Are You Set Up As A Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Or S-Corp?

What Type Of Entity Are You Set Up As?

  • Sole proprietorship

    Votes: 95 23.4%

  • LLC

    Votes: 184 45.3%

  • S-Corp

    Votes: 98 24.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 29 7.1%
  • Total voters
    406
montydad5000 said:
I'm set up the exact same way. I was really just after protection since we cover a lot of entertainment & celebrity news.
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I know all legal advice is different depending on the lawyer, but you should rethink the single member LLC giving you protection.

From talking to multiple onshore, offshore attorneys, estate planning attorneys, and the one that set up my business... single member LLC's do not give you quite enough protection as compared to say a multiple member/manager llc ( or scorp/partnership ) for that matter.

Make sure you talk to a few people about this to make sure, but almost everyone of the one I talked to told me that that single member LLC is just slightly better then sole prio, and no where near as safe ( legally ) then a multiple member LLC ( or scorp )
 


eliquid said:
I know all legal advice is different depending on the lawyer, but you should rethink the single member LLC giving you protection.

From talking to multiple onshore, offshore attorneys, estate planning attorneys, and the one that set up my business... single member LLC's do not give you quite enough protection as compared to say a multiple member/manager llc ( or scorp/partnership ) for that matter.

Make sure you talk to a few people about this to make sure, but almost everyone of the one I talked to told me that that single member LLC is just slightly better then sole prio, and no where near as safe ( legally ) then a multiple member LLC ( or scorp )
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I'm hearing this more and more. I'll have to look into it some more. Thanks for the heads up, bro.
 
Piercing the veil is not easy and it happens very rarely. The form of corporation is way less important than how you manage it's finances.

Don't use your corporate account like it's your personal checking account. This is almost always the case when people have problems. Ever penny coming out of that account needs to be accounted for and must act as a legitimate expense, with appropriate records. Do that and don't commit blatent fraud and you're 99.9% protected.

That said, if you're making enough money or doing anything remotely sketchy, the cost to have things setup right by a good lawyer and accountant is worth it.
 
Off topic:

How much did you spend to incorporate? One of my local law firm just quoted me $2k just to do S-Corp. Is it really that expensive? Could CPA file the paper for you?
 
Going to be electing to have my llc taxed as an
scorp later this week. I know the obvious taxation differences, but for those of you who say it is different and harder to fill out tax forms, do you do it or your accountants? And also, just how much more different and diffcult is it? Do you use turbotax or something similar to help you?
 
redmonkey said:
Off topic:

How much did you spend to incorporate? One of my local law firm just quoted me $2k just to do S-Corp. Is it really that expensive? Could CPA file the paper for you?
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First S Corp I did was for a web dev client. I built their website and they did everything for $300 as a favor and we're talking a major Chicago law firm.

Depending on the state you should be able to do it yourself with about three days of knowledge.
 
Better to set up a branch of LLC business. Each branching out to the other and look into states like Nevada. Each owns the other and down the line.
 
just to put this out there given the vast amounts of info I find questionable at best in this thread.

you want to understand the difference between protection from something say - normal - in business (ie a product defect, suing for a breach of contract on a technicality that isn't malicious, etc) VERSUS getting impaled legally for the actions of the "company" (rather it's executives) that are in fact illegal actions.

oh, say, using someone's name/face/likeness/image for profit. Please realize that "protection" doesn't much matter in that case. If you're reading this and saying "Gee Sonny is a fucking retard because you could do XYZ" - consider yourselves omitted from this piece of advice (though I'd bet it's a coin flip whether your elaborate setup does anything when actually tested).
 
seolinker said:
what is IBC ?
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From Offshore Online Banking Accounts and Company Formation Services - Confidential - Low Costs ...

IBC means International Business Company or International Business Corporation. An IBC is a legal entity incorporated in a tax haven which is free from all local taxes, (except small fixed annual fees). The IBC cannot conduct business in the country of incorporation. Dominica, BVI, Seychelles and Belize have special IBC legislation in place, which is similar to the legislation for Panama Corporation and Gibraltar Non-resident Company.
 
supertramp said:
Better to set up a branch of LLC business. Each branching out to the other and look into states like Nevada. Each owns the other and down the line.
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I noticed that some people are set up in the usual states like Delaware and Nevada. From talking with my lawyer, this little gambit doesn't work anymore.

If you do business in California but you're incorporated in Nevada, the two states now share info with each other and it's only a matter of time before they realize what you're doing.

I don't think it's worth saving $500 a year in taxes when you are putting yourself at risk of being red flagged and audited.
 
I have an LLC simply for organization purposes. Separate bank accounts, separate tax returns, much easier to keep track of everything, etc. I don't want my personal finances muddled with those of my business.
 
chatmasta said:
I have an LLC simply for organization purposes. Separate bank accounts, separate tax returns, much easier to keep track of everything, etc. I don't want my personal finances muddled with those of my business.
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Is your business purely your affiliate marketing? Or do you use the same LLC for other ventures/whatever?
 
billgratton said:
In Singapore, we called it Private Limited. ( limited liability for the company shareholders, personal assets & company assets are separated in layman term)
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how much taxes you pay for this? Coz in singapore, if you earn foreign income its 0% tax (nontaxable) for individuals but how about private limited Plc? Let me know as i am planning to setup one soon
 
I run an s-corp. I'm lucky enough to have a family friend that does my corporate taxes and EDD filings (CA) for me. However, I noticed Intuit now has an s-corp version of turbotax. It will be a lot easier to do my own taxes now if I want to.
 
I just talked to my accountant who said that, since I'm in CA and I filed for an LLC in NV, they will find out that I'm from CA and will still tax you the CA rates and will definitely audit you.

He suggested I set up a schedule C and purchase insurance ($300-$500 / year) in case of any issues that can arrive. The Nevada LLC statement (K-1) will say Nevada and on my individual tax return for CA will cross-reference to the business section for California b/c its a K-1 and CA will want their $800. They will go back up to 5 years and charge you for it as well.

Since CA is broke, they're probably going to be looking for some money. CA is now getting approval from the US to allow CA citizens to be forced to share bank statements b/c everyone is using their CC to charge. All of the board of equalization will have to do is look at statements, look at their purchaes, and mutliply by tax rate and interest. They're trying to raise $171MM so they may make it happen.

CA has also won federal cases to prove that the income is generated from where the person is working. If you're working on the account in CA, then you are in CA, therefore, they want their money. You can file the return in Nevada, but you still have to refile and pay IN CA. They've won cases and want money. Other states don't care b/c they don't need the money. For example, if you lived in WA, filing in NV would be fine b/c WA has a business tax and not state tax.

To sum all this up, if you have a home in CA, then CA will know and come after you for the taxes AND interest. he just says to cancel the LLC or try to move it to CA. Thoughts??

Anyone have a second opinion? Or better yet, a tax accountant that KNOWS the ins and outs of this business?
 
I'm a Canadian living in the US as a permanent resident.

Does anyone know the pros/cons of incorporating in the US vs canada?
 
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