05/18/2026
You work hard to build your business.
And when it comes to passing money to your kids, most owners think gifting is the move.
It feels generous. It feels simple.
First, you earn that money and pay taxes on it at your rate.
Then you gift it, with zero deduction on your end.
Your child gets the money. You get nothing back from the IRS.
Let me explain how the gift tax rules actually work.
For 2026, the annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.
You can gift that amount to as many people as you want, with no gift tax filing required.
Married couples can combine for $38,000 per recipient per year.
And if a gift exceeds $19,000, you file Form 709 but owe no actual tax.
The excess just chips away at your lifetime exemption of roughly $15 million.
So on paper, gifting looks completely harmless.
But here is the real problem: no deduction, no strategy.
You are simply moving after-tax dollars from your pocket to theirs.
Now compare that to putting your child on payroll in your S corp.
If they do real, documented work, you pay them a wage.
That wage is a business deduction for your S corporation.
It reduces your taxable income at your top marginal rate.
And if their total income stays under the standard deduction, roughly $16,100 in 2026, they owe zero federal income tax on every dollar you paid them.
Think about what that means in practice.
Gifting $16,000 to your child: you paid full taxes to earn it, no deduction given.
Paying your child $16,000 in wages: your S corp deducts it, and your child pays nothing.
Same dollars transferred. Completely different tax outcome.
And it does not stop there.
Once your child turns 21 and works for your company, Section 127 opens up.
Your S corp can pay up to $5,250 per year in tuition reimbursement.
That amount is deductible for your corporation and completely tax-free to your child.
Stack all of this together and here is what a smart approach looks like.
Wages up to $16,100: deductible and tax-free to your child.
Section 127 tuition reimbursement: $5,250 deductible and tax-free.
Annual gift exclusion on top: $19,000 transferred with no filing required.
That is nearly $40,000 transferred in one year, with real tax advantages built in.
A tax preparer files what happened last year.
A tax advisor builds this plan before the year starts.
If you want to see which strategies apply to your S corp specifically, schedule a FREE Tax Strategy Appointment and we will map out exactly what is possible for your family.
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