other than an S-Corp whose only activity is passive. the officer(s) are supposed to take reasonable compensation for the services they perform. that has to be reported on a w-2. payroll tax returns have to be filed and payroll taxes that are withheld need to be paid in on a timely basis. failure can result in substantial penalties.
line 17 is an info only box for QBI purposes that goes nowhere. as a matter of fact what's on line 17 should really be on line 16D. can't say if reporting wages on line 17 will result in an audit when your s-corp did not file w-2's. what you took out of the corporation is not wages but distributions of the profits which does not affect your 1040. what it does is reduce your basis in the entity.
you need to see a tax pro to get educated on tax and other things an S-Corp has to do before the IRS pays you a call.
