S-corp owners: books, payroll and taxes done for you
Free tax review
Find out what we’d handle and what it costs
Thirty minutes by phone; you leave with one written price.
Each month we keep the books, run your salary through payroll and book owner draws as distributions; at year end we prepare the S-corp return. Bookkeeping starts at $375 a month, quoted as a flat fee in writing before we start. Based in Santa Clarita, we work with S-corp owners in any state.
Typical situations
Do you work with S-corp owners like me?
Yes, we take on S-corp owners who work in the business — one owner or two, newly elected or years in, current or behind.
A one-owner consulting S-corp paying the owner by transfer
The owner takes money out by bank transfer and no payroll has ever been run — the bank statements show the transfers, and no Forms 941 (the quarterly payroll returns) were ever filed. The IRS can treat what came out as wages the owner never ran through payroll. We set up payroll for the owner and run the salary through it from the next pay date. Payroll for a one-owner S-corp starts at $95 a month — see how the payroll service runs.
An owner paying the family’s health insurance personally
The premiums go out of a personal account, never reimbursed and never on the W-2 (the wage statement): the insurance invoices sit with the personal bank statements, and last year’s W-2 shows nothing. Paid that way, the deduction is lost. For a more-than-2% shareholder — an owner holding more than 2 percent of the shares — the company pays or reimburses the premiums, and the amount goes on the owner’s W-2. That W-2 step is what the owner’s own deduction depends on, and it isn’t available for any month the owner or the owner’s spouse could have joined a subsidized employer plan. We set it up in payroll.
An owner paid a flat monthly reimbursement for the car and the home office
The owner drives to clients and works from a home office. The company pays the same flat amount each month for both, whatever was driven or spent; the mileage log and the receipts exist but were never matched to the payment, and the payroll records don’t show it as wages. A flat allowance paid whether or not there’s an expense is wages, while repayments under an accountable plan — a written policy for paying back business expenses — backed by receipts and a mileage log aren’t. We set the plan up in writing and pay back from the receipts and the log. Whether the home office or a given car cost qualifies depends on the facts; we check it and don’t promise it.
Two owners of a design studio taking money out unevenly
One draws monthly and the other takes a lump sum at year end. Each owner’s distributions (money taken out as an owner, not as pay) show on the bank statements, and each owner’s K-1 shows their share of the profit. The shares have to carry identical rights to distributions. We book each owner’s draws against ownership every month and flag any draw that runs out of proportion in the month it happens. Monthly books start at $375 a month — see how the monthly books run.
An owner who has taken out more than the company earned, with basis never tracked
Over a few years the draws passed the profit, and basis — the owner’s running investment in the company, which decides whether a distribution is taxed — was never tracked. The K-1s for every year, the distribution records and the loans to or from the company are what a rebuild starts from. A distribution larger than basis is taxed as a gain. We rebuild basis from the first S-corp year, then keep Form 7203, the basis schedule, every year and file it when required.
An LLC owner who is behind on the election and the books
Form 2553, the S election, went in late. The books for 2026 were never kept, the owner isn’t sure the election took effect, and the 2026 Form 1120-S, the S-corp return, is coming due. The IRS letters, the returns already filed and the bank statements are where we start. The 2026 Form 1120-S and every owner’s K-1 are due March 15, 2027. If it’s filed late, the IRS charges a penalty for each owner even when no tax is owed: $260 per shareholder per month, up to 12 months, unless there’s reasonable cause. We confirm whether the election took effect first, then bring 2026 current. A catch-up starts at $750 — see how a cleanup project runs.
Paying yourself
How should an S-corp owner pay themselves?
If you work in your S corporation, you pay yourself a reasonable salary through payroll first, and take distributions after that.
The IRS can re-label distributions as wages when the salary isn’t reasonable — reasonable compensation meaning a salary that fits the work you do — and the Code and regulations give no specific number, only factors about you and the work. Our starting point is a salary of roughly one-third of net profit, then checked against the IRS factors for the work you actually do. Your wages carry Social Security and Medicare through payroll and your share of the profit doesn’t, so we keep the two apart in the books from the first month. We set the salary from those factors on your own facts and keep the reasoning in writing.
We run payroll before any distribution and keep the salary, the distributions and the reasoning in one file, so the books, the payroll records and the return tell the same story.
The election
How does an LLC become an S-corp, and should mine?
An S corporation is a tax election, not a different kind of company: an LLC with one owner or several becomes an S-corp by filing Form 2553. Whether it pays depends on your own numbers. Our position: when net profit clears $80,000 to $100,000 a year and looks like it will repeat, it’s time to run the S-corp math on your numbers. We model it both ways — the cost of payroll and the second return — before anything is filed, and we tell you not to do it when it doesn’t fit.
To elect, the business must be a domestic (US) corporation or an LLC that can be treated as one, with no more than 100 shareholders, only shareholders the rules allow, one class of stock, and every shareholder signing the consent. We file Form 2553 on time: by March 15 for an existing calendar-year business, or within 2 months and 15 days of the start of a new one’s first tax year.
The election and setup start at $595. After you elect, your share of the profit is taxed on your own return whether or not you take the money out, so we set up quarterly estimates from the books.
Catch-up work
What does a catch-up look like when an S-corp’s books are behind?
A catch-up rebuilds the missing months from your bank and card statements, the payroll reports and the returns already filed, then sets a clean starting point for the monthly close, priced from $750.
What we ask for
The IRS letters about the election come first. If an owner transfer has no record of what it was for, we list it for you to answer instead of guessing salary or distribution.
How the cleanup runs
Owner draws are sorted into salary, distribution or reimbursement; payroll filings are checked quarter by quarter; and the basis schedule is rebuilt. A late Form 2553 is dealt with first, and any missed 1120-S years are filed oldest first.
What you get
Reconciled books for each missing year, the payroll filings brought current, the basis schedule (Form 7203) rebuilt, and quarterly estimates from the same figures.
Cleanup is billed half to start and the balance on delivery — more on the cleanup project.
The monthly close
What do you check every month?
Each month we tie the owner’s pay, draws, reimbursements and health insurance to payroll and the bank, so the S-corp return starts from clean numbers.
- The payroll register against each quarter’s Form 941
- Owner transfers matched to a payroll run or a reimbursement with receipts, or booked as a distribution
- Health insurance premiums against the invoices and the W-2 treatment
- Accountable-plan reimbursements against receipts and the mileage log
- Each owner’s draws against ownership when there’s more than one owner
- Each owner’s year-to-date draws checked against the Form 7203 basis figures
- The bank and card statements reconciled
Each month you get the P&L (the profit and loss statement), the balance sheet and a short note on what needs attention — see what the monthly bookkeeping covers.
California
What’s different for an S-corp owner in California?
In California, three things change for an S-corp owner: the state return and the $800 minimum tax, the payroll registration, and the PTE (pass-through entity) elective tax.
- Form 100S and the $800. A California S corporation files Form 100S, California’s S-corp return, and pays at least the $800 minimum franchise tax; an LLC that elects S status files Form 100S instead of the LLC return (Form 568) and pays the corporation minimum tax instead of the LLC annual tax. We put the $800 into the election model and file the 100S.
- Payroll registration. A corporate officer is an employee under California law too, so once wages pass $100 in a quarter the corporation registers with the EDD — California’s payroll tax agency — within 15 days and files the DE 9 and DE 9C, the quarterly state payroll reports, every quarter. We run it.
- The PTE elective tax. California lets an S corporation choose, each year, to pay a state tax on its consenting California shareholders’ shares; those shareholders take it as a credit on their own returns. The choice is made on the company’s timely original return, with form FTB 3804, filed with the Franchise Tax Board (the FTB, California’s tax agency). For 2026 through 2030 a payment is due by June 15 of the election year, and missing it shrinks the credit. We check each year whether it fits and calendar June 15.
Pricing
What do an S-corp owner’s books, payroll and return cost in 2026?
In 2026, bookkeeping for an S-corp owner starts at $375 a month, payroll for your salary from $95 a month, the return alone from $650 for a one-owner LLC that hasn’t elected yet or from $850 for an LLC or S-corp with the owner’s personal return included, and a cleanup from $750. W-2 and 1099 filing on their own, without monthly books, from $95, and the S election and setup from $595. Each is a flat fee quoted in writing before we start.
Setting your salary, the basis schedule (Form 7203), health insurance run through payroll and the accountable-plan reimbursements sit inside the quote; there’s no separate charge for them. What moves a quote: whether the LLC is still plain or already elected, and when the election took effect; one owner or two or more; the owner’s salary and how often payroll runs; whether anyone besides the owner is on payroll; who runs payroll now; QuickBooks or not and how current the books are; and how many years are behind — a missed 1120-S or a late election.
Books
from $375/mo
- Reconciliations for every account
- Owner pay and draws kept apart
- Monthly P&L and balance sheet
- A short note on what matters
Payroll
from $95/mo
- The owner’s salary: pay runs, direct deposit and pay stubs
- The 941 and 940, the quarterly and yearly payroll returns
- State payroll reports
- The year-end W-2
- Anyone else on payroll, priced into the quote
Election and setup
from $595
- Form 2553 filed
- The EIN (the company’s federal tax ID number) and registrations
- Payroll set up
- Books set up for clean distributions
The return alone
from $650 / from $850
- From $650 for a one-owner LLC that hasn’t elected yet — a Schedule C return, the one-owner business form filed with your personal return
- From $850 for an LLC or S-corp — the owner’s personal return included
- Form 1120-S with a K-1 for every owner
The quote is the price. When it’s time to file, this is how we prepare the return.
How it works
What happens after you book?
The free 30-minute call ends with one price and the engagement letter; a portal invite and a short checklist follow.
The 30-minute call
Questions about what kind of entity you have and which state it’s in, when the election took effect, how many owners, the salary and payroll, and the state of the books. It ends with one price for the work we’d take on — a flat fee quoted in writing before we start.
The engagement letter
Sent during the call and signed when you’re ready — it doesn’t expire. Signing books a short onboarding call, and the secure-portal invite comes from that call.
Access and documents
The portal invite, read-only bank feeds or the QuickBooks file, the last Form 1120-S and its K-1s, the IRS letter accepting the S election, and the payroll reports. A short checklist goes with it so nothing is missed.
Behind first
If the books are behind, the cleanup comes first, then the first monthly close.
Filing season
Half the return fee starts the work and the balance is due before e-file; you review the draft before anything is filed, and questions during the year go to the same team.
Communication
You’ll know where the books and the return stand.
The person who answers the phone is on the same team that keeps your books and prepares your return.
The same-day rule
Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day — all twelve months.
If April gets tight
We file the extension at no charge, and the same team stays on the return until it’s done.
Admitted to practice before the IRS
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. If an IRS letter shows up — a notice about a late 1120-S, for example — forward it: how we handle IRS letters.
The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team
For an S-corp owner, we keep the books, run the owner’s payroll and prepare the return from the same numbers — reachable all year.
Bookkeeping · Tax preparation · Tax planning · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495
Reviews
Rated 5.0 on Google
★★★★★ Twelve reviews, every one five stars, every one verifiable. Read all of them on Google →
"Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process."
Kevin B. — via Google
"Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn't looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done."
Levon B. — via Google
"I came to this company with previous tax years and bookkeeping that were done incorrectly. They're very knowledgeable about what they do and help me get everything in order at a very reasonable price."
Sayra A. — via Google
Where we work
Do you work with S-corp owners outside California?
Yes — based in Santa Clarita, we work with S-corp owners remotely in any state.
Documents move through the secure portal, and the monthly report goes over a call or a screen share. If you work in another state, we work to that state’s payroll and filing rules and price it into your quote.
What we don’t do
We handle the tax side: the books, the owner’s payroll, the election and the returns. Operating agreements, bylaws and corporate formalities are legal work for an attorney, and liability questions, retirement-plan design, investment advice, representation before California’s Franchise Tax Board and reviewed, compiled or audited financial statements are outside our work.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
Two articles from our blog: one for two owners whose LLC hasn’t elected yet, and one for an owner paying quarterly estimates for the first time.
FAQ
What should an S-corp owner ask before booking?
How much salary should I pay myself from my S-corp?
The IRS publishes no number: the salary has to be reasonable for the work you do, judged by factors such as your duties, your time, your experience and what a business would pay someone else for the same work. Our starting point is a salary of roughly one-third of net profit, which we then check against those factors. We set it from your own facts, keep the reasoning in writing, and revisit it each year as the books change.
What if I missed the deadline to file Form 2553?
A late Form 2553 usually takes effect the next year, unless you qualify for late-election relief under Rev. Proc. 2013-30. Its conditions: reasonable cause for the miss, acting promptly once it’s found, every return filed as if the election were in place, and generally within 3 years and 75 days of the date it was meant to take effect. We check whether you qualify and then file it.
Can my S-corp pay for my health insurance?
Yes — for a more-than-2% shareholder, the company pays the premiums or reimburses you, and the amount is added to your W-2, which is what lets you deduct it on your own return. The deduction isn’t available for any month you or your spouse could have joined a subsidized employer plan. We run the premiums through payroll so the W-2 entry isn’t missed.
Do I have to file Form 7203 every year?
No — Form 7203 is required only in a year you take a distribution, claim a loss, sell shares or are repaid a loan by the company. The IRS suggests keeping the basis figures every year anyway, and we keep the schedule current each year so the years that need it file cleanly.
My S-corp is behind on payroll filings or returns. Can you catch it up?
Yes — we check a late or missing election first, then file the missed returns oldest first and bring the payroll filings current; catch-up work starts at $750. If a year has distributions but no payroll, we settle the salary for that year before its return is filed.
Should I have an LLC or an S-corp?
An S-corp is a federal tax election an LLC can also make, so the choice is about how the business is taxed on your own figures. In California an LLC owes the $800 annual tax and an S corporation pays at least the $800 minimum franchise tax, so electing doesn’t avoid it. We model both on your numbers before you form or elect anything — see how we handle the entity decision.
Want us to take over your S-corp’s books, payroll and return?
One free 30-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what we’d handle and what it costs — whether or not you hire us.
Rather talk now? Call (661) 554-4495 — reach us during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day.
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. This page is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation.