California S-Corp Tax Calculator

Self-employment tax is federal — 15.3% (12.4% Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base + 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of your net self-employment income, the same in California as everywhere. California then taxes that same income at its state income-tax rate (up to 13.3%). The calculator above shows your SE tax at any income.

In California, at this calculator's default assumptions, it pays off between $60,551 and $218,835 of net profit, and again from $265,392 — above $218,835, the salary is still paying Social Security tax after a sole proprietor's has stopped at the wage base; from $265,392, the QBI wage limit takes the deduction from a sole proprietor with no payroll, and the salary keeps it. Below $265,392 of net profit, it never saves more than about $1,664 a year at these assumptions. That assumes a salary of 60% of net profit (capped at the $184,500 Social Security wage base), $2,500 a year for payroll and the extra business return, a single filer with no other income taking the $16,100 standard deduction, a business that is not a specified service business (not consulting, law, health, financial services and the like) and an LLC you already have, so its annual fee is paid either way. It counts federal payroll tax, federal income tax (including the QBI deduction the salary changes) and what CA charges for the election. Your own state income tax is not in it. A lower defensible salary moves the answer, and so do your own payroll and return quotes.

California taxes an S-corp's net income at 1.5%, with a minimum of $800 a year — but an LLC that elects stops paying the $800 annual LLC tax and the receipts-based LLC fee, so this calculator counts only the difference.

Yes. California offers a pass-through entity tax (PTET) election that lets the business pay state income tax and deduct it federally, bypassing the federal SALT cap on that income. The cap is $40,400 for 2026 but phases down toward $10,000 above ~$505,000 of MAGI, so PTET matters most for higher earners. If you elect S-corp, this often stacks on top of the SE-tax savings.

The IRS requires S-corp owner-employees to pay themselves a reasonable salary (subject to FICA) before taking distributions. This calculator assumes a salary of 60% of net profit (capped at the $184,500 Social Security wage base), with the rest taken as distributions, as an illustration — your actual reasonable compensation depends on your role and industry and should be set with a CPA.