Free self-check for MSP & IT owners

Still paying yourself the salary you set when the business was smaller?

As an MSP grows, the way you pay yourself quietly shapes more of the tax picture than most owners realise, and filing season is the one time nobody stops to look at it. Run three checks against your own numbers. It takes about three minutes and we email the guide, nothing else.

1Your salary and distributions. How your pay splits, and the part of it the IRS looks at first.

2Your QBI deduction. Whether the 20 percent deduction still reaches you under the 2026 rules.

3Your IRS audit-risk profile. The signals an examiner looks at first on an S-corp return.

Built by Mick Cowled, who runs Q Financial Services with his partner Barb. A tax-planning firm that works alongside your accountant, not instead of them.

Check 1 of 3 · Salary and distributions

How do you pay yourself?

Two quick numbers. The salary you run through payroll, and what you take on top as distributions. Ballparks are fine, slide to the nearest figure.

$120,000

YOUR ANNUAL W-2 SALARY

$0$200k$400k+

$180,000

DISTRIBUTIONS ON TOP OF SALARY

$0$300k$600k+

Not sure of your distributions? It is the money you take out of the business on top of your payroll wage, the owner draws. Your last K-1 or your bookkeeper has it, and a rough guess is fine here.

Check 1 result · Your salary and distribution split

How your pay splits, and where the IRS looks

For an S-corp, the question is whether your salary is reasonable for the work you do, and that gets sharper when distributions are large next to it. Here is your own split.

Salary $120,000Distributions $180,000

Salary

Distributions

40% salary60% distributions

What this means

About 40 percent of what you take out runs through payroll as salary.

In Watson v. United States, an owner took a $24,000 salary alongside $203,651 in distributions, about 10 percent of everything he took out. A court found that unreasonable for the work and reset the salary to $91,044. Most owners are nowhere near that. The percentage is a flag, not the test. What actually matters is whether the salary itself is reasonable for the work you do, and that is a question for your accountant.

For context, the market pays roughly $103,000 to $206,000 for the individual roles an owner often covers themselves, from operations up to chief executive (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024 medians). This is a reference for what the work is worth, not a target for your own pay, which depends on your facts.

Check 2 of 3 · Your QBI deduction

Two quick questions on your 20 percent deduction

QBI, or Qualified Business Income, is a 20 percent break on your business profit, made permanent in 2025. Above certain income lines it starts to shrink, and that band is the phase-out. Not sure of your exact figure? Pick the closest.

How do you file?

Your 2026 taxable income is roughly:

This is your profit and other income after expenses and deductions, not your revenue. Your accountant has the exact figure, a ballpark is fine here.

Check 3 of 3 · Your IRS audit-risk profile

Which of these are true for your S-corp?

Tap each one that applies. These are the signals an IRS examiner tends to look at first. Tap Continue when you are done.

Two checks to go

Where should we send your full report?

You have seen your split. Checks 2 and 3 cover your QBI deduction and your audit-risk signals, then your full report lands on screen and in your inbox, with the guide, the salary tables, the 2026 QBI thresholds and the 8-point checklist to keep.

Mick Cowled, Q Financial Services. We send your report and the guide, and Mick may follow up personally to see if it was useful. We work alongside your accountant, not instead of them.

First name

Last name

Work email

Pulling your report together

Looking at your salary and distribution split

Your 3-Check Self-Audit

Your results

Prepared by Mick Cowled, Q Financial Services. Three diagnostics on your own numbers. None of this is tax advice, it is a starting point for a conversation with your accountant.

Why the salary check matters

Most owners never come close to this. In Watson v. United States, an owner took a $24,000 salary alongside $203,651 in distributions. A court found that unreasonable for the work and reset the salary to $91,044, which moved about $67,044 from distributions back into wages and drove additional payroll tax plus interest and penalties. The case turned on one thing, whether the salary was reasonable for the work done. That is the same split Check 1 puts in front of you.

Two ways to take it further

Based on your three checks, here is what we would suggest.

Your full guide

The complete 3-Check Tax Self-Audit with the salary tables, the 2026 QBI thresholds and the 8-point risk checklist. On its way to your inbox now.

A second set of eyes

Entirely optional, on your terms. If you want to, walk your three numbers through with Mick on a free 15-minute review, alongside your accountant.

Book a 15-minute review

On its way to your inbox.

"The knowledge that the two of you have had has superseded so many things that I never even thought."

Q Financial client, recorded interview. Individual results, not a guarantee of any outcome.

This self-check is directional and for general information only. It is based on the figures you entered and on national median data, and it is not tax, legal or investment advice. It does not establish a client relationship and it is not a recommendation about your own compensation. A reasonable salary depends on your specific facts and should be set with your accountant. Q Financial Services works alongside your existing advisors. We use your details only to send your report and the guide.