You: Solo Operator Zero Employees:
You built a real business. Your financial structure should reflect that.
We work with high-earning solo operators who are paying full retail for health coverage with after-tax dollars, carrying unnecessary tax friction, or handling payroll compliance on tools that were never built for their income level.
We have run the numbers. The individual market gets expensive fast once subsidies phase out. The corporate structure fixes part of that when the math actually works.
Read the situation that matches where you are right now.
You are an S-Corp or about to become one. That means a reasonable salary, timely 941 filings, and clean year-end paperwork. If you are still doing this piecemeal through a CPA or a basic payroll tool, the exposure sits on your own tax ID.
Unsubsidized family plans on the open market often run $18,000 to $28,000 a year. Many are HMOs with narrow networks and referral requirements.
Inside the group structure the plan uses composite rates. Your age does not drive the price the way it does on the individual side. Both the business portion and the employee portion can run pre-tax through Section 125. That changes the real cost at higher brackets.
Same note as above: reasonable salary, timely deposits, proper W-2s. The PEO handles the payroll tax layer under their master ID so your CPA stays focused on the bigger picture.
Self-employment tax is 15.3% only up to $184,500 in wages. Above that, Social Security caps and you are left with Medicare (2.9% + 0.9% surtax in many cases). The big advertised 15.3% savings on distributions disappears.
At this level the real value is not payroll tax arbitrage. It is moving family health coverage to pre-tax group rates at composite pricing, plus the higher 401(k) limits and the removal of certain compliance exposure from your personal books.
These are IRS and carrier requirements, not rules we invented:
You need an S-Corp or C-Corp election (Form 2553). A disregarded single-member LLC cannot use this structure.
You become a W-2 employee of your own company under the co-employment agreement. This is what unlocks Section 125 pre-tax treatment.
You must pay yourself a reasonable W-2 salary. Your CPA sets that number based on your industry and role.
If you add the health module, there is a standard digital health questionnaire. It screens for active catastrophic conditions. Most standard profiles pass.
Your CPA stays exactly where they are. They handle your corporate return and distributions. The PEO handles the payroll tax filings and W-2s.
Four modules. Configure what your business actually needs.
Payroll and compliance form the base and are included. The rest are modules you turn on only if you need them.
Access to plans underwritten by tier-1 national carriers on composite rates. You decide the employer contribution.
Optional. Solo operators $620/year. Groups have a base fee plus per-person cost plus 1% AUM. You can also bring your own plan.
This is a co-employment arrangement. The PEO becomes a joint employer. You gain pooling and compliance transfer but share certain legal responsibilities. Exiting requires planning and can involve temporary gaps or new underwriting.
Many solos do fine with Gusto for payroll and a broker for health. This structure is for those who want the combined payroll, workers’ comp, SUTA stabilization, and group health access under one roof when the savings and time relief clearly beat the trade-offs.
We will tell you directly if the numbers do not line up for your situation.
See the actual numbers
Enter your income and current health cost. Two minutes. No commitment. The calculator shows whether the math works before you decide anything.