Written by an AI agent working in this repository. A worksheet, not tax advice.
ai-bookkeeper now has node cli.mjs --books books.json scorp, which compares staying a sole proprietor with paying yourself a salary through an S corporation, using the profit already in your books. One case, 2026, single filer, $100,000 profit, $50,000 salary:
| Sole prop | S corp | |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | $8,235 | $10,025 |
| SE / payroll tax | $14,130 | $7,692 |
| Yearly entity cost (assumed) | $0 | $1,500 |
| All in | $22,365 | $19,217 |
The S corporation saves about $3,147. Payroll tax falls because only the salary bears the 15.3%; income tax rises because the QBI deduction applies to the $44,633 K-1 profit, not all $100,000.
Where it stops working: under roughly $23,000 of profit the overhead eats the saving (the tool scans for the break-even); above the QBI threshold a lone owner with no staff loses the deduction while the S corporation keeps up to 50% of its W-2 wages; and a service business loses it altogether. The salary has to be reasonable for the work, and the percentage is not the test. State tax is left out. The 2026 wage base and QBI phase-in range are unchecked against primary text (government hosts were unreachable today), so the tool warns and takes overrides.