Single-member LLC: how a one-owner LLC is taxed in 2026
For income tax the IRS looks through a one-owner LLC to the person who owns it. Enter your profit and state to see what that person owes.
Tax on the LLC profit
$23,199
No LLC return: Schedule C on your Form 1040
| Self-employment tax | $12,602 |
| Federal income tax | $6,467 |
| California income tax | $3,320 |
| California LLC fees and minimum tax | $810 |
Computed by Radif Partners from IRS documents for tax year 2026 · How we calculate · no email asked, nothing sold
A single-member LLC is a "disregarded entity": unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation, the IRS treats its income as the owner's own, reported on Schedule C of Form 1040 (or Schedule E or F for rental or farm activity). It files no federal income tax return of its own. The owner pays self-employment tax on the profit in the same manner as a sole proprietor: on $100,000 of profit in 2026, that is $14,130, half of it deductible, plus income tax at the owner's brackets, $8,235 for a single filer with no other income. The LLC is still a separate entity for employment taxes and certain excise taxes, so it needs its own EIN once it has employees. Without employees or excise taxes, an EIN is optional, and on a Form W-9 the owner gives their own SSN or EIN, not the LLC's. The owner is not an employee of the LLC and takes draws, not a salary.
The phrase "disregarded entity" sounds like the LLC does not count. It counts in state law, where it owns property, signs contracts and protects its owner from its debts. It is ignored only for federal income tax, and only by default: the IRS page on single-member LLCs explains that a one-member LLC that does not elect corporate treatment has its activities reflected on its owner's return. For an individual owner in business, that means Schedule C, the same form a sole proprietor uses, from gross receipts down to net profit, as computed here.
From receipts to line 31
Net profit (line 31)
$58,000
| SE tax on it | $8,195 |
| Expense ratio | 17.1% |
Where the income goes
The IRS names three schedules for an individual owner: Schedule C for a trade or business, Schedule E for rental real estate and other supplemental income, and Schedule F for farming. A one-member LLC that holds a rental property reports on Schedule E; one that sells design services reports on Schedule C. When the owner is a corporation or a partnership rather than a person, the LLC appears on that owner's return as a division.
Because the LLC and its owner are one taxpayer, money moved between them is not income or expense. Transferring profit from the LLC's account to your personal account is a draw, not a deductible salary, and the tax is computed on the net profit whether you withdraw it or leave it in the business. The same logic applies to money you put in: paying a business expense from your personal card is still a business expense of the LLC, deductible on Schedule C, although a separate account makes the records far easier to defend and helps keep the LLC's liability shield intact under state law.
Self-employment tax on the owner
An individual who owns a single-member LLC running a trade or business owes self-employment tax in the same manner as a sole proprietor. Schedule SE applies it to 92.35% of net profit: 12.4 % for Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base of 2026, 2.9 % for Medicare without a cap, and nothing at all below $400 of net earnings (Schedule SE instructions).
| Net profit | Taxed amount | Social Security part | Medicare part | SE tax | Deductible half |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $55,410 | $6,871 | $1,607 | $8,478 | $4,239 |
| $100,000 | $92,350 | $11,451 | $2,678 | $14,130 | $7,065 |
| $200,000 | $184,700 | $22,878 | $5,356 | $28,234 | $14,117 |
The Social Security part stops growing once the taxed amount reaches the wage base, which is why the tax on $200,000 is less than twice the tax on $100,000. Wages from another job count toward the same base first. The self-employment tax page covers the details.
EIN or Social Security number
A one-member LLC needs its own employer identification number in two situations: it has employees, or it must file certain excise tax returns. For wages paid after January 1, 2009, the IRS requires the LLC to use its own name and EIN to report and pay employment taxes, even though it is disregarded for income tax. Without employees or excise taxes, the LLC does not need an EIN and uses its owner's name and taxpayer number for federal tax. It can still get one if a bank requires it to open an account or a state requires it, which is common.
What goes on a Form W-9
Clients who pay you will ask for a Form W-9 so they can send a 1099. The IRS is specific: for a disregarded LLC owned by an individual, the W-9 shows the owner's Social Security number or EIN, not the LLC's EIN, because the income belongs on the owner's return. Giving the LLC's EIN creates a mismatch between the 1099 and the Schedule C. The client's threshold for sending a 1099-NEC is checked below.
Will this client send a 1099-NEC?
1099-NEC required
no
| Threshold for 2026 payments | $2,000 |
| Taxable anyway | $1,500 |
Spouses, community property and a second member
When a spouse becomes co-owner, the LLC normally has two members and becomes a partnership that files Form 1065. The IRS adds that an LLC owned by a married couple in a state without community property should file as a partnership, and that it cannot use the qualified joint venture election, which is reserved for businesses not organized as state-law entities. In community property states the rule is softer: under Rev. Proc. 2002-69, a couple who own the LLC as community property can treat it either as a disregarded entity or as a partnership, and a later change of position is treated as a conversion. The LLC taxes guide covers what a two-member LLC files.
When a single-member LLC stops being disregarded
The default ends when the LLC elects corporate treatment. The usual reason for a one-owner business is the S election on Form 2553, which turns the owner into an employee paid through payroll and the remaining profit into K-1 income without self-employment tax; the S election guide explains the filing. From that point the LLC files Form 1120-S, the W-9 shows the LLC's EIN, and Schedule C is no longer used for this business.