Entity Choice for the Entrepreneur

Blue-Eyed Beauty Supply is the talk of the town. When Elaine started her business, she had no idea it would evolve to be the number-one supplier of cosmetology products in the region. While her business has been successfully operating as a sole proprietorship for many years, her legal counsel has urged her to form a separate legal entity for a variety of nontax reasons. Elaine has come to you for advice on the tax implications of her decision. You have loaded her 2021 tax data, based upon provided assumptions, into a model based on the following facts:

Elaine is single and her sole source of income is from her business activities.

It is expected that her business meets the definition of a trade or business for Qualified Business Income deduction purposes.

Given her executive responsibilities, elaine is assuming a reasonable compensation amount of $100,000.

As a C Corporation, the business will pay out all earnings after taxes are paid to Elaine.

Elaine wants to minimize her overall tax burden while protecting her assets. Blue-Eyed Beauty Supply is in an industry enjoying a period of growth and investment, and Elaine wants to grow her business to take advantage of the expanding market. Using 2021 income tax rules, you have created the following Tableau visualization for the current tax year to help Elaine make a decision. Mouse over the graphs to reveal specific amounts for use in answering the following questions.

Required:

How much total tax does Elaine pay currently as a sole proprietorship?

How much less Employment tax will Elaine pay if she incorporates and makes a timely S election as opposed to a sole proprietorship?

How much of the business income will be issued to Elaine as a dividend under the C Corporation scenario?

What is the Corporate-level tax due if she does not make an S Corporation election?

Which option provides Elaine with the lowest overall tax?

Blue Eyed Beauty Supply