If you want to operate your own business, forming a single-member LLC is a good idea to avoid personal liability for the company's debts and obligations. As long as you separate your personal and business assets and don't mix funds, your LLC won't be seen as an extension of you. The main benefit of LLCs is that they provide their owners with limited liability protection. If an LLC has legal problems, its members don't have to worry about losing their personal assets, such as their homes or cars.
Unlike a sole proprietorship or partnership, an LLC provides business owners with personal liability protections for any company action. In general, LLCs provide certain tax benefits and greater flexibility, and they also involve much less paperwork than C and S corporations. The LLC tax system is somewhat divided between sole proprietors and corporations. Corporations must pay taxes as individual business entities, while sole proprietors must pay their self-employment taxes. While an LLC with several partners is taxable as a partnership or corporation, independent contractors must only pay taxes on their own.
Therefore, an independent contractor must complete Form 1099 at the end of each financial year. The best starting point is to know the best legal and tax structures for your company, to know the difference between S Corps and LLCs, and to identify the benefits of each of them. An LLC as an independent contractor gives you greater credibility, helping you to handle multifaceted business challenges much better than a sole proprietor or a independent contractor. Here are some things to keep in mind if you're deciding to choose S Corp status or simply form an LLC and pay taxes as a sole proprietorship.
When you're ready to create an LLC for your company, it's very likely that you're also a good option to receive S Corp treatment in relation to your taxes. For example, an LLC owned by one person can file taxes as a sole proprietorship with Schedule C, while an LLC with several owners is taxed as a partnership. Brex Treasury LLC (“Brex Treasury”) is a Brex subsidiary and a member of FINRA and SIPC that offers Brex business accounts, accounts that allow customers to transfer uninvested cash balances to certain money market mutual funds or FDIC-insured bank accounts at Brex partner banks. Legal protection and potential tax advantages are two important factors to consider when choosing between a sole proprietorship and an LLC. Since the establishment of an LLC varies by state, look for your state agency and confirm if there are additional requirements for your new company.
With an LLC, you'll also be able to establish business credit in a way that you couldn't with a sole proprietorship. An important decision you might face as an entrepreneur as your company grows is to choose between an S corporation or an LLC. You may decide to hire an attorney or an online LLC filing service to prepare and file the documentation for you. These are some of the reasons why an LLC as an independent contractor may be the best option for your business.
For example, if a member of the LLC knowingly engages in fraudulent activities, that member may be held personally responsible for any damages that result from those activities. If you are thinking about how to organize your business, an LLC can be a good option from a tax point of view. By default, an LLC pays taxes as a sole proprietorship, including self-employment tax on its total profits.
