[brianwawok]

So the average programmer US wise makes something like 90k I believe (haven't checked in a few years).

You are saying if you ran a 1 man SAAS app and made 200k in a year, you would w2 yourself for 30k and take a 170k dividend?

I am not sure my accountant would like this plan. Taking say that 90k or 100k might be plausible, but 30% of the average wage?

(And at the 90k point.. FICA goes away past 110k anyway, so the savings is fairly minimal)

[tmbeihl]

I think what he means is that your pay must be within 30% of the average wage. So you could likely pay yourself between 63k and 113k if the average wage was 90k.

[jermaustin1]

Actually, the $30k COULD be reasonable if you are at that point only being a marketer.

If you go on indeed or glassdoor, search what ever your main task is, and screen grab that average salary. Keep searching until you find one that works best for you.

Change your salary with each task by being an hourly w2 employee with different charge codes based on the task. Just make sure you track what work you are doing.

(IANAL/A)

[ThrustVectoring]

I'd set up a solo-401k and take 20% of that ($40k) as a profit-sharing retirement plan between the "employer" and "employee". Add in a $18k elective contribution out of your W-2 wages as well. IIRC there's a maximum total contribution of $56k so this doesn't work particularly well past the $180k net profit point or so.

I'm seriously considering moonlighting as a freelancer just to get access to this kind of setup. Of course, my daytime employer not having a 401k makes a big difference - with the combination of the profit-sharing and employee elective contribution, the first $22.5k annually would go directly into a tax-deferred retirement account. Partner up with different people to run unrelated businesses, and you can set up a profit-sharing plan with each to get separate "20% up to $56k/yr" buckets.

Anyhow, I'm kind of rambling. My point is that when you wear both the "employer" and "employee" hat, there's some really good options that open up that most employers don't offer because it's a wealth-transfer from employer to employee.

[jjeaff]

More like $60k. But no, your accountant will not go for anything even remotely risky. Accountants are notoriously conservative. No accountant is going to stick their neck out for their average customer.

You have to pay the big bucks for the guys willing to push the envelope. And that's not be ause they are better, it's because they have to make more money to offset the risk to their career.