Article

Are You Still Filing a Schedule C For Your Business?

Topic: Business Coach and Business CoachingBy Paul MonaxPublished Recently added

Legacy signals

Legacy popularity: 1,210 legacy views

There is a better way and I can show you how. If you are running your business as a sole proprietor, then you are filing a Schedule C as part of you annual 1040 income tax filing, but even thought that is technically a business, it is likely not the best business structure for you to use. If you have formed your business either as a Corporation or as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) and file with the IRS a an election to be taxed as an S-Corporation (known as an S-Corp) Form 2553, then instead of being taxed as the default, your company will be taxed as an S-Corp, which has a number of advantages. Have you created a company for your Independent Contracting Practice? The default structure for a Corporation is a C-Corporation, which you will recognize because it is the structure of most of the big companies are (Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc.), and all of the companies that have their stock on the stock market. The default structure for an LLC depends on how many owners of the company, but since we are talking about Independent Contracting, there is typically only one owner, which by default would be a Sole Proprietor. So by default you are going to end up on the same Schedule C that you were trying to avoid. In order to change that default then, you need to file the Form 2553. Being taxed as an S-Corp has many benefits over being taxed as a sole proprietor, which is what you are when you file a Schedule C on your 1040 income tax return. There are many advantages to forming a company for your business endeavor, and taxes are just a few of those. When you have a company, you then have some say in how much Payroll taxes you pay. You do this by deciding upon the salary that you are going to pay yourself, which with a sole proprietorship, you have no control over. You have to take everything the business makes as a salary. You have the ability to take a quarterly Ownership distribution as part of your pay instead of taking it all as self-employment income. That gives you the ability to be more flexible in when you pay yourself, and how much of your income is subject to payroll taxes. You have total over your Retirement planning and can then control every aspect of your Retirement accounts, including what, when, where and how much to invest. One other big advantage of having a company that has nothing to do with taxes is that a company is a separate legal entity. The company is legally treated as an individual itself, which for a sole proprietor is not the case. As a sole proprietor the owner is the business, they are one and the same, so anything the owner does, even if it is exclusively for business purposes, he is still personally and financially responsible for those actions. When you have created a company as a separate legal entity, then you have protected yourself and your family from potential Legal and Liability issues that may arise against the company, as those will need to be addressed with the company itself and not against the owner of the company. All of the above and more are why I have an LLC that I elected to be taxed as an S-Corp. I know some others that are just doing straight S-Corps as well. What structure is best for your situation? If you already have a company, did you create an S-Corp? Or an LLC taxed as an S-Corp? Or something else all together?

Article author

About the Author

Paul Monaxr Independent Contracting Resources http://www.IndependentContractingResources.com/ I am a Mentor for Independent Contractors to help them with the Business Side of their Business. I have been a small business owner of a number of businesses over the past 11 years. For the past 6+ years have been as the owner of a small Independent Contracting business specializing in custom software development for large enterprise systems. Because Being Independent Doesn't Mean You Have To Do It All Alone!

Further reading

Further Reading

4 total

Article

As digital products grow, so do their engineering organizations. What begins as a clean, focused development effort can quickly turn into a maze of competing priorities, cross-team dependencies, and unclear ownership. Without a strong project management layer, even highly skilled engineering teams can find themselves reacting to issues instead of delivering predictable results. This article explores why IT project management is essential for scaling product development, how c

January 15, 2026

Article

A New Chapter in Energy Communication The global energy landscape is shifting faster than ever. As renewable technologies expand and traditional systems evolve, the need for clear, reliable, and human‑centered communication has become essential. In this changing environment, J Telemarketing steps into a new chapter—one shaped by sustainability, smarter engagement, and a deeper understanding of how communication can accelerate the transition to cleaner energy. This transfo

January 14, 2026

Article

For many healthcare providers, timely access to care is becoming increasingly difficult. Virtual care platform development offers a solution by enabling secure video visits, remote monitoring, and online consultations that help clinicians stay connected with patients regardless of location. Custom telemedicine software supports: – Specialty-specific workflows – Scalable virtual care delivery – Secure handling of sensitive data By reducing no-shows and offering flexible

January 14, 2026

Article

Turning Data Into Intelligence: How AI Labs Empower Business InnovationrnArtificial Intelligence is becoming a cornerstone of business innovation - not just a tool for tech giants, but a practical engine for companies across industries. From predictive analytics to automation and personalized user experiences, AI is changing how decisions are made and operations are run. But for many organizations, especially those without internal AI talent, the road from idea to implementat

December 22, 2025