I want to buy land and open a horse campgrounds.  Should I create my business as an LLC, LLP, or corporation?
547786
LLC with C-Corp as organizer. Double protection, best limit of liability since you will have guests/customers on your property.
446912
If you're going to be employed then there's no need to worry about setting up a limited company. You will be paid on commission, which to my understanding, will highly depend on how much you put in to your work, e.g how much sales you make etc.\nOn the flip side, if you're forming your own comapny, I'ld advise you to form an LLC or limited liablity company, which has a lot of advantages mainly, that you will not be held personally liable should your company be sued!
725967
You just have to go down to city hall and purchase a business license. If you choose not to incorporate, they normally require you to run an ad staing that you are doing business as whatever you decide to call your business.  Incportaions and LLC (limited liability company) allow you to limit personal liability in case some one sues you and there are some tax advantages. Most small companies incorporate as a Sub S which has tax advantages. You don't have to incorporate. You have to consider the possible litigation risks of the business you are in. If your husband works alone, the risks are minimal in woodworking. If he hires employees and begins using industrial strippers and stains that are highly toxic, the risk is very high. Photography would also seem to be a low risk for litigation type business. If you were hired to shoot a wedding that costs $500,000 and the party became upset with you and sued you for perceived damages, it could possibly be in the 100s of thousands of dollars. Incorporating limits the collection of judgements to th ebusiness keeping your personal assets (home, car, etc) safe, normally. Some attorneys have been able to "pierce the corporate veil" and go after personal assets.\n\nYou may want to just get started as a "dba" (doing business as)company and incorporate later.\n\nI am not an attorney but I have started many companies. You should talk to an attorney and an accountant if you have concerns about your taxes and personal assets.
267626
Registering a company is not difficult at all.  First check with your state requirements, which is primarily name registration.  There are lots of companies that provide these services for you -www.mycorporation.com, but they usually charge a premium.  As an IT company, make sure you get your domain name secured, again, lots of companies out there to assist -www.godaddy.com, is my favorite.\nTaxes are based on your corporate structure, and vary greatly.  Make sure you go to www.irs.gov to research the differences, you can set yourself up as a C-corp (company pays its own taxes) S-Corp (shareholders pay their portion of taxes), LLC (Limited Liability) or Partnership, or you can stay simple by being a sole propreitor.  What all this determines is whether you will be filing an 1120 corporate tax return on March 15, or if all your taxes go on your personal tax return.  Now if you have employees, payroll taxes will have to be considered.  But this comes later.\nRunning a business to start is not complicated, but make sure you have invested in a good accounting product.  For brevity, Quickbooks is a pretty good bookkeeping tool, the training tutorial is pretty easy and the interface is user friendly.  Trademarking and patenting can be done but don't need to be done first.\nMost importantly, devise a strong business plan.  Although this helps investors, it helps you, the owner more.  It places all your thoughts down into concrete black and white.  It brings out your strengths and weakness, and determines if now is the right time to jump in.  Palo Alto has good software to assist with this.\nYou may also want to meet with a local SCORE representative to pick their brain.\nGood luck
389004
The difference between an LLC and Inc (Corporation) are actually legal differences and you won't really know if you made a right decision unless you get sued :-) \n\nI would talk with a CPA about Incorporating or forming an LLC. They would be able to explain not only the states definition but also if you need to file an Entity Election and possible a Sub-S Election with the IRS. Don't forget that even when you form an LLC or Corporation with the state you may still be taxed as a Sole Proprietor by the IRS unless you file to correct elections, meaning you are liable for taxes as the person, not as a corporation. With more than one owner... trust me that could get a little hairy.
834772
Either as long as you can trust your partner and you draw up contracts if entering into a partnership.  May also be worth considering setting up a limited company as you can do this with a small business, and at least then you will not be personally liable if things do not go according to plan with your business idea.  Good Luck!
885836
Due to the complexity and extra cost of opening a corporation, I would suggest an LLC.  With a one member llc it is treated much like a sole proprietorship.  Gains will be taxed at your personal rate.  But if you live in this home for 2 out of 5 years, then you are entitled to a 250k exemption from the sale of the home.  If you plan on buying and selling many houses then maybe an Inc would be better.  Consult a lawyer and/or CPA.  It all depends on the facts and circumstances and how big you plan on becoming with your investment activities.  Inc are easier to get financing... LLC is cheaper and you can open quite easily by yourself.
721393
Sole Proprietorship  \n\nA business owned by one person, who is entitled to all of its profits and responsible for all of its debts, is considered a sole proprietorship. This legal form is the simplest, providing maximum control and minimum government interference. Currently used by more than 75 percent of all businesses, it is often the suggested way for a new business that does not carry great personal liability threats. The owner simply needs to secure the necessary licenses, tax identification numbers, and certifications in his or her name, and you are now in business!\n\nThe main advantages that differentiate the sole proprietorship from the other legal forms are (1) the ease with which it can be started, (2) the owner's freedom to make decisions, and (3) the distribution of profits (owner takes all).  \n\nStill, the sole proprietorship is not without disadvantages, the most serious of which is its unlimited liability. As a sole proprietor, you are responsible for all business debts. Should these exceed the assets of your business, your cred­itors can claim your personal assets--home, automobile, savings account, and investments. Sole proprietorships also tend to have more difficulty obtaining capital and holding on to key employees. This stems from the fact that sole proprietorships generally have fewer resources and offer less opportunity for job advancement. Thus, anyone who chooses the sole proprietorship should be prepared to be a generalist, performing a variety of functions, from accounting to advertising. \n\n\nFeatures of the LLC\n\n Limited Liability Status. The main attraction of an LLC is its limited liability status, a feature that it shares with corporations. The LLC limit your personal liability from business debts and damages incurred by the business. It basically lets you off the hook from legal liabilities such as court judgments and legal settlements obtained against the business.\n\n Tax Benefits. Like sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corporations, the business profits and losses of an LLC are taxed at individuals' income tax rates. You will avoid a corporation's double taxation, where taxes are reported at a separate business level.\n\n Owners of the LLC. While owners of corporations are called stockholders, LLC owners are referred to as members. A member, who invests in the LLC and receive a percentage ownership interest in return, may be an individual or a separate legal entity such as a partnership or corporation. The percentage ownership is used to divide up the assets of the LLC when it is sold or liquidated, to split up profits and losses of the LLC or to divide up its voting rights. While an LLC can exist with one member, some states such as the District of Columbia and Massachusetts require LLCs to have two or more members.\n\n Flexible Management Structure. An LLC can be run either by its members or a management group elected by the members. While many small businesses are managed by their own members, an LLC can easily adopt a management-run structure in the following situations: the members decide to employ outside management help; not all of the members want to run the LLC; or an outside investor wants to be given a vote in management.\n\n Flexible Distribution of Profits and Losses. Similar to partnerships, dividing up profits among the LLC members is not restricted to the members' capital contributions. You may split up LLC profits and losses any way you wish, as long as it is provided for in the operating agreement.
1074779
I'm not an accountant, but I have a corporation in Texas.  Either way, it's expensive and you're going to spend several hundred dollars, so if your business doesn't have much liability now, you may want to wait and just file a DBA as a partnership.\n\nFor either of them, you need to file with the Secretary of State, here's the link, it'll tell you how to file, fees, etc.\nhttp://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/businessstructure.shtml\n\nWith your size business, if you go as a corporation, you should elect to be an "S" corp.  This is very easy and lets you pass any profits from the corporation to the shareholders as wages.  Any losses are passed to the shareholders and you deduct from you personal taxes.  The corporation files a year end tax form, and K-1 showing the percentages for each shareholder.  You then file a supplement page with your 1040.  \n\nThe main difference with the LLC I think is record keeping.  If you're a corporation, you need to have annual meetings, keep articles of incorporation, detailed records of any changes.  Costs are about the same.   I forget the filing fee, but I think it's like $400 to register the name and paperwork.  You don't need a lawyer if you can find the paperwork that'll show you what you need.\n\nFranchise tax is nothing to worry about.  As a corp in Texas, you need to file 2 forms with the state every tax year.  One just shows the names of the directors and the other is your income; but if it's less than $250,000, you don't owe anything.
313688
A couple different ways I can think of.\n\nFirst, you could start a new LLC and just use the same name; e.g., if it's XYZ Event Planning, organize XYZ Travel Agency.  Ownership of the new LLC would mirror that of the event planning business.\n\nSecond, don't start a new LLC, just run the travel agency as a separate division from event planning (separate financials, although you'd only file one tax return for the business).
196596
Its always a good idea to contact a few realtors, if your not very familure with buying land or local ordanaces that might apply to your type of business.  It might also a good idea to contact some insurance compnies to make sure you'll be able to get the liabilty insureance needed and to check and see if they might have any requirements regarding the land that might affect your premiums.
672108
You can start your business with out an LLC. You will probably want a name, but you can just use a DBA until you start the actual LLC or INC entity.
398100
Go to the website of the California Secretary of State, see link below.\n\nYou can choose between the links for corporation vs. limited liability company or limited partnership.\n\nThere are several factors you should consider before selecting a corporation vs. LLC or vice versa.  Having said that, a lot of entrepreneurs are starting LLCs b/c they're overall easier to operate and the taxes flow through to you, the LLC itself doesn't pay taxes.\n\nTo start an LLC, go to the SECOND link below.  You'll find forms of articles of organization, plus filing fees.  One of the forms is LLC-1, this is the one you want.\n\nIf you're a sole proprietor and want to stay that way, you need to register your business name as a 'fictitious name'.  I believe in California you guys register those at the county level, so do a Yahoo search for your county and find their official site, and look around there for a form.  If nothing else, just call them.\n\nGood luck.
758351
Form a LLC first, then open a bank account in the corporation's name.  The bank account is essential because you will spend money while getting your business started and even while you are looking for the space.
158794
An LLC is a "limited liability company".  Best idea is to consult an attorney in your area.  Many law firms will offer busines formation services as a package deal - one price for everything.  The benefit of using an attorney is that you can be confident that everything is formed correctly, and that you understand all the rules and regulations surrounding your new business enterprise.  Good luck.
96896
Here's what Nolo has to say:\n\nPartnership: "a partnership is simply a business owned by two or more people that hasn't filed papers to become a corporation or a limited liability company (LLC). No paperwork needs to be filed to form a partnership -- the arrangement begins as soon as you start a business with another person"\n\nLLC: "LLCs are similar to corporations because they also provide limited personal liability for business debts and claims. But when it comes to taxes, LLCs are more like partnerships: the owners of an LLC pay taxes on their shares of the business income on their personal tax returns."\n\nI listed the link to the entire article below.\n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
227624
Before the Limited Liability Company (LLC), the business entity of choice for real estate was the limited partnership. You get pass through taxation, including pass-through "losses" from depreciation even when your investment was cash flow positive.\n\n    Today, LLCs are the almost always used for real estate investment. I work for a law firm that does a lot of real estate deals, some worth over $1 billion, and I almost never see anything besides an LLC used when a new entity is needed (there are still some limited partnerships left from projects started many years ago).\n\n    A corporation is probably the worst entity, because of the double taxation. \n    \n    Separate entities for your operating business and your real estate is recommended also.  This isolates liability caused by your real estate (e.g. a slip and fall) from your operating business, and also protects your real estate from being seized to satisfy a claim due to your operating business (e.g. a product liability claim).\n\n     It's also wise to have each piece of property under a separate LLC.  This way, a catastrophic loss at one property (e.g. a tenant is murdered and you're sued for wrongful death for providing inadequate security), won't decimate your entire real estate portfolio.  All the plaintiff will be able to take is the one property--your other properties will be safe in their own LLCs.