Solo or LLC/S-Corp?

Bareback or Ribbed?

  • Bareback all the way (i.e. Sole Proprietorship)

    Votes: 14 11.9%

  • I use Protection (i.e. S-Corp or LLC)

    Votes: 75 63.6%

  • Not now, but I want to protect myself soon.

    Votes: 29 24.6%
  • Total voters
    118
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
Spliffic said:
Lawyer fees up in Canada to incorporate are $1000 (you can do without a lawyer but can easily fuck things up). Ouch! But well worth it IMO.
Click to expand...

That sucks. In Texas, our Secretary of State's website has a number of PDF's that basically hold your hand through the whole process, you fill out a PDF, fax it in, and you're done. Well, that and you pay the $300 fee (+ a percentage if you pay via credit card. Bastards.)

You still should consult a lawyer or at least a decent book if you've never done it before, but Texas makes it pretty easy. I think they want to encourage you to setup your corp within the state and not go to Nevada or another state to avoid taxes...
 


So much easier in the UK incorporate as a company (granted you need 2 directors minimum but hey thats what family is for).

You get Limited Liability protection (ie you are personally safe barring some excpetions)...throw in a decent wage for yourself every year (bypassing corptax for it - you pay income tax at about 20% below 36k).

For the rest re-invest (to get some relief's etc later) and pay the 21% tax for profits under 300k.
 
Donace said:
So much easier in the UK incorporate as a company (granted you need 2 directors minimum but hey thats what family is for).

You get Limited Liability protection (ie you are personally safe barring some excpetions)...throw in a decent wage for yourself every year (bypassing corptax for it - you pay income tax at about 20% below 36k).

For the rest re-invest (to get some relief's etc later) and pay the 21% tax for profits under 300k.
Click to expand...


Lol. And what's funny is that most Americans would tell you that America is Capitalistic and England is Socialist. Yeh, uhuh.
 
2 lawyers said to do single member LLC. They said the S-corp has more paperwork you have to worry about to keep your business in good standing.

Those of you with S-corps is there really a lot of paperwork you gotta fill out during the year? Is it a big pain? With a single member LLC I just need to do minutes once a year.

I think if you are really ballin out you should probably look into somehow getting more owners in your business. Like a wife or something. Would add more legitamcy to a single member LLC or S-corp. At the end of the day a single member anything is really just you and most lawyers can prob come up with some loop hole to explain how your business is not operating as its own entity. At least with more owners of the biz its easier to show that your business really is its own entity.
 
PSU4Life said:
2 lawyers said to do single member LLC. They said the S-corp has more paperwork you have to worry about to keep your business in good standing.

Those of you with S-corps is there really a lot of paperwork you gotta fill out during the year? Is it a big pain? With a single member LLC I just need to do minutes once a year.

I think if you are really ballin out you should probably look into somehow getting more owners in your business. Like a wife or something. Would add more legitamcy to a single member LLC or S-corp. At the end of the day a single member anything is really just you and most lawyers can prob come up with some loop hole to explain how your business is not operating as its own entity. At least with more owners of the biz its easier to show that your business really is its own entity.
Click to expand...


Ya that's why I'll pay the $300 per year for the lawyer to keep my biz in good standing. To me it's a small price to pay for as much protection as possible, although many others will disagree and want to go the cheapest route possible. Going cheap can sometimes open up things like you said, loopholes where other lawyers could potentially come at you. If you setup something yourself but aren't 100% sure it's gonna fully protect you, then what's the point of even setting anything up at all? That's my take, but again to each his own.
 
Depends on what you want to do. However, I'd setup an S-corp in either your home state or Delaware. Have your account setup a reasonable payroll for you when you get going and pay SS/FICA/Medicare on the payroll... pay capital gains on the rest and dramatically reduce your tax burden. I've been doing this for years (since about 1998).
 
windjc said:
Lol. And what's funny is that most Americans would tell you that America is Capitalistic and England is Socialist. Yeh, uhuh.
Click to expand...

LOL yes but they dont know that just setup an offshore business on jersey etc and instead of paying 21% you pay an annual £600 to get exempt from tax :p PLUS all the other tax breaks that are then avilable for your own income tax!
 
PSU4Life said:
2 lawyers said to do single member LLC. They said the S-corp has more paperwork you have to worry about to keep your business in good standing.

Those of you with S-corps is there really a lot of paperwork you gotta fill out during the year? Is it a big pain? With a single member LLC I just need to do minutes once a year.

I think if you are really ballin out you should probably look into somehow getting more owners in your business. Like a wife or something. Would add more legitamcy to a single member LLC or S-corp. At the end of the day a single member anything is really just you and most lawyers can prob come up with some loop hole to explain how your business is not operating as its own entity. At least with more owners of the biz its easier to show that your business really is its own entity.
Click to expand...

PSU - you live in PA?

W/r/t Single Member LLC's, the thing to be aware of is that it increases the likelihood that you will 'pierce the corporate veil', which is legalaise for saying that if someone actually does take you to court over something, they are much more likely to be able to go after your personal assets and accounts. The reason - there is more 'comingling' of accounts, assets and benefactors with a single member LLC.

In most states, including some PA case law, single member LLC's are seen as one-in-the-same as a sole proprietorship before a judge.

If you are going to go through the hassle of an LLC at all, put your dad or your mom or someone you trust nominally as a member, even at 1% and pay them an arbitrary dollar a year. Having a two-member LLC and being careful about paying yourself, not mixing your accounts, keeping a paper trail, etc. keeps your corporate veil intact.

Its not about having the entity in place if you are 'ballin outta control', it's about having something in place BEFORE you get an actionable C&D or Demand Letter. Income and legal trouble are not relative.
 
Is it too late to save?

I have a single-member LLC that I started about 1.5 years ago. Over the years, I made a little side income from Adsense, etc. But I've been naiive and screwed up in the "commingling" aspect of not properly separating personal and business expenses.

I just recently started making some significant income with affiliate marketing, so is it possible to clean up this financial mess or should I start a new business entity? I want to make sure I am properly protected from hereon.

Also, would it be complicated to dissolve this LLC because of the commingling situation? It's registered in Pennsylvania, and I already looked up the procedure and required forms. I'm just wondering about it from the standpoint of good standing on taxes and whether they will be nosy about it.

I understand all advice on here should be taken with the understanding that a lawyer/accountant would be most reliable, but I would like some tips before I seek some professional counsel.

Thank you,
parksobong
 
Does anyone know of a lawyer who specializes in providing affiliate marketers advice? If someone does,boy if they visited this board, that'd be great!
I know alot of lawyers who specialize in domain law/based issues frequent DN Forum for instance and it's great to know where to get them in one place. Plus you benefit from all the free "reviews" of their service.
 
Talked to 2 lawyers and 3 accountants here in Texas. They all agreed that we needed to set up our company as an LLC. LLC's have many advantages. There is plenty of stuff to read out there. We used LegalZoom and the LLC setup was painless. Also need to get an EIN.

We thought about forming an LLC in Delaware, but finally decided against it because of the paper trail and headaches.

Just know that taxes aren't gonna go away but you can PROTECT yourself with an LLC. Sole proprietorship is a dangerous road to walk down, especially if you are using your social security number. I would suggest getting an EIN immediately. I don't want any affiliate program storing my social security number on their servers....

Just some advice from a protected LLCer
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back