Lettuce: Free Tool For Real Estate Agents

Should your real estate business become an S Corp?

Closing deals as a self-employed residential agent? Self-employment taxes might be your biggest expense. See what you'd keep as an S Corp, and what you could build for in retirement with a Solo 401(k).

1Your commission income

Pick however you naturally think about your numbers.

$
%
$
$
%
$
Gross commission income (GCI) $0

2Your expenses

Brokerage split comes off the top before anything else.

Your split % (goes to the broker before it's your income)
%
Annual total
$
MLS, NAR, renewals
$
Zillow, Realtor.com, referral fees, paid ads
$
Photography, staging, signage, mailers, closing gifts
$
Vehicle$0/yr

3S-Corp salary

What you'd pay yourself as a W-2 salary - the rest becomes a distribution, which isn't hit by self-employment tax.

$
Filing status & state tax
%
Est. annual tax savings as an S-Corp

$0 / year

As Sole Prop / LLC
$0
As S-Corp
$0
 
Solo 401(k) contribution room
As Sole Prop
$0
As S-Corp
$0

S-Corp employer contributions are 25% of your W-2 wages; sole prop employer contributions are limited to an effective ~20% of net self-employment earnings. Both cap at $72,000 combined for 2026.

 

See your result

Enter your email to reveal your tax savings and retirement contribution room.

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Used by agents comparing Sole Prop vs S-Corp. No spam.
Health insurance counts too. As an S-Corp owner, your premiums can run through the business and show up on your W-2 - making them deductible via the self-employed health insurance deduction on your personal return. Lettuce sets this up alongside your payroll.
Estimates only, based on 2026 IRS figures. This isn't tax advice - every agent's situation is different.

Lettuce runs the numbers — and the payroll

We set up your S-Corp, run your payroll, and handle your Solo 401(k) and health insurance, built for real estate agent income.

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Ready to stop leaving money on the table?