# Ben Collier

Ben Collier creates tax-planning content for CPAs, with a focus on modeling whether S-corporation elections make sense for business clients, including Tennessee-specific tax tradeoffs.

- Profile: https://b2binfluencer.marketing/creators/ben-collier/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-m-collier
- LinkedIn followers: 1,911
- Based on 11 dated posts, latest 2026-08-04

## Summary

Ben Collier is most useful for worked S-corp tax modeling for CPAs, including Tennessee excise tax and QBI tradeoffs.

- Best for: A tax-planning software company reaching CPAs who advise Tennessee S-corp clients.
- Not for: A consumer tax-filing app seeking short-form video explaining S-corp basics to self-employed taxpayers.
- Check first: Confirm whether followers are concentrated CPAs and review audience analytics and post engagement.

### Takeaways

- Tennessee has no income tax, but S-corp net income faces a 6.5% excise tax.
- At $300,000 profit, an example shows an $8,000 loss versus an LLC.
- The OME election cut total tax by $20,109 but waived state liability protection.

## Main ideas

- **Model an S-corp election first and revisit it afterwards; don't treat it as a default**: Ben Collier's central argument is that many CPAs make the S-corp call up front and never ask the retrospective question: was electing worth it? They describe that as a silent money bleed and identify situations where the election is often the wrong move: a business that is too new or barely profitable; profit low enough that a quick analysis only looks good; a Tennessee client where franchise tax often kills the benefit; a client whose other businesses offset active income; or a client whose W-2 income already fills the Social Security wage base. They also note the opposite risk: waiting too long can cost a client savings. Their conclusion: the best CPAs model the election before deciding, then run the hindsight check that almost never gets done.
- **Tennessee's no-income-tax reputation hides an S-corp excise tax**: Tennessee is often thought of as a no-state-tax state, but Collier argues that this is not true in practice for an S-corp. They cite a 6.5% excise tax on S-corp earnings, while an LLC can effectively zero out the excise tax through a Schedule J substitution. The trade: an S-corp pays 6.5% excise tax on distributions to avoid the 2.9% Medicare tax — a 3.6% hit on distributions. Clients will feel it as a penalty even though Tennessee does not use that word. Collier mentions a $50,000 standard deduction but says a business below that profit level probably would not elect S-corp status anyway, and adds a 0.25% franchise tax on top.
- **The Tennessee OME election is the escape hatch, and it costs the client liability protection**: A later post names the workaround: the Tennessee OME election treats the S-corp as a disregarded entity for franchise tax purposes, removing the franchise tax hit. Collier makes clear that the tradeoff is real — the election waives state-level liability protection — so the tax math alone does not settle the recommendation. Presenting both the arithmetic and the exception gives the post the caution of expert advice rather than a clean sales line.
- **'Pay yourself less' can destroy the QBI deduction on a high-profit S-corp**: Collier argues that the default minimum-salary playbook for S-corp clients becomes a liability once profit is high enough, because a low W-2 wage can shrink or wipe out the QBI deduction. They also show how numbers travel: some advisors pitch the top-line federal benefit and omit offsetting costs, leaving the client anchored to a bigger number than the real one. Their lesson: the advisor with the complete breakdown saves the day; the one without it cleans up someone else's oversell.
- **The teaching consistently resolves into a product demonstration**: Every post follows the same shape: a blunt claim or question as the hook, a dollar-denominated example with stated assumptions, a short list of cases where the rule flips, and a closing call to action — comment a keyword or book a demo of Profit Shield Pro. The posts explain the Tennessee danger zone, the OME election, the QBI wage comparison and the S-corp versus LLC review through product-led arguments rather than neutral commentary. Their specific numbers and usually visible assumptions make the analysis checkable, but each conclusion is framed in service of a tool.

## Work to read

- [The S-Corp 'pay yourself less' playbook just became a liability](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ben-m-collier_the-s-corp-pay-yourself-less-playbook-just-activity-7485077318097412096-TbzG)
- [Tennessee has no income tax. Your S-Corp client already knows that.](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ben-m-collier_tennessee-has-no-income-tax-your-s-corp-activity-7490378812979834881-KXul)
- [Most CPAs never ask: 'Was electing S-Corp worth it?'](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ben-m-collier_most-cpas-never-ask-was-electing-s-corp-activity-7473370085001244672-pybq)
- [Your TN client wants to elect S-Corp in 2026](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ben-m-collier_your-tn-client-wants-to-elect-s-corp-in-2026-activity-7424110670079553539-Ee_D)

## Brand relationships

- **Profit Shield Pro** (disclosed_partnership)

## Partnerships

The four posts show a consistent promotion pattern but no partnership programme. Ben Collier's four posts are a direct sales channel for Profit Shield Pro, the tax modeling software they demonstrate; each one closes with a call to action into that product rather than a route for outside partners. There is no sponsor policy, media kit, rate card, or partnership inquiry page in the posts, so a buyer cannot price or scope a placement from them. The disclosed commercial mechanics are steady across the four posts. Collier opens with a specific S-corp modeling problem, works through the arithmetic, ties it to a named software feature, and converts with one action. Two posts use keyword comments to book a demo ("QBI" for the QBI wage limitation walkthrough, "TN" for the Tennessee excise and OME discussion). One points to a scheduling link for a 1:1 demo after describing a "Was electing S-Corp worth it?" feature. One offers free beta access to the S-Corp calculator within a stated one-week enrolment window. The commercial ask sits last, after the technical demonstration rather than before it. For a tax planning software vendor wanting CPA reach, the four posts answer an audience and credibility question, not a format question. No third-party placement, pricing, disclosure practice, or separation between paid work and Collier's own software promotion appears anywhere in the four posts. The posts do not establish whether Collier accepts outside sponsorship, and they should not be read as a statement that they never do. The demo links are product funnels, not a partnership contact point.

## Alternatives

- Alfred White: This material is a better fit if the campaign shifts from Tennessee-specific S-corp modeling to broader small-business tax compliance and audit-risk education. The two posts offer practical checklists: five IRS audit risk areas (inconsistent income, excessive deductions, repeated losses, weak recordkeeping, worker misclassification) and a self-employed tax-planning prompt covering retirement contributions, health expenses, and business deductions. A software vendor seeking a general small-business tax audience, or planning a compliance-education series rather than a state-specific S-corp deep dive, would find material closer to that audience.
- Nancy Taylor 🍎 Workforce Benefits: This material is a better fit if the campaign shifts from S-corp tax planning to employee benefits and payroll tax savings. The posts focus on integrating benefits with payroll structure to reduce FICA liability, report an employer saving of $50,000+ in year one, and outline a clear division of labor with benefits brokers. A tax-planning software company targeting employers or CPAs who also advise on benefits-payroll integration, Section 125, or FICA savings would find a closer subject match than Ben Collier's S-corp election content.
- Dale Gibler: This material is a better fit if the campaign shifts completely to cybersecurity or election security. The posts cover AI Zero Trust for security leaders, with a planned webinar for CISOs and technology executives, and a firsthand account of a 2020 Florida voting-systems audit. A vendor in those fields would find relevant material; the tax-planning software campaign has no subject overlap.

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AI-assisted summary of public posts. Audience demographics are not available. Engagement appears only where we checked recent posts. Method: https://b2binfluencer.marketing/methodology/