I regularly speak to business owners about entity types and their potential impact from a tax perspective. A while back, I created a webinar for accountants (and other professional services providers that work with businesses) on the topic of business structures...
Tax implications are among the most important factors to think about when deciding on a business entity type. Some business owners are attracted to the simplicity of pass-through taxation, which is how a Sole Proprietorship, Ppartnership, LLC, and S Corporation are...
The name you choose for your Limited Liability Company (LLC) is important, as it conveys a first impression to potential customers and serves as the cornerstone of your brand identity. When selecting a business name it is important to remember that no two...
IRS Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) is the form an eligible business entity uses to elect federal income tax treatment other than its default treatment. Eligible entities include: Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) Partnerships (a business entity that...
Are you thinking about how to start a restaurant business? Without a doubt, it's an industry that contributes immensely to our economy. According to statistics from the National Restaurant Association, there are over one million restaurant locations in the United...
There are stories all over the internet about kids and teenagers who have started businesses and are operating successfully as entrepreneurs. Sisters Caroline and Isabel Bercaw started making bath bombs in their basement in Minneapolis when they were 11 and 12...
A DBA - or Doing Business As is a name different from a company's legal name. It is also referred to as a trade name, assumed business name, or a fictitious business name. Typically, businesses use a DBA name when they want to market their products or services...
While most entrepreneurs choose to register a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the state where they live and plan to operate, some decide to expand their operations into one or more other states by registering it as a “foreign LLC”. The LLC is considered a...
Tax season comes to all businesses big and small, and can be a headache no matter how well you think you’ve prepared. For a small business owner wearing many (or all) hats in the business, it’s an unwelcome extra task sure to cause late hours and frayed nerves. To...
A lot of new small business owners assume that creating an LLC is a complicated thing. It’s not, actually. But it is one of the best things you can do to protect your personal assets and your business. Let’s take a look at what it takes to set your business up as a...
If you’re starting a business and planning to operate it as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), you may be struggling to decide what to name your company. Should you include your personal name, or would it be better to register a more conceptual or catchy name as...
A single-member LLC can be taxed as an S Corporation if it meets the IRS’s eligibility criteria. In fact, both single-member and multi-member Limited Liability Companies can elect to be treated by the IRS as either an S Corporation or a C Corporation if they meet...
Since a Limited Liability Company (LLC) can have one owner or an unlimited number of members, it’s not uncommon for an LLC to experience the death of one of its members. What happens to the ownership of the LLC when a member dies? First, let’s define some important...
People often use the terms “nonprofit corporation” and “501(c)(3)” synonymously. However, they don’t necessarily mean the same thing, and it’s important to know the distinction if you plan to operate as a nonprofit organization. A Nonprofit Corporation is a...
Nearly every U.S. state requires Limited Liability Companies, C Corporations, and other registered business entities to complete and file some form of an Annual Report. Annual Reports are intended to keep state officials up to date with contact information for your...
In a press release on February 27, 2025, FinCEN said that it “will not issue any fines or penalties or take any other enforcement actions against any companies based on any failure to file or update beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports pursuant to the...
A pass-through entity refers to a business that does not pay income tax of its own. Its income, losses, credits, and deductions “pass-through” to each business owner’s personal tax return, where its profits are taxed according to each owner’s individual income tax rate. Sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, and S Corporations are all pass-through entities. Corporations, and limited liability companies that elect to be taxed as a corporation, are not pass-through entities.
After a temporary halt in the requirement to submit beneficial ownership information reports (BOIR) to the federal government, FinCEN has announced that the reporting obligations under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) are again mandatory. What Does This Mean...
The Corporate Transparency Act’s Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Rule went into effect in January 2024, leaving many business owners wondering: Are they required to submit a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report? What’s the difference between...
As the deadline approaches for reporting companies to submit their BOI report to FinCEN, many business owners are still questioning if they need to file a report. I field that sort of inquiry a lot when presenting webinars on the topic and the answer is often...
You’ve likely heard buzz about the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama’s March 1, 2024, ruling that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is unconstitutional because it oversteps Congress’s legislative authority. As a result, plaintiffs in the...
By now, you’ve hopefully heard about the beneficial ownership information report that many businesses must file before the year's end. The BOI report is filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and it is designed to document information about...
Companies required to file a Beneficial Ownership Information report (ROIR) under the Corporate Transparency Act must share information with FinCEN about their reporting company, beneficial owners, and company applicants. If you're filing the BOI report yourself,...
Did you know many businesses had a new federal reporting requirement in 2024? Most registered business entities — like Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) and Corporations — must file a beneficial ownership information report (BOIR) with the Financial Crimes...
Why does FinCEN need a BOI report? Could the purpose of BOI reporting be so great that businesses across the USA have to file yet another report with the government? That’s the question many business owners have been asking since the Corporate Transparency Act of...
Reporting companies must file a Beneficial Ownership Information report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The BOI report is considered a one-time filing. If a business entity’s initial BOI report is accurate and no information filed in the...
A large range of businesses operate as Sole Proprietorships – a type of business entity that has one person, or a married couple, as its owner and operator. In fact, there are more Sole Proprietorships in the United States than any other type of business structure,...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that more than 5.5 million new business applications were filed in the United States in 2023. This record number has continued to grow since the surged started in 2020. If you’re one of the millions of Americans with a dream of...
Are you starting a business with some colleagues or friends? Or do you have an existing business and want to add some partners so you can grow your company? In either case, the multi-member LLC business structure may be a good option to consider. A multi-member LLC...
If you’ve spent any time on this blog or researching how to incorporate your business online, you’ve probably found some terms that were a bit confusing. What’s the difference between an LLC and a C Corporation? What paperwork do I need to file annually? What are...
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