FOR FREELANCERS COMPARING TAX HELP
(Because Schedule C doesn't cut it forever.)
You elected S-corp status to keep more of what you bill. Scroll to see the return nobody mentioned, the deadline it comes with, and what it costs to miss it.
Book Free ReviewPhoenix · September 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The numbers behind the 1120S gap
15.3%
self-employment tax before income tax even applies
“Amadae found the 1120S my old CPA never filed. We fixed it before the IRS ever noticed.”
Dana R. · Freelance UX writer
1. THE FEELING
You traded a salary for invoices and a boss for the IRS. Every fall you promise this is the year you finally feel in control of your own taxes instead of guessing.
Do this today: Pull your last three invoices and check whether they even list your S-corp's name.
2. THE RETURN YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU OWED
Electing S-corp status feels like the finish line. It's actually the starting gun for a second tax return, Form 1120S, that your old CPA may have never mentioned.
Do this today: Ask your current preparer directly: 'who is filing my 1120S this year?'
A real client, before Amadae caught it
3. THE MATH
The S-corp structure exists to reduce how much of your income gets hit by self-employment tax. It only works if the entity is run correctly, payroll included, corporate return included.
Do this today: Run your own numbers before assuming the savings apply to you at your income level.
Source: IRS: Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
What you keep from $100K
Illustrative, single filer, reasonable compensation set correctly
Want all of this handled for you, for one flat monthly price?
Book Free ReviewFree 30-minute review. No pitch deck.
4. THE FIXAMADAE
Amadae runs your books, payroll, and both returns, personal and corporate, on one calendar. No extra invoice in September for the filing that was supposed to be included all along.
Source: IRS: S Corporations
Who actually files your 1120S
| DIY | Generic CPA | Amadae | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate return (1120S) | Extra fee | ||
| Reasonable comp payroll | Not included | ||
| Quarterly estimates | Extra fee | ||
| K-1 for your 1040 | Extra fee |
5. PROOF
Dana's story isn't rare. It's what happens when the person who filed your election never followed up to confirm the corporate return got filed too.
Do this today: If you've never seen a Form 1120S with your business name on it, that's your answer.
“Amadae found the 1120S my old CPA never filed. We fixed it before the IRS ever noticed.”
Dana R.
Freelance UX writer
Avoided $4,200 in penalty exposure
6. THE CLOCK
If you filed an extension back in the spring, this is your real deadline. Miss it and the penalty clock keeps running for every month the return sits open.
Do this today: Check your extension paperwork today and confirm the date it names.
Source: IRS: S Corporations
BONUS. BEFORE THE DEADLINEAMADAE
This is the exact list Amadae runs through on every freelancer S-corp review, the same one that caught Dana's missing return.
What Amadae handles by September 15
15.3%
self-employment tax before income tax even applies
$249/mo
flat cost of Amadae's accounting plans
Sept 15
extended deadline for calendar-year Form 1120S filers
1 in 3
freelancer S-corps Amadae reviews with a late or missing 1120S
IRS S Corporations; Amadae client reviews, 2025
Real accountants. One calendar for books, payroll, and both returns.
If we don't find a filing gap or a savings opportunity on your first review, the call cost you nothing but twenty minutes.
Plans from
$249/mo
If you make $40K - $69K. Flat, no hourly bills.
Straight answers
Yes. The 1120S covers the period your S-corp election was in effect, even a partial first year. The IRS doesn't wait for you to grow into the filing requirement.
They can, but confirm they actually are. A lot of freelancers assume their preparer files both returns and find out in September that only the personal one ever got filed.
The IRS treats it as a separate filing failure from your personal return, with penalties accruing for every month it stays unfiled. First-time misses can often be reduced, but the return still has to get filed.
Both. Amadae reviews whether an S-corp election even makes sense for your income before setting one up, and keeps running your books either way.
Dana didn't lose money because she made a bad decision. She lost money because nobody stayed on top of the return that came with a good one. Get a free review before the extended deadline hits.
Book Free ReviewI ran 27 freelancers' real numbers through a self employment tax calculator this September. 19 were about to underpay their Q3 estimate and didn't know it.
Missed the 2553 form deadline? Most founders assume it's too late for S-corp savings. Here's how one founder filed late anyway and saved $19,400.
A July review of 32 freelancer books revealed the same mistake 27 times: not knowing how to incorporate before their income made sole proprietorship a losing structure.