What are the things that you want most in life? Freedom? Financial independence? More time with family or friends? I think it is safe to say that most people would like to have those things. However, most people won't get it. The majority of individuals will keep doing what they are doing every single day and hope that the life they have always wanted will just appear before their eyes. I have some bad news for those people who think that - your life is NOT going to change unless you are the driving force behind that change. Now, don't get me wrong. I believe that inside every one of us is the strength to make the changes that are necessary to make to live the lives of our dreams and accomplish our goals. I also believe that most people need only a little encouragement and motivation to start their own journey to success. The decision that faces every one of us is what success looks like. While there are any number of ways to define what that is, I want to focus on financial freedom. By this I simply mean that you can stop working today and still have income for the rest of your life. How is this possible? You just have to start a business. In this book, you will learn about: Sole Proprietorships Partnerships Limited Liability Companies (LLC) Corporations (S-Corp & C-Corp) More than two years into my entrepreneurial journey, I have been getting similar questions to those that I had when starting my first business asking about different business structures. "Do I want a proprietorship or corporation or an LLC? What's the difference between all of these?" There's a lot of confusion here so I wanted to build this resource for you in order to address those concerns.

The "LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp" question is one of essential importance: Make the right decision, and you'll be paying less tax; you'll know your personal assets are protected from lawsuits against your business; and you might even save yourself some money on accounting and legal fees. Make the wrong decision, and you'll be paying an unnecessary amount of tax; you'll be wasting money on legal bills; and you'll be only a lawsuit away from losing your home and other personal assets. Find the following, explained in plain-English with no legal jargon: The basics of sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, S-Corp, and C-Corp taxation. How to protect your personal assets from lawsuits against your business. When the protection offered by an LLC will work. (And more importantly, when it will not!) Which business structures could reduce your federal income tax or self-employment tax.

How can I avoid self-employment taxes? This simple question was the inspiration for creating an article describing the benefits of an S Corporation. That original article, which was about four pages long, quickly became a series of KnowledgeBase articles on the Watson CPA Group website. The articles touched on basic topics such as how to elect S Corp status, payroll, reasonable salary determination, retirement planning, health care, fringe benefits and liability protection. Those broad topics demanded much more information, both horizontally by spanning into more related issues, and vertically by digging deeper into the granular yet riveting levels of the tax code. The articles were grouped and relabeled as the Taxpayer’s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps which grew to 39 pages in its first edition. Time marched on, and more information was added to the first edition such as expanded retirement planning concerns, health care options after the Affordable Care Act and business valuations including exit strategies. Boom, we now had our second edition at over 100 pages. At that point it was suggested by some clients and colleagues to convert the PDF into an eBook as well as paperback. So here we are.. Each week we receive several phone calls and emails from small business owners across the country who have read our Taxpayer’s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps and praised the wealth of information. Regardless of your current situation, whether you are considering starting your own business or entertaining a contracting gig, or you are an experienced business owner, the contents of this book are for you. This book will show you how to reduce your self-employment taxes through an S Corporation election and how to use your corporation to your retirement and fringe benefit advantage. You will also learn the operational considerations of an S Corp plus the 185 reasons you should NOT elect S Corp status. Want to buy or sell a business? That’s in here too. This book is written with the general taxpayer in mind. Too many resources simply regurgitate complex tax code without explanation. While in some cases tax code and court opinions are duplicated verbatim because of the precise words, this book strives to explain many technical concepts in layperson terms with some added humor and opinions. We believe you will find this book educational as well as amusing.

Practical Guide to Partnerships and LLCs (3rd Edition), by Robert Ricketts and Larry Tunnell, discusses the complex issues involving partnership taxation with utmost clarity. It uses hundreds of illustrative examples, practice observations, helpful charts and insightful explanations to make even the most difficult concepts understandable. The book reflects the authors' penchant for communicating the pertinent facts in very direct language and creating a context for understanding the multifaceted issues and applying them to practice.

According the United States Small Business Administrationâe(tm)s most recently released date, there are more than 9 million small businesses in the United States and almost 250,000 new ones started every year. Of those new businesses, half will fail in the first 12 months and part of that failure is due to the lack of information about how to start and develop that business. Without the right legal form of business, you may end up paying too much in taxes, failing to comply with certain laws, or miss out on certain breaks that you deserve. This book provides you with a complete guide, discussing all four major forms of business, which one is right for you, and how your decision may affect you in the future. The first thing you will read about is the list of non-legal issues you need to deal with before you start the business creation process. In addition, you will learn which form of business is ideal for your particular situation with a short overview of each type, a comparison of what each offers, and how the legal implications of each might apply to you. You will learn specifically how to choose between an LLC and a corporation in instances where it might not be immediately clear which is best for you. You will also learn which special business structures are best suited to your needs if you do not fit into any of the four primary categories. The process of structuring a partnership is outlined, along with how to create a written agreement and how to change a partnership after the business has been created. You will also learn how to create a corporation, including the structure you will use, how to establish financing, the compensation you will provide yourself, whether you need a lawyer, the 13 step process of starting and filing your corporation, and what you need to do immediately afterwards. The number of members needed to create an LLC is provided as well, along with how to structure management and determine financing and compensation. Hours of careful interviews were conducted with successful small business owners and legal experts to help create a comprehensive collection of materials that will guide you through the processes above, as well as how to handle transition of ownership and the extended process of naming your business âe" including the legal implications of this process, what you need to know about trademarks and service marks, how to protect your own trademarks, and where to do name searches. The licensing and permit processes, as well as the tax structures for each business type, are included for federal, state, and local laws, while additional information is provided on how to build your home-based business as opposed to one in a physical location. If you are looking to create a new business and do not know which format is best for your needs, this book will walk you through each step of the selection process, making sure your new business meets all applicable laws and regulations.

Practical Guide to Partnerships and LLCs (10th Edition), by Robert Ricketts and Larry Tunnell, discusses the complex issues involving partnership taxation with utmost clarity. It uses hundreds of illustrative examples, practice observations, helpful charts and insightful explanations to make even the most difficult concepts understandable. The book reflects the authors' penchant for communicating the pertinent facts in very direct language and creating a context for understanding the multifaceted issues and applying them to practice. This new edition fully reflects all the latest developments in this complex area. These include changes affecting: - partnership basis adjustments - transfers to partnerships of property with built-in losses - sale of an interest in a partnership with built-in loss property - disproportionate distributions from partnerships with built-in loss property - expensing and amortization of partnership organizational expenses - partnership treatment of the deduction for domestic production activities - recognition of cancellation-of-indebtedness income, and more In six parts, Practical Guide to Partnerships and LLCs covers the critical aspects of this complicated area, with individual parts focusing on partnership characteristics, funding, taxation of operations, partner's share of partnership debt, disposition of partnership interest, and distributions. From choice-of-entity considerations to sales and liquidations, the entire breadth of partnership and LLC taxation is covered. Special attention is given throughout to the complex inter-workings of rules that bind, tax and control these entity operations. In the book's first part focused on preliminary considerations, the basic underpinnings are presented covering key areas such as the check the box rules, anti-abuse rules, investment joint venture rules, the application of partnership taxation to LLCs, liability issues, passive loss limitations, audit issues, self-employment taxes, IRS classification, tax year and accounting method selection, and much more. The second part of Practical Guide to Partnerships and LLCs looks at property contributions and disguised sales, transactions between partner and partnership, and formation and start-up expenses. A special summary table for the tax treatment of pre-opening expenses is included. Next, the central core of the book explains the taxation of operations including partnership income rules, the pass-through concept, and the partner's share of income and debt. Specific rules, reporting and compliance issues are thoroughly addressed. Form 1065 and schedules L, M-1, M-2, K and K-1 are also explained. Part four covers partner's share of partnership debt, while disposition of a partnership interest is the subject of the fifth part of Practical Guide to Partnerships and LLCs. This section covers the amount and character of the seller's gain or loss, sales of partnership interest when the partnership holds ordinary income property and the effect of sale of partnership interest on the partnership. The final part covers distributions, including nonliquidating, liquidating, special distribution exceptions, and disproportionate distributions. This section also includes coverage of the death or retirement of a general partner and special rules for service partnerships. The detailed and substantial coverage in the text is enhanced by the abundant illustrations and special aids to understanding, such as flowcharts, offered throughout. Practical Guide to Partnerships and LLCs will be a great resource all tax practitioners, students and those interested in developing their knowledge of partnerhip and LLC taxation..