Business Law FAQ

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A 'S' corp or a 'C' corp are not actually types of corporations at all. They are tax elections that a business entity takes when dealing with the IRS. A 'S' election allows profits to be passed through to the owners of the entity, while a 'C' election does not, possibly triggering double taxation on profits. 

It depends. If you plan to ever go public and/or have may shareholders a corporation is probably the way to go. If not, a limited liability company or LLC is probably the way to go. You might hear that LLCs are new and not court tested. The reality is that LLCs have been around for a long time, and have been through plenty of litigation, nullifying that point. 

Bonus, LLC filing and maintenance fees imposed by the Nevada Secretary of State are cheaper than similar corporation fees.

A fictitious business name statement, also known as a DBA (doing business as) statement, is not the creation of any type of entity. It is only a public statement that you personally, or a LLC, corporation, or other actual business entity is doing business under a different name than itself. Filing a DBA does not create a business entity.

Yes. Or heck yes! Don't do business on a handshake, ever.

You need to file an application with the IRS. Use this link. https://sa.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp

Nevada is a very business friendly state, so is Delaware, as are several others. If you are forming a small business and you are a Nevada resident, sticking with Nevada is often the best choice. Having an entity chartered in one state and primarily doing business in another is often done, but it complicates things. Unless you plan to go public right away, keeping it simple in Nevada is probably the best plan for now. You can always change things later.

A Registered or Resident Agent is a person or entity designated in the state an entity is chartered in to accept notices or service of process. This means that if someone needs to contact your entity, for a notice or lawsuit, they do not have to search around to find the contact point/person. All states require a local contact for an entity, regardless of where the entity is physically doing business.