Incorporating With an S Corp

by L Shepherd | More from this Blogger

08 Feb 2007 01:13 AM

Incorporating sounds intimidating, and in a lot of ways it is. The taxes for most types of corporations are complicated and have to be filed quarterly. If you don't have the money for an accountant, and you can't see going through tax time four times every year, then the S Corporation might be right for you.

The technical aspects of the taxes are a little beyond me, but I do know this- you only have to pay once a year. It's not much more complicated than filing personal income taxes, and I haven't found much difference between filing for an S Corp and filing for a regular business. I did get a quote once from a CPA for filing my S Corp taxes. The estimate was $1,500, which was a ridiculous amount. Fleeing from the sticker shock, I used Turbo Tax instead and did just fine. What did people do before Turbo Tax?

Having an S Corp carries similar liability protection to any other type of corporation, but the accounting is much simpler for the tax reason. And, incorporating isn't as expensive as a lot of people think. There are companies online that will do it for a couple of hundred dollars or less. I paid $300 total to have it done. Lawyers can do it for you for a similar amount or even less if you already know what you want and won't have a complicated company structure. After paying my $300 to an internet company to have it done, however, I found out that people can actually do it on their own. There is no requirement that a lawyer of third party has to do it for you. There are books available that tell you how to do it, or you can go to the courthouse and ask about what forms you need. And, filing on your own is much less than $100 all together. Live and learn.

See also: Having a Home Corporation Professional Vs. Creative Is it Time For a New Image?

Learn more about L Shepherd

L. Shepherd is a freelance writer and home business entrepreneur. Being involved in online retail with several third party sites, she knows the long hours and commitment that a home business requires.

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