Your taxes will not depend on what state your LLC or S-Corp is in, since both are "pass-through" vehicles, and just hand the income to you to pay taxes on. Shopping among states for better tax treatment is for larger corporations.
I don't believe that's exactly correct when it comes to an S-Corp. I don't deal with that part of our business, so don't quote me on that, but when I filed my personal tax, I only paid income tax on my income. (what I gave myself as a salary) The rest is dealt at the business level. - Matt On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 1:51 PM, Scott Olmsted <[email protected]> wrote: > At 01:19 PM 6/17/2009, you wrote: > > A couple thoughts related to 1 & 4: > > You can still maintain full control with the LLC, but you gain all the > benefits of being incorporated. If you are thinking about getting a lawyer > involved, that means you are trying to protect yourself. With the LLC, you > mitigate personal risk associated with the business. > > You should look at setting up shop in Nevada. Just get a PO box in LV. > > > Having a Nevada presence requires more than a PO Box, but there are > companies that will supply what you might want for relatively little. > > On the other hand, I don't see any advantage. To do business in California, > you still have to register your Nevada LLC here and pay the $800 annual > corporate fee. Might as well just set up a California LLC. It's very > standard these days. I set up one of the first LLC's in California about > 1994 and I had to educate banks, county personnel, city clerks, just about > everyone about just what this LLC thing was. You can get create the > paperwork you need from books (see Nolo.com), or even from what you find > online. > > An alternative is an S-Corp, there are pros and cons you can find online. I > think the S-Corp pays lower fees when the gross gets big enough > ($250,000/yr? $500,000/yr?). I like LLC's because it's so easy to do it all > yourself, though follow-through with all the steps is important. > > Your taxes will not depend on what state your LLC or S-Corp is in, since > both are "pass-through" vehicles, and just hand the income to you to pay > taxes on. Shopping among states for better tax treatment is for larger > corporations. > > If you do your books in Quickbooks and your taxes in Turbotax for Business, > you might never need an accountant, just a bookkeeper, perhaps. But get tax > advice if you think you need it. > > The LLC may give you a little more clout than being a sole proprietor, but > no one should fool themselves into thinking it represents any sort of real > protection. If someone wants to sue you, they'll sue your LLC or corporation > and name you personally in the suit as well. Your attorney can argue to have > you taken off if you've done things correctly, maintained separate books, > not mingled personal funds or expenses in there, kept up with what you owe > the state, etc, but being sued will still cost you, win or lose. > > You may want to read up on trademarks at Nolo.com . > > Keep asking questions and doing your own research. Asking lawyers is a very > expensive way to learn and letting them do work you can do is even more > expensive. Make what seems the best detailed plan you can, including writing > your own contracts, and then run it all by an attorney in an hour or two and > let him tell you where it needs fixing. That will keep you out of trouble > and save you a bundle. That's how attorneys are best used, to keep you out > of trouble in the first place, and that shouldn't cost very much if you > prepare. > > Scott > > P.S. +1 on avoiding employees. You can get almost anything done by a > contractor. Just follow the rules that keep contractors from being > classified as employees. But if you have something where someone has to show > up every day for at least a few hours, you may find hiring an employee > cheaper. Just plan on them quitting at the worst possible time. > > > Try to avoid employees as long as possible, then you can avoid > accountants. You should be able to find consultants that charge a bit more, > but it's a good thing for you. > > -- > > 2 & 3 > > Not sure about the trademarks... What's insurance? Be risk adverse. > > --Dan > > On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 1:07 PM, Erik Pukinskis <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey friends, > I am starting a little web business, and since I've started interacting > with customers it's time for me to legally get off the ground. > Unfortunately, I don't have any expertise with this, beyond what I've > learned from teh internets, and I could use some help. > First, can anyone recommend a good, affordable, web-savvy San Diego small > business lawyer? And an accountant? > Otherwise, does anyone know anything about these things.... > 1) Should I file for my permits in CA or in somewhere with nicer tax laws, > like Delaware? If I and my employees are working from San Diego, does > that just mean I have to register as a business here? With city, county, > etc? > 2) What international trademark classes do people use for the trademarks > for web business? My site is providing instructional materials, but I'm > also mailing people products and printed guides. I'll be building an > iPhone app too. Should I just drop $1200 and cover all my bases, or can I > get by with a trademark under one $300 class? > 3) What do people recommend for business insurance? And where do you get > it? > 4) I'm leaning towards a Sole Proprietorship, since I want to maintain full > control and I think the liability will be minimal. Has anyone done this? > Are there any pitfalls? Should I look more closely at an LLC? > It seems like I'm definitely going to need a lawyer soon enough, but maybe > I can get by for a while without it. I'm supporting the business out of > pocket and am trying to keep expenses to a minimum. > Love, Erik > > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ SD Ruby mailing list [email protected] http://groups.google.com/group/sdruby -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
