@Opus 17 wrote:
......from a practical point of view, the amount of distribution that can be taken isn't really knowable until you take the salary into account when determining profit.....
You have an imperfect understanding of what constitutes a distribution from an S corporation. Somehow, you appear to believe a distribution is taxable to the shareholder or only can be made from net profit (e.g., after a salary is taken) and that is incorrect.
For example, if I started an S corporation in 2021, contributed $500,000 in cash, had a net profit/loss (after a salary) of $0, I could still take a distribution and that distribution would not be taxable unless it somehow exceeded $500,000.
In short, contributions to the S corporation are not taxable to the corporation and distributions are not taxable to the shareholder (unless the distribution exceeds the shareholder's basis as was mentioned by @Rick19744 ).
