Howard Tax Prep LLC often works with Chicago residents that have to pay self-employment taxes. Although we are a nationwide tax firm, because our office is located in the South Loop of Chicago, we attract many Chicago tax preparation clients that need to lower their self employment taxes.
If you are a sole proprietor, a 1 member LLC, or a general partner in a business, you know that the 15.3 percent self-employment tax can eat up your profits in a hurry. For example, let’s assume you operate a sole proprietorship and you earn $100,000 of net income. You must report your income on Schedule C of your tax return, which creates a self-employment tax liability of $14,129.55, in addition to your personal income tax! In order to lower self-employment taxes some self-employed Chicago residents have our firm apply their business for the IRS Subchapter S taxation status.
What Is an S Corporation?
The Subchapter S Corporation is a special IRS election that has to be requested during a very narrow 75-day window of time that begins on the day the business owner forms the corporation or LLC. Many of our self-employed Chicago tax clients choose to keep their legal entity as a corporation or a LLC, but have their taxable entity become an S corporation.
For federal tax purposes, your S corporation is a pass-through entity, meaning that the corporation’s income, deductions, and tax credit items are passed through to you, the shareholder, on a Schedule K-1. For some business owners, this is the best of both worlds: liability protection with personal taxation.