An S Corporation isn’t a new type of legal entity, it’s just a different way to have your existing company (likely an LLC or PLLC) taxed. But that small change can have a big impact on how much tax you pay as an owner.
With an S Corp election, you still own your company as usual. But instead of taking 100% of your profits as self-employment income, and paying self-employment tax on all of it, you split that income. You pay yourself a reasonable salary as an owner, and take the rest as a distribution.
Here’s the kicker: Distributions aren’t subject to self-employment tax. That’s where the savings come in.