What type of company if any?

Hello All

I wanted to see how most of you handle income from your internet ventures. I do affiliate marketing and have a nice income from it. Should i set up something like an LLC for myself or should I just be a sole propritor? What do most of you do? How do you keep your personal and business cash seperate? The two things I am worried about are if I need the protection of an LLC to opperate and whats the best way to not pay doubble taxs and such.

I know that was a long and not well worded question but any thoughts are appreciated!

Thanks!

 

well if anyone does have some thoughts on this I appreciate it because iam confused

thanks

 

Well most small Internet businesses rely on sponsorship, runing programs such as AdSense, Amazon, Linkshare, etc.

Develop a site on a specific content and then sponsorship, this is the way in which must of us started our Internet venture.

 

With an LLC you don't have to pay taxes twice. That's why a LLC is nice. You get pass-thru taxation and limited liability.

And yes, you should be set up properly before doing business.

Plan on spending $300-$500 for an LLC setup depending on the state you setup the company in.

 

Do you think I really need to protection of an LLC and I cannot opperate as a sole propritorship?

 

That's for you to decide.

Here's the situation in a nutshell.

Let's say you do something in business (not something illegal though) that causes you to be sued.

Sole Prop: Your personal assets can be taken (car, home, bank account, etc).

LLC: Only company assets can be touched.

I guess the question is, what scenario suits you best?

Of course, if you do something illegal, it won't matter what type of company you established.

 

This is true,. Thanks for the input. Do you need to file papper work for a sole prop? and do you get a federal tax ID or do you still use your SSN.

Thanks
Alex

 

You can use your SSN for a sole prop. As to paperwork, it depends on your local government. They may want you to file a DBA, apply for a sales tax permit and apply for a business license.

 

I'd suggest that if you actually start making any substantial money (1k+ a month) online you should form and LLC or some other way of protecting your personal assets. When you first start out and aren't making much I wouldn't worry about it too much. However, you would be surprised at the people who start coming out of the woodwork when they think you might be making some money. You can never be too safe. Also, as marketjunction mentioned you also don't get taxed twice.