FREE Income & Expense Excel Spreadsheet 2019 (Formula protected)
FREE Income & Expense Excel Spreadsheet 2018 (Formula protected)
Many business owners are experts in their field and leave the bookkeeping and tax matters to a professional, but they are not always cheap. For those who are already in business and are expanding and to those who are thinking of starting a business, here is some information that might help you decide on a business structure.
An LLC is the least complex
business structure. Starting an LLC gives you the perk of pass-through taxes,
limited liability (obviously), and legal protection for your personal assets,
one does not have to be a US citizen or permanent resident. Plus the added
benefit enhanced credibility and looking more legit than the other guys. Note
that an LLC is not a separate taxable entity. What does this mean?
Let me explain. LLCs are great because they are
flexible when it comes to determining how you want to be taxed. You have the
option of taxing your LLC like a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation
by filing the appropriate forms with the IRS.
Once you have registered for an LLC, if you don’t
do anything else, the IRS will automatically classify your LLC as either a sole
proprietorship or a partnership depending on how many members (owners) the LLC
has. If you are the only member in your LLC then the IRS will tax your LLC as
if it were a sole proprietorship in which case you will file the LLC earnings
in Schedule C with your Form 1040. If there are more than one members in your
LLC, the IRS will treat it as a partnership where in the LLC will file Form
1065 and partners will receive a Schedule K-1 from the LLC and then report their
share of earnings stated in Schedule K-1 in their individual tax returns. If
husband and wife are the only members of LLC, they are still treated as a
partnership here in NC, however, if the LLC of husband and wife is located in
community property state, they have the option to be taxed as disregarded
entity, meaning husband and wife can both file Schedule C avoiding having to
file Form 1065 Partnership.
For example, if your LLC is yours and yours alone
and you make $15, 000 profit, you will pay your share of taxes in your tax
return. On the other hand, if your LLC has 3 partners with an equal share of
the company, each partner will receive their share of earnings and deductions
reported in Schedule K-1, each partner will have to include $5,000 share of
income in each of their tax returns and that income will be subject to
self-employment tax.
In both of these scenarios, unlike W2 income, no
taxes are withheld. It would be wise to set aside some earnings to cover your
tax liability comes tax season.
Let’s look at the other options of changing the tax
identity of your LLC. Some LLCs elect to be taxed as corporations (like a
C-Corp or S-Corp). But why? The most common reason is that their business wants
to keep a hefty amount of their profits in their LLC and these so-called
“retained earnings” are generally taxed at a lower rate than they would be on a
personal 1040 tax return. Income is taxed at corporate level, and again at the
hands of shareholders when they receive it as dividends. That’s called double
taxation. One of the reasons why many small to mid-size company go for S- Corp.
To elect corporate taxation, you'll have to file an “Entity Classification Election” (IRS Form 8832.) On it, there should be a section in which you can elect to be taxed as a corporation. If you choose to be taxed as an S-Corp, you will also need to file IRS Form 2553 “Election by a Small Business Corporation within 2 months and 15 days from beginning of tax year or you can file the election any time before the tax year for the status to be in effect.” Owners of LLC in S-Corp becomes an employee and must receive “reasonable salary” within the company’s industry. So payroll taxes are withheld from W2, and additional income is received as distributions.
An LLC Operating Agreement is a Legal document that
outlines the ownership and member duties of your Limited Liability Company.
Although it is not required for an LLC to file an Operating Agreement in NC, it
is highly recommended.
·
If you have
business partners (Multi-Member LLC):
An operating agreement will help prevent misunderstandings by setting clear expectations about partner roles and responsibilities.
An operating agreement will help prevent misunderstandings by setting clear expectations about partner roles and responsibilities.
·
If you are
the sole owner of an LLC (Single Member LLC):
Creating an operating agreement brings credibility to your LLC. This helps to ensure courts uphold limited liability status of your LLC.
Creating an operating agreement brings credibility to your LLC. This helps to ensure courts uphold limited liability status of your LLC.
You can find
a sample of an LLC Operating Agreement (Member Managed) at www.dbtaxsolutions.blogspot.com
Here are a few items you need to consider when
registering for LLC.
·
Choose a legal name and you may choose to reserve
it with the State for $20
·
Choose your business structure
·
Who will manage your LLC (Member Managed/
Manager Managed)
·
Choose an agent, this could be you or someone
who holds an office on regular hours
·
Draft and file Articles of Incorporation with NC
State, filing fee is $127
·
Have an Operating Agreement as an “internal
document”, NC does not require filing of OA, but it is recommended.
·
NC state require LLCs to file Annual report due
on April 15th for $200
·
EIN (Employer Identification number) for LLCs
that will have employees. Additionally, banks require EIN in order to open a
business bank account.
·
Apply for business licenses or certificates in
your industry
I find the following websites helpful for learning
more about LLCs in NC. It’s called the LLC University. It gives mini
lessons/videos on different aspects of LLC.
Business Link North Carolina is an association of
volunteers solely to help entrepreneurs with starting a business, business
structure, licenses and permits, business forms, etc. There services are at no
cost.
SCORE Association previously known as the “Services
Corps of Retired Executives” is the nation’s largest network of volunteer,
expert business mentors providing mentorship, workshops, and educational
resources to aid business owners. Again, their services are at no cost.
I hope this information is helpful to you. If you
have more questions about LLCs you can contact me at dbtaxsolutions@hotmail.com.