What it costs to replace you
Your role is decomposed into the functions you actually perform, and each function is priced at market. Owners wear many hats; each hat gets its own wage line.
Reasonable compensation intelligenceStop guessing your S corp salary.
Stop guessing your S corp salary.
Start computing it.
WageDefender runs your actual duties, hours, and market wage data through a deterministic compensation engine. Out comes a documented reasonable compensation report: one defensible number, and the documentation to stand behind it.
- Built by a licensed Florida CPA firm
- Three-approach valuation methodology
- Every output traceable to an input
Recommended reasonable compensation
$86,400
DETERMINATION READY
Figures shown are illustrative sample output, not a determination for any actual taxpayer.
3
valuation approaches, cross-checked
~30s
from intake to determination
100%
of the derivation documented
1
number you can stand behind
The difference
A spreadsheet guess was never a defense.
Most S corp owners set their salary with a rule of thumb and hope. If the number is ever questioned, hope is not documentation.
Run your own numbers
What is a report worth? Do the math.
A reasonable compensation report is a computed salary determination with the evidence attached. Its value is easiest to see in dollars. Pick the scenario that sounds like you and drag the slider.
What stands between you and the left column
The report is not a subscription or a dashboard. It is a document.
- The determinationOne recommended reasonable compensation figure, computed for your exact duties, hours, region, and revenue.
- The three-approach analysisCost, market, and income approaches shown side by side, so the number is triangulated rather than asserted.
- The factor scoringThe compensation factors courts cite, each one scored against your facts with its primary-authority citation.
- The documentation trailEvery input, every source, every step of the derivation, on file and dated before anyone ever asks.
Methodology
Three approaches. One defensible number.
The same triangulation a valuation professional would run, executed by software that never eyeballs anything.
What the market pays for your seat
Comparable businesses, comparable revenue, comparable geography. The engine benchmarks your compensation against what the same seat commands elsewhere.
What an independent investor would accept
If a stranger owned your company and hired you to run it, what salary would still leave them a fair return? That ceiling gets computed, not assumed.
Under the hood
A rules engine.
Not a vibe.
Every determination is produced by deterministic rules over your intake facts. Same facts in, same number out, every single time. That is what makes it defensible.
- Deterministic coreNo mood, no drift. The derivation is a traceable chain from your intake answers to the final figure.
- Market wage dataWage benchmarks matched to your role, region, and revenue class, cited inside the report.
- Factor scoringAll 29 factors across the four court-recognized frameworks are scored against your facts, each with its primary-authority citation.
- Refresh on demandRefresh the determination when BLS publishes new wage data. Delivered reports stay on file in your account.
Security posture
Your numbers are nobody's business but yours.
WageDefender is built by a licensed CPA firm that treats client data the way it treats its own filings.
Client isolation
Row-level security on every user-data table. No cross-user reads or writes, enforced at the database.
Encrypted everywhere
AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2+ in transit, on SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure.
PII stays out of logs
Log output is lint-gated in CI so your personal information is never written in the clear.
On file for the defense
US-hosted. The intake data behind every report is retained for seven years to support audit-defense requests.
How it works
One focused intake. A determination for the year.
- STEP ONE · FOCUSED INTAKEAnswer a focused intakePlain questions about what you do, how much you work, and what the business earns. No jargon, no tax homework.
- STEP TWO · SECONDSThe engine computesThree valuation approaches, the four-framework stress test, and BLS market benchmarks run against your facts.
- STEP THREE · ~30 SECONDSGet the number and the fileA 19-page report with the recommended compensation figure, plus the full documentation trail behind it. Hand it to your CPA or keep it on file.
Before you ask
The three questions everyone asks.
Will this hold up if the IRS asks about my salary?
The report exists precisely for that moment. It documents how your number was derived: the methodology, the market data, and the factor analysis. That is the documentation you want already sitting on file before anyone asks, instead of a guess reconstructed after the fact. WageDefender provides analysis and documentation; your CPA or attorney represents you.
How much of my time does this take?
The intake is a set of plain questions about your duties, hours, and financials. The engine computes the determination and delivers your report in approximately 30 seconds after payment confirmation. When BLS publishes new wage data, refreshing the report takes minutes, not another engagement.
I already have a CPA. Why do I need this?
Keep your CPA. Most CPAs set reasonable comp with judgment and experience, which is fine right up until the number is challenged and there is no analysis behind it. Bring them a computed determination with documentation and you have upgraded their answer, not replaced it.
No cost to look
See what a computed number looks like.
The sample report shows the full determination format: the figure, the three approaches, the factor analysis, and the documentation trail. Judge the engine by its output.
No login, no email, no card.