The High-touch Legal Services® Blog…for Startups!

© 2009-2021 Dana H. Shultz

Entrepreneurs Take Care: Raiding Employee Withholdings May Send You to Jail

Last month, I posted Your Business is Dead ? Are You Liable for its Obligations?, which stated that, generally, once a business is dissolved, the owners will be personally liable for the business’s obligations only to the extent that the owners received distributions at the time of dissolution.

A significant exception to the foregoing rule, however, concerns company personnel who are responsible for making, but fail to make, withholding payments to the Internal Revenue Service.

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Why (not) form an LLC in Nevada (or Wyoming)?

Nevada state seal for post about forming an LLC in NevadaQuestions about forming a limited liability company (LLC) in Nevada (or, increasingly, Wyoming) come up so frequently that I feel compelled to write about this topic.

There is something approaching the status of urban legend about the wisdom of forming an LLC in Nevada or Wyoming because they do not have an income tax. The problem is that lack of an income tax will benefit you only to the extent that you do business in in that state! (more…)

Should I form an LLC or a corporation?

Drawing of question marks, illustrating the question whether to form an llc or a corporationFairly frequently, an individual will ask whether to should form an LLC (limited liability company) or a corporation for a business. Here are the factors that I typically find are most important.

First, we can pretty much dismiss basic income tax considerations. By default, an LLC is not taxed as a separate entity but a corporation is taxed separately. However, there are ways to override the default tax treatments. An LLC may elect to be taxed as a separate entity by filing IRS Form 8832. Subject to certain limitations, a corporation can avoid separate taxation (i.e., can become an “S corporation”) by filing IRS Form 2553. (Please note, however, that once a company is in business, certain types of transactions can have different consequences for LLCs than for corporations. Accordingly, every company should consult with a tax advisor both up-front and on an ongoing basis.)

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