This video is lesson one on incorporating your business either as a simple corporation or as a limited liability corporation (LLC). In the downloadable PDFs you get your lesson material detailing the advantages and disadvantages of both.
After studying this information you may think you know what your business type should be. However, I suggest you wait on that decision until after you have studied all four types.
You may still have questions about why you should be concerned about business identity. As mentioned in the introduction of the course the government thinks of authors as a business and they want their fair share of the profits. That means income tax or sales tax or possibly both. You want to be prepared not only for the taxes themselves, but also for the reports you have to file.
I have included in the the PDFs below a sample sales tax form here in Florida. We don’t have an income tax other than a corporate income tax, so I don’t have a sample form of that. But the sales tax form will give you an idea of what the government is looking for. And remember that each state is different, so you will need to contact your state to discover how to file.
Some of the PDFs are in one document, but others may be standalone, such as the Florida Sales Tax form (DR15). There is a shorter form not shown (DR15EZ). Be sure to download all files available and then study them. Once you have all the files on incorporating, partnership, and sole proprietor, then you will have the knowledge to make an informed decision.
Here are four things to look for:
- Flexibility
- Cost
- Fit for your business
- Ease of use
