As the owner of an S corporation you must pay yourself a fair market salary assuming you have profit, not loss. That salary is reported on form 941 and the company must issue a W-2. It is permissible to pay one lump sum, such as on December 30, but a fair market salary must be paid. You do not back date payroll. In setting up payroll you move forward. Prior to the payroll set up potentially amounts you paid to yourself can now be reported as wages if needed (as an example if you already received $10,000 you would report it as wages and offset repayment with a net payroll check of zero). So for 2024 you will have one quarterly filing along with the year end payroll reporting requirements.
TurboTax Tip:
Self-employed people who operate as an S corporation might be able to reduce the self-employment tax they would have to pay if they operated as a sole proprietorship. As an S-corp, you can classify some of your income as salary and some as a corporate distribution. FICA payroll taxes (which are similar to self-employment taxes) will have to be paid on the salary, but not on the distribution. Plus, the S-corp can deduct the employer’s share of FICA taxes as a business expense.
Further details: s-corporation-taxes-an-introductory-guide
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/s-corp/
Have an amazing day. Evelyn M (CPA 20+ years)
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