The corporation should also issue stock, file annual reports and hold yearly meetings to elect officers and directors, even if they’re the same people as the shareholders. On all references to your business, make certain to identify it as a corporation, using Inc. or Corp., whichever your state requires. You also want to make sure that whomever you deal with, such as your banker or clients, knows that you’re an officer of a corporation.
The S Corporation
The S corporation is more attractive to small-business owners than a standard (or C) corporation. That’s because an S corporation has some appealing tax benefits and still provides business owners with the liability protection of a corporation. With an S corporation, income and losses are passed through to shareholders and included on their individual tax returns. As a result, there’s just one level of federal tax to pay.
In addition, owners of S corporations who don’t have inventory can use the cash method of accounting, which is simpler than the accrual method. Under this method, income is taxable when received and expenses are deductible when paid. Some relatively recent tax law changes brought about by the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 have made S corporations even more attractive for small-business owners. Continue reading “Be sure to keep minutes of these meetings”