Is An LLC Right For Your Business

Michael Delano | November 10, 2021

There are several options for operating your small business. For example, a sole proprietorship, S corporation or a partnership. Take a look at why a limited liability company (LLC) might be right for your business.

Perhaps you operate your small business as a sole proprietorship and want to form a limited liability company (LLC) to protect your assets. Or maybe you are launching a new business and want to know your options for setting it up. Here are the basics of operating as an LLC and why it might be appropriate for your business.

Personal Asset Protection

Like the shareholders of a corporation, the owners of an LLC generally aren’t liable for the debts of the business except to the extent of their investment. Thus, the owners can operate the business with the security of knowing that their personal assets are protected from the entity’s creditors. This protection is far greater than that afforded by partnerships. In a partnership, the general partners are personally liable for the debts of the business.

Tax implications

The owners of an LLC can elect under the “check-the-box” rules to have the entity treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. This can provide a number of important benefits to the owners. For example, partnership earnings aren’t subject to an entity-level tax. Instead, they “flow through” to the owners, in proportion to the owners’ respective interests in profits, and are reported on the owners’ individual returns and are taxed only once.

To the extent the income passed through to you is qualified business income, you’ll be eligible to take the Code Section 199A pass-through deduction, subject to various limitations. In addition, since you’re actively managing the business, you can deduct on your individual tax return your ratable shares of any losses the business generates. This, in effect, allows you to shelter other income that you and your spouse may have.

An LLC that’s taxable as a partnership can provide special allocations of tax benefits to specific partners. This can be an important reason for using an LLC over an S corporation (a form of business that provides tax treatment that’s similar to a partnership). Another reason for using an LLC over an S corporation is that LLCs aren’t subject to the restrictions the federal tax code imposes on S corporations regarding the number of owners and the types of ownership interests that may be issued.

Review your situation

In summary, an LLC can give you corporate-like protection from creditors while providing the benefits of taxation as a partnership. For these reasons, you should consider operating your business as an LLC.

This article was originally published on: https://www.districtcpa.com/is-an-llc-the-right-choice-for-your-small-business/

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District Advisory provides timely, consistent, and accurate outsourced accounting and advisory services to small and medium-sized businesses in the DC metro area. Utilizing technology to its fullest extent, our processes and team provide the financial information you expect from your accountant and the insight and value you expect from your CFO. District Advisory is a division of CST Group, a full-service CPA and business advisory firm.