Tax Treatment of S-Corp Payments to Shareholders

Shareholders who are employed by a corporation which has elected to be taxed as an S-Corp wear two hats.  They are investors in the entity (they contributed capital to get their shares initially) and allowed to get a return on their capital, and they are employees who receive wages.  When an owner/employee of an S-Corp (or an LLC which is taxed as an S-Corp) is on a salary from the S-Corp, the wages payable are subject to employment taxes, and distributions made to the owner of the S-Corp are not subject to employment taxes.  Also if the S-Corp was loaned money by the shareholder, the S-Corp can make payments to repay the loan to the shareholder, and these payments will not be subject to the employment tax.  Misclassifying payments as distributions or loan repayments, when they really should be wages can lead to an audit from the IRS.

In a recent case from the United States Tax Court (Glass Blocks Unlimited, TC Memo, 2013-180), Read more