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Incorporation can protect business owners and shareholders from personal financial responsibility for business debts or liability.
Members are protected
Shareholders are protected
Shareholders are protected
Directors are protected
Sole proprietors are not protected
Some entities are more rigid than others when it comes to structure.
Variety of management structures
Defined by state and federal law
Defined by state and federal law
Strict management laws
No management structure
Depending on your goals, certain entity types may be more suitable.
Gains credibility when applying for loans and grants
Can distribute one class of stock to up to 100 people
Can issue multiple classes of stock to unlimited shareholders
Gains credibility when applying for loans and grants
Often more difficult to get loans and cannot issue stock
Compliance requirements vary by state and entity type
Easy to maintain and often most affordable
Payroll requirements may create operational overhead
Requires more complex accounting and potentially more reporting and fees
Typically the most demanding due to tax-exempt status
No requirements or fees
Succession planning may be important to you. If so, you'll need a business structure that enables a smooth transition.
With the proper planning, LLCs can exist for generations
Existence is not tied to specific shareholders
Existence is not tied to specific shareholders
Existence is not tied to specific directors
No longer exists when the owner quits or passes away
Your choice of entity can impact your tax rate and filing options.
Pass-through taxes: Most often, LLC members are taxed on their personal tax returns
Pass-through taxes: S-corp shareholders are taxed on their personal tax returns
Double taxation: C-corp income is taxed at the corporate level first, then again at the personal level
Nonprofits can apply for tax-exempt status and donations are tax-deductible
Sole proprietorships are taxed only on their owner's tax return.
State filing fees are required for all legal entities. As a Rocket Lawyer member, you only pay state fees.
Fees are tax-deductible
Fees are tax-deductible
Fees are tax-deductible
Fees are tax-deductible
No fees
S-corp FAQs
Businesses can save up to $2,500 per year with a Rocket Legal+™ membership. This calculation is based on total savings on an initial business registration and registered agent, trademark, and business tax filing services for Rocket Legal+ members (a total cost of $924.97) compared to Rocket Legal members (a total cost of $1,949.96). This is in addition to savings on the average cost of 5 hours for document preparation by a non-Rocket Lawyer network attorney at the average attorney hourly rate in the U.S. of $300 (an estimated cost of $1,500 when purchased without any form of Rocket Lawyer membership) compared to unlimited use of customizable business documents for both Rocket Legal+ and Rocket Legal members at no extra cost.
An S corporation, or S-corp, is an IRS election that allows a company to be treated like an LLC for income tax purposes, that is, as a 'pass-through' entity. Instead of income taxes being owed at both the company and individual level, something known as double-taxation, the income of an S-corp is only taxed at the individual level, which means it passes through the company directly to the owners and shareholders.
One area of common confusion is what type of entity can elect S-corp status. Remember that this election is simply a tax choice, not a governance or legal structure choice. Both limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations can choose S-corp status if they qualify under the IRS's guidelines.
26 U.S. Code Subchapter S is the section of the United States Internal Revenue Code that sets forth the requirements to be treated as an S-corp and the tax treatment of S-corps and their shareholders. To elect to be taxed under Subchapter S, an entity must:
If taxed under Subchapter S, an S-corp is most similar to the tax status of a sole proprietorship, partnership, and LLC, with only a few slight differences.
LLCs and S-corps are very similar from a tax perspective in that both have pass-through status. There are no retained earnings or dividends of the company. The profits or losses are taxable to each owner at the end of each fiscal year.
One major difference, and the reason why owners often choose S-corp status over LLC status, is the treatment of wages paid to owners. In an LLC, the entire profit or loss of the company is treated as ordinary income and subject to what is usually a higher tax rate on the owner's tax return if the owner is also an employee of the business. For an S-corp, the owner, if employed by the business, must only be paid a reasonable salary and the rest is subject to what is usually a lower capital gains rate. So, in many instances, the S-corp may result in a lower tax burden.
Corporations are taxed as a C-corp by default, but they may elect S-corp status by filing Form 2553 with the IRS. If this election is made, the corporation will no longer be subject to 'double-taxation,' taxation at both the corporate and individual level, and instead taxes will only be payable at the individual level.
There are, however, some extra restrictions put in place with an S-corp election. An S-corp can have:
While the total tax paid by an S-corp may be lower than a C-corp, many companies still elect to be a C-corp because it offers more flexibility in attracting investment as well as retaining and reinvesting pre-tax earnings for future growth.
Unlike a dividend from a C-corp, no tax is triggered when a distribution is made from an S-corp. While that may sound like a great deal, in reality it just means that the taxes owed on any amount distributed have already been paid because distributions are post-tax payments from a company to shareholders, while dividends are pre-tax payments.
Because of the pass-through nature of an S-corp, all profits or losses flow directly to the shareholder at the end of each tax year. That means that even if no money has been paid out through a distribution, taxes must still be paid by the shareholder every year. However, once those taxes have been paid, any distribution would then be free from any future taxes.
Unlike a C-corp, an S-corp is limited in who can invest in it.
The Substantial Presence Test is satisfied if an individual was physically present in the U.S. for:
Registering an S-corp requires paying state filing fees which can range from $40 to $500, depending on the state. States also typically require annual fees to maintain a corporation's status.
The business services team at Rocket Lawyer can help you navigate the processes and systems to ensure you meet all the legal requirements in order to file quickly and correctly. Rocket Legal+ members get their first business registration filing for free, paying only the state filing fees, and also get access to professional services for up to half off, including registered agent services, tax prep and filing, trademark registration, and more.
If your business does not have a physical address in your state (P.O. boxes are not acceptable substitutions), you may be required to have a registered agent. Registered agents accept official and legal correspondence on behalf of your business. While you’re setting up your new business entity, why not set up Rocket Lawyer as your registered agent at the same time? Better yet, if you have a Rocket Legal+ membership, you can save on your business registration and your registered agent services with the membership that pays for itself.
Unlike a C-corp, an S-corp is not allowed an unlimited number of investors. In order to maintain the 'small-business' nature of the S-corp election, only 100 investors can participate in an S-corp at any point in time. There are, however, some exceptions to the rule. Spouses and certain organizations only count as a single investor in many instances.
Not only is an S-corp limited in the number of shareholders it can have, it is also limited in the number of share classes it can have. An S-corp can have only one class of shares, so all investors are equal in right.
For tax purposes, to be treated as an S-corp by the IRS, an LLC must first ensure it complies with all of the requirements of becoming an S-corp. That is, it must only have one share class and have less than 100 shareholders who are U.S. residents or citizens, or not-for-profit organizations.
After ensuring compliance, the LLC must simply file Form 8832 with the IRS (compared to Form 2553 for a corporation) and choose S-corp status. Be sure to fill the form out correctly. A company can only elect a different tax status once every 60 months.
An entity converted in the way presented above would still be an LLC for state law company governance matters though. For an LLC to become an S-corp rather than just receive S-corp tax treatment, the company would have to go through the applicable conversion procedures for the state in which they are formed. They would then be a corporation and need to file Form 2553 to have S-corp status.
It typically only takes a few weeks to fill out and process the necessary paperwork to elect S-corp status, even if the company is going through the two-step process of converting to a corporation and then electing S-corp status. It may, however, take months for that filing to take effect. If an election is made within the first two months and 15 days of a company's fiscal year, it will have immediate effect in that year. If made after that time, you'll have to wait until the end of the current fiscal year to enjoy your new tax election.
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