{"id":13928,"date":"2023-11-01T10:41:23","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T16:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/kb\/reasonable-s-corp-salary-theory\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T17:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:11:18","slug":"reasonable-s-corp-salary-theory","status":"publish","type":"epkb_post_type_1","link":"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/kb\/reasonable-s-corp-salary-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Reasonable S Corp Salary Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 ez-toc-wrap-right counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table Of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/kb\/reasonable-s-corp-salary-theory\/#Taxpayers_Comprehensive_Guide_to_LLCs_and_S_Corps_2025_Edition\" >Taxpayer\u2019s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps 2025 Edition<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/kb\/reasonable-s-corp-salary-theory\/#Talk_to_a_Small_Business_CPA_About_Your_Situation\" >Talk to a Small Business CPA About Your Situation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/kb\/reasonable-s-corp-salary-theory\/#Schedule_Discovery_Meeting_Now\" >Schedule Discovery Meeting Now<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By <strong>Jason Watson, CPA<\/strong><br \/>\nPosted Thursday, November 2, 2023<\/p>\n<p>Determining a reasonable salary is the hardest part of running an S corporation. What the heck do I pay myself? Before we get into that, let\u2019s discuss why shareholder salary needs to be just above bar napkin quality and just below NASA precision.<\/p>\n<p>Scattered throughout this book we\u2019ve stressed that the only tax savings an S Corp provides is the reduction of self-employment taxes, and in the case of shareholder wages we are talking about Social Security and Medicare taxes (payroll taxes). When your business pays you $10,000 in shareholder wages, 7.65% is withheld from your paycheck for the employee\u2019s portion of payroll taxes. This is broken down into 6.2% Social Security tax and 1.45% Medicare tax. The business also must pay 7.65% for a combined percentage of 15.3%. Since the business deducts its portion of payroll taxes, the effective tax rate is 14.1%, but we&#8217;ll use 15.3% since that is the big number everyone knows.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, a $10,000 shareholder salary costs you $1,530 in additional taxes beyond income taxes. Said in a different way, if you pay yourself $50,000 when $40,000 could have been a reasonable shareholder salary, you just wasted $1,530. Even a $5,000 delta equates to $765.<\/p>\n<p>Truth be told there is some philosophical issues with the reasonable salary element where your labor is the only material income-producing factor for the business. Some would argue that all the S Corp\u2019s income should then be considered shareholder wages and subjected to Social Security and Medicare taxes, since if you died the business would die. Do we see this \u201cloophole\u201d being re-defined and shrinking over the next several years? Yes. But at the same time, we say let it ride until we can\u2019t use it. The IRS and Congress move at glacial speeds- let\u2019s worry about next time, next time.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, there might be times where your business would continue without you. When WCG performs business valuations, especially in divorce proceedings, we assign a value to goodwill. We do this by taking a number called seller\u2019s discretionary cash flow (SDCF) and we subtract the cash flow that is derived from tangible assets (cash, equipment, etc.). This leaves us with a theoretical number that is considered goodwill which can be used as a proxy to determine your \u201cvalue\u201d to the business.<\/p>\n<p>We further tease out personal goodwill and enterprise goodwill since in some jurisdictions personal goodwill is not marital property. This might seem like an odd tangent, but a similar argument can be made for a business that does not rely on you. One great example is a financial advisor that has a small team supporting him or her- typically the fee income continues well into the future without the direct involvement of the advisor (enterprise goodwill). In this situation, an argument for a smaller salary could be warranted since enterprise goodwill exceeds personal goodwill.<\/p>\n<p>Consider this-<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 90%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: bottom; text-align: left; width: 70%;\" width=\"432\"><strong>Business Type<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: bottom; text-align: center; width: 30%;\" width=\"125\"><strong>Owner<br \/>\nParticipation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; width: 70%;\" width=\"432\">Software developer who has gone to market<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; width: 30%;\" width=\"125\">10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; width: 70%;\" width=\"432\">Amazon retailer, a lot of drop shipments, no inventory<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; width: 30%;\" width=\"125\">20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; width: 70%;\" width=\"432\">Financial advisor with small team<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; width: 30%;\" width=\"125\">30%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; width: 70%;\" width=\"432\">Doctor who is a partner in an emergency clinic<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; width: 30%;\" width=\"125\">40%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; width: 70%;\" width=\"432\">Consultant, Attorney, Accountant (solo operator)<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; width: 30%;\" width=\"125\">90%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; width: 70%;\" width=\"432\">Actor with no endorsements or couch-jumping events<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; width: 30%;\" width=\"125\">100%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Of course, this is all theoretical and is open to debate, but you get the idea.<\/p>\n<p>Take this one step further. What would an investor be willing to pay a person other than you, yet who is also capable of running the business? Perhaps your contribution to the business was developing procedures and workflows to make it hum, and someone with less skill and experience can do the same work and produce the same results. Just a thought as we head into all this.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, a lower salary to you results in a higher rate of return for the investor. We could also look at the earnings generated from capital investments such as machinery or internally generated assets, and other non-owner employees versus shareholder labor. Think of that software developer from the previous table. We digress here but explore this more in a bit.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;25px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<style data-type=\"vc_shortcodes-custom-css\">#wd-6915e3dd2a9b5 .info-box-title{line-height:40px;font-size:30px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-6915e3dd2a9b5 .info-box-inner{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-6915e437409dd .info-box-title{line-height:40px;font-size:30px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-6915e437409dd .info-box-inner{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-68460c16bff16 .info-box-title{line-height:60px;font-size:50px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-68460c16bff16 .info-box-inner{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-687b937e0887f .info-box-title{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-687b937e0887f .info-box-inner{line-height:22px;font-size:12px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-687b9384e0d51 .info-box-title{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-687b9384e0d51 .info-box-inner{line-height:22px;font-size:12px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-687b938a8f4b3 .info-box-title{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-687b938a8f4b3 .info-box-inner{line-height:22px;font-size:12px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-68bcf7fc8516a .info-box-title{line-height:40px;font-size:30px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-68bcf7fc8516a .info-box-inner{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-68bcfccd83cf7 .info-box-title{line-height:46px;font-size:36px;color:#473d3c;}#wd-68bcfccd83cf7 .info-box-inner{line-height:26px;font-size:16px;color:#473d3c;}@media (max-width: 1199px) {#wd-6915e3dd2a9b5 .info-box-title{line-height:34px;font-size:24px;}#wd-6915e3dd2a9b5 .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-6915e437409dd .info-box-title{line-height:34px;font-size:24px;}#wd-6915e437409dd .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-68460c16bff16 .info-box-title{line-height:50px;font-size:40px;}#wd-687b937e0887f .info-box-title{line-height:25px;font-size:15px;}#wd-687b9384e0d51 .info-box-title{line-height:25px;font-size:15px;}#wd-687b938a8f4b3 .info-box-title{line-height:25px;font-size:15px;}#wd-68bcf7fc8516a .info-box-title{line-height:34px;font-size:24px;}#wd-68bcf7fc8516a .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-68bcfccd83cf7 .info-box-title{line-height:36px;font-size:26px;}#wd-68bcfccd83cf7 .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}}@media (max-width: 767px) {#wd-6915e3dd2a9b5 .info-box-title{line-height:28px;font-size:18px;}#wd-6915e3dd2a9b5 .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-6915e437409dd .info-box-title{line-height:28px;font-size:18px;}#wd-6915e437409dd .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-68460c16bff16 .info-box-title{line-height:40px;font-size:30px;}#wd-687b937e0887f .info-box-title{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-687b9384e0d51 .info-box-title{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-687b938a8f4b3 .info-box-title{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-68bcf7fc8516a .info-box-title{line-height:28px;font-size:18px;}#wd-68bcf7fc8516a .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}#wd-68bcfccd83cf7 .info-box-title{line-height:28px;font-size:18px;}#wd-68bcfccd83cf7 .info-box-inner{line-height:24px;font-size:14px;}}<\/style><div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-6915e3dd2a9b5\" class=\" wd-rs-6915e3dd2a9b5 wd-info-box wd-wpb text-center box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none border-btm-title kb \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Jason Watson, CPA, is a Partner and the CEO of <strong>WCG CPAs &amp; Advisors<\/strong>, a boutique yet progressive tax, accounting and business consultation firm located in Colorado serving small business owners and taxpayers worldwide.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; justify-content: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jason-watson-cpa\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17327 entered lazyloaded\" style=\"height: 35px!important; width: auto!important;\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/linkedin-150x150-1.png.webp\" alt=\"Jason Watson CPA LinkedIn\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jason@wcginc.com\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-17334 entered lazyloaded\" style=\"height: 35px!important; width: auto!important;\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/mail-150x150-1.png.webp\" alt=\"Jason Watson CPA Email\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-6915e437409dd\" class=\" wd-rs-6915e437409dd wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none border-btm-title img-right kb \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"info-box-title title wd-font-weight-800 box-title-style-default font-primary wd-fontsize-m\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Taxpayers_Comprehensive_Guide_to_LLCs_and_S_Corps_2025_Edition\"><\/span>Taxpayer\u2019s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps 2025 Edition<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31529 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/LLC-S-Corp-Web-and-Social-GFX_275-250x300-1.webp\" alt=\"Taxpayer\u2019s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps 2025 Edition\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" \/>This KB article is an excerpt from our 420+ page book (some picture pages, but no scatch and sniff) which is available in paperback from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcginc.com\/amazon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>, as an eBook for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcginc.com\/kindle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kindle<\/a>\u00a0and as a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcginc.com\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PDF<\/a>\u00a0from ClickBank. We used to publish with iTunes and Nook, but keeping up with two different formats was brutal. You can cruise through these KB articles online, click on the fancy buttons below or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/business-services\/book\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit our webpage<\/a>\u00a0which provides more information.<\/p>\n<table class=\"purchase-table\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/amazon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6657 aligncenter\" style=\"float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/amazon-imageresized.png.webp\" alt=\"LLCs and S Corp Book Amazon\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/kindle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6658\" style=\"float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/kindle-imageresized.png.webp\" alt=\"LLCs and S Corp Book Kindle\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6659 aligncenter\" style=\"float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PDFresized.png.webp\" alt=\"LLCs and S Corp Book PDF\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>$49.95<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>$39.95<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>$29.95<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"top\" el_id=\"consultation-secc\" woodmart_css_id=\"6756f7d427735\" responsive_spacing=\"eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NzU2ZjdkNDI3NzM1Iiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93IiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=\" mobile_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" tablet_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" woodmart_parallax=\"0\" woodmart_gradient_switch=\"no\" woodmart_box_shadow=\"no\" wd_z_index=\"no\" woodmart_disable_overflow=\"0\" row_reverse_mobile=\"0\" row_reverse_tablet=\"0\" el_class=\"kb-consult\"][vc_column]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-68460c2ba6365\" class=\" wd-rs-68460c2ba6365 wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none border-btm-title kb-fix \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"info-box-title title box-title-style-default wd-fontsize-m\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Talk_to_a_Small_Business_CPA_About_Your_Situation\"><\/span>Talk to a Small Business CPA About Your Situation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p>Please use the form below to tell us a little about yourself, and what you have going on with your small business or 1099 contractor gig. <strong>WCG CPAs &amp; Advisors<\/strong> are small business CPAs, tax professionals and consultants, and we look forward to talking to you!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[vc_row_inner el_id=\"consultation-inner\" woodmart_css_id=\"66fd6caf92fc0\" responsive_spacing=\"eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NmZkNmNhZjkyZmMwIiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93X2lubmVyIiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=\" mobile_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" tablet_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" woodmart_parallax=\"0\" woodmart_gradient_switch=\"no\" woodmart_box_shadow=\"no\" wd_z_index=\"no\" woodmart_disable_overflow=\"0\" row_reverse_mobile=\"0\" row_reverse_tablet=\"0\"][vc_column_inner][vc_raw_js el_class=\"defaultBot\"]JTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwdHlwZSUzRCUyMnRleHQlMkZqYXZhc2NyaXB0JTIyJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3Y2dpbmMuam90Zm9ybS5jb20lMkZqc2Zvcm0lMkYyNTE2NjQ4Nzk0MTQ5NzMlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0U=[\/vc_raw_js][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-68460c16bff16\" class=\" wd-rs-68460c16bff16 wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none border-btm-title defaultBot \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p>The tax advisors, business consultants and rental property experts at <strong>WCG CPAs &amp; Advisors<\/strong> are not salespeople; we are not putting lipstick on a pig expecting you to love it. Our job remains being professionally detached, giving you information and letting you decide within our ethical guidelines and your risk profiles.<\/p>\n<p>We see far too many crazy schemes and half-baked ideas from attorneys and wealth managers. In some cases, they are good ideas. In most cases, all the entities, layering and mixed ownership is only the illusion of precision. As Chris Rock says, just because you can drive your car with your feet doesn\u2019t make it a good idea. In other words, let\u2019s not automatically convert \u201cyou can\u201d into \u201cyou must.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s chat so you can be smart about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We typically schedule a 20-minute complimentary quick chat with one of our Partners or our amazing Senior Tax Professionals to determine if we are a good fit for each other, and how an engagement with our team looks. Tax returns only? Business advisory? Tax strategy and planning? Rental property support?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" el_class=\"boxes--pack\" woodmart_css_id=\"673b5f334f247\" responsive_spacing=\"eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NzNiNWYzMzRmMjQ3Iiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93X2lubmVyIiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=\" mobile_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" tablet_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" woodmart_parallax=\"0\" woodmart_gradient_switch=\"no\" woodmart_box_shadow=\"no\" wd_z_index=\"no\" woodmart_disable_overflow=\"0\" row_reverse_mobile=\"0\" row_reverse_tablet=\"0\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1\/3\"]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-687b937e0887f\" class=\" wd-rs-687b937e0887f wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none business-boxes \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-icon-wrapper  box-with-icon box-icon-simple\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-icon\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"622\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Text-WCG-Offices-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Text WCG Offices\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"info-box-title title wd-font-weight-600 box-title-style-default font-primary wd-fontsize-m\">Text WCG Offices<\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p>Need to get in touch through a quick text?\u00a0 We\u2019ll respond back within a day and get going!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"wd-info-box-link wd-fill\" aria-label=\"Infobox link\" href=\"sms:+17193452100?&amp;body=Hey%20WCG!%20Please%20call%20me%20to%20discuss%20your%20CPA%20services\" title=\"\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1\/3\"]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-687b9384e0d51\" class=\" wd-rs-687b9384e0d51 wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none business-boxes \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-icon-wrapper  box-with-icon box-icon-simple\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-icon\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"622\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chat-Our-Amazing-Team-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Chat our amazing team\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"info-box-title title wd-font-weight-600 box-title-style-default font-primary wd-fontsize-m\">Call Our Amazing Team<\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p class=\" \">If you need to speak to a tax professional now, give us a call and we'll get you connected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"wd-info-box-link wd-fill\" aria-label=\"Infobox link\" href=\"tel:719-387-9800\" title=\"\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1\/3\"]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-687b938a8f4b3\" class=\" wd-rs-687b938a8f4b3 wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none business-boxes nav-button-chat \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-icon-wrapper  box-with-icon box-icon-simple\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-icon\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"622\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chat-With-a-Tax-Pro-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Chat with a tax pro\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"info-box-title title wd-font-weight-600 box-title-style-default font-primary wd-fontsize-m\">Chat With a Tax Pro<\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p>Taxes can be tricky. Chat with a WCG human now and get questions answered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"top\" woodmart_css_id=\"684abef7ecaa9\" responsive_spacing=\"eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2ODRhYmVmN2VjYWE5Iiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93IiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=\" mobile_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" tablet_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" woodmart_parallax=\"0\" woodmart_gradient_switch=\"no\" woodmart_box_shadow=\"no\" wd_z_index=\"no\" woodmart_disable_overflow=\"0\" row_reverse_mobile=\"0\" row_reverse_tablet=\"0\" el_class=\"kb-consult\"][vc_column]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-68bcf7fc8516a\" class=\" wd-rs-68bcf7fc8516a wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none border-btm-title \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"info-box-title title wd-font-weight-600 box-title-style-default font-primary wd-fontsize-m\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Schedule_Discovery_Meeting_Now\"><\/span>Schedule Discovery Meeting Now<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\" el_class=\"client-review-secs box--card\" woodmart_css_id=\"672e712482714\" responsive_spacing=\"eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NzJlNzEyNDgyNzE0Iiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93X2lubmVyIiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=\" mobile_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" tablet_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" woodmart_parallax=\"0\" woodmart_gradient_switch=\"no\" woodmart_box_shadow=\"no\" wd_z_index=\"no\" woodmart_disable_overflow=\"0\" row_reverse_mobile=\"0\" row_reverse_tablet=\"0\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1\/3\" woodmart_css_id=\"671780b35b49a\" parallax_scroll=\"no\" woodmart_sticky_column=\"false\" wd_collapsible_content_switcher=\"no\" wd_column_role_offcanvas_desktop=\"no\" wd_column_role_offcanvas_tablet=\"no\" wd_column_role_offcanvas_mobile=\"no\" wd_column_role_content_desktop=\"no\" wd_column_role_content_tablet=\"no\" wd_column_role_content_mobile=\"no\" mobile_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" tablet_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" woodmart_parallax=\"0\" woodmart_box_shadow=\"no\" responsive_spacing=\"eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NzE3ODBiMzViNDlhIiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfY29sdW1uX2lubmVyIiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=\" wd_z_index=\"no\"]\t\t<div id=\"wd-68874e76cd7bc\" class=\"wd-image wd-wpb wd-rs-68874e76cd7bc text-left \">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/265518_2057667071_tax_consultation_300-1.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Request a Meeting with WCG Inc\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2\/3\" woodmart_css_id=\"671780c0415fb\" parallax_scroll=\"no\" woodmart_sticky_column=\"false\" wd_collapsible_content_switcher=\"no\" wd_column_role_offcanvas_desktop=\"no\" wd_column_role_offcanvas_tablet=\"no\" wd_column_role_offcanvas_mobile=\"no\" wd_column_role_content_desktop=\"no\" wd_column_role_content_tablet=\"no\" wd_column_role_content_mobile=\"no\" mobile_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" tablet_bg_img_hidden=\"no\" woodmart_parallax=\"0\" woodmart_box_shadow=\"no\" responsive_spacing=\"eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NzE3ODBjMDQxNWZiIiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfY29sdW1uX2lubmVyIiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=\" wd_z_index=\"no\"]\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"wd-68bcfccd83cf7\" class=\" wd-rs-68bcfccd83cf7 wd-info-box wd-wpb text-left box-icon-align-top box-style- color-scheme- wd-bg-none with-btn box-btn-static \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-box-inner reset-last-child\"><p>Ready to schedule now and talk about S Corp and reasonable salary and all that gibberish? Let's do it! Here is a link to a Discovery Meeting with one of our Partners or Senior Tax Professionals to understand your tax footprint and objectives, and how <strong>WCG CPAs &amp; Advisors<\/strong> might help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"info-btn-wrapper\"><div id=\"wd-6a31beb2eec17\" class=\"  wd-button-wrapper text-left\"><a href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/wcg-cpas-advisors\/discovery-meeting-instant\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"btn btn-style-default btn-shape-rectangle btn-size-default\">Schedule Meeting<\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<style><\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/div>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Determining a reasonable salary is the hardest part of running an S corporation. What the heck do I pay myself? Before we get into that, let\u2019s discuss why shareholder salary needs to be just above bar napkin quality and just below NASA precision[&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"epkb_post_type_1_category":[77],"epkb_post_type_1_tag":[],"class_list":["post-13928","epkb_post_type_1","type-epkb_post_type_1","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","epkb_post_type_1_category-chap-9-reasonable-shareholder-salary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Reasonable S Corp Salary Theory - Officer Compensation - WCG CPAs &amp; Advisors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Determining a reasonable salary is the hardest part of running an S corporation. We briefly run through some reasonable S Corp salary examples.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wcginc.com\/kb\/reasonable-s-corp-salary-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reasonable S Corp Salary Theory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Determining a reasonable salary is the hardest part of running an S corporation. 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