> You don’t pay employment taxes on dividends/distributions, just income taxes
Did you have multiple employees? I think that changes everything, we're talking about a solo business owner in this case.
All profits from a single employee LLC get treated as income tax. Here's a quote from Intuit[0]:
> Single-member LLCs are disregarded entities. A disregarded entity is ignored by the IRS for tax purposes, and the IRS collects the business’s taxes through the owner’s personal tax return. Single-member LLCs do not file a separate business tax return.
This also applies to S-corp election. It's why a few accountants that I've spoken with have suggested that creating an LLC for tax savings as a solo business owner isn't worth it. It just complicates things for no real benefit. You have reduced liabilities but that's separate from saving money on taxes.
As you mentioned it would be a good idea to give yourself a reasonable salary as an LLC employee to not get audit by the IRS which is why you can't expect to hire a friend for $10 / year to instantly make yourself a multi-employee business.
> If a single-member LLC does not elect to be treated as a corporation, the LLC is a "disregarded entity," and the LLC's activities should be reflected on its owner's federal tax return.
(emphasis mine)
That “if” is significant. As an SMLLC you can elect either C-corp or S-corp (pass through) status, and that changes things completely.
Did you have multiple employees? I think that changes everything, we're talking about a solo business owner in this case.
All profits from a single employee LLC get treated as income tax. Here's a quote from Intuit[0]:
> Single-member LLCs are disregarded entities. A disregarded entity is ignored by the IRS for tax purposes, and the IRS collects the business’s taxes through the owner’s personal tax return. Single-member LLCs do not file a separate business tax return.
This also applies to S-corp election. It's why a few accountants that I've spoken with have suggested that creating an LLC for tax savings as a solo business owner isn't worth it. It just complicates things for no real benefit. You have reduced liabilities but that's separate from saving money on taxes.
As you mentioned it would be a good idea to give yourself a reasonable salary as an LLC employee to not get audit by the IRS which is why you can't expect to hire a friend for $10 / year to instantly make yourself a multi-employee business.
[0]: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/structuring/the-single-membe...