend Your Reasonable Compensation Number on Audit
The IRS factors that matter and the records that help explain how your S corp salary was determined.
ScorpConvert Team
9 min Mar 14, 2026
Reasonable Comp
What Is the Lowest Reasonable Compensation for an S Corp Owner?
There is no universal minimum salary. The useful question is the lowest compensation your duties, time, location, wage evidence, and business facts can support.
ScorpConvert Team
8 min Aug 18, 2026
Reasonable Comp
How Much Should I Pay Myself From My S Corp?
Learn how duties, hours, experience, location, revenue sources, and wage evidence determine a supportable S Corp owner salary.
ScorpConvert Team
7 min Sep 2, 2026
Reasonable Comp
How Your Role, Hours, and Revenue Shape Your S Corp Salary
A title alone does not set S Corp pay. See how actual duties, time, staffing, capital, and revenue sources shape reasonable compensation.
ScorpConvert Team
7 min Sep 2, 2026
Payroll
Your First 90 Days on S Corp Payroll: A Clean Setup Checklist
EIN, state withholding accounts, payroll provider selection, and the four numbers you have to get right before the first paycheck runs.
ScorpConvert Team
8 min Feb 19, 2026
S Corp Basics
State S Corp Elections: What Most Owners Miss After Filing 2553
Why a federal S corp election does not automatically carry to your state, and the eight states where you have to file separately.
ScorpConvert Team
5 min Jan 30, 2026
Tax Strategy
S Corp Distributions vs. Salary: How the Tax Savings Actually Work
A walk-through of the exact tax math that makes the S-election work, and the cash-flow trap that catches new electors in year one.
ScorpConvert Team
6 min Jan 8, 2026
Tax Strategy
S Corp Election for Real Estate Agents: The Math at $120K
See a $120K S Corp example for real estate professionals, including reasonable compensation, payroll costs, and facts that can change the result.
ScorpConvert Team
7 min Aug 5, 2026
Tax Strategy
What Happens to Your QBI Deduction When You Elect S Corp?
Learn how S Corp wages and pass through profit affect the Section 199A QBI deduction, taxable income limits, and current 2026 law.
ScorpConvert Team
6 min Aug 5, 2026
Tax Strategy
S Corp vs Sole Proprietor: The Real Tax Difference in 2026
A careful 2026 comparison of self-employment tax, reasonable W-2 compensation, QBI limits, state tax, and recurring costs, without a universal break-even claim.
ScorpConvert Team
8 min Aug 5, 2026
S Corp Basics
Five Common Form 2553 Mistakes (and How the IRS Responds to Each)
How to prevent effective-date, signature, eligibility, delivery, and late-election defects before a Form 2553 is submitted.
ScorpConvert Team
7 min Dec 15, 2025
Payroll
The S Corp Quarterly Tax Rhythm Every Owner Should Run
A four-event yearly cadence (payroll deposits, 941s, estimated taxes, 1120-S) that prevents every notice we have ever seen.
ScorpConvert Team
5 min Nov 22, 2025