Archive for November, 2011

Form a GA LLC – Gain Liability Protection and Other Benefits For Georgia Business Owners   no comments

Posted at 12:00 am in Georgia Llc



The limited liability company has surpassed the corporation as the most popular business vehicle for small business. Why? Because it was created to provide all the advantage of other business entities but without their disadvantages.

The Ga LLC is such a simple entity to understand and maintain but at the same time it gives the owners many options when it comes to tax structures, how the business will be owned and how it will be operated.

LIMITED LIABILITY

The main reason to form a Ga LLC is to protect yourself and other owners from being personally liable for business debts and obligations. Without a limited liability legal entity such as a Georgia company LLC, you will be placing everything you own entirely at risk for potential loss. Given the growing litigious environment of our society and the aggressive plaintiff lawyers out there looking for small businesses to attack, every Georgia business should operate with this legal shield.

Specifically, section 14-11-303 of the Georgia LLC Act states that members (who are owners) are not liable for the business obligations, lawsuits and other liabilities of the business merely because they are owners. It does except out tax liabilities from operations and there are some conditions and exceptions. However, this protection is a tremendous advantage that only gets more significant as your business grows because successful business are targeted more for lawsuits.

RAISING MONEY FOR BUSINESS

When you form a Georgia company LLC, you gain more options for accessing capital to fund your business. Banks are often unwilling to lend money to a brand new business in whatever form it is formed. Another option is to issue ownership interests in a business in exchange for equity capital.

Issuing ownership interests is close to impossible in a sole proprietorship business. However, with a Georgia limited liability company, there is a concept of ownership interests and membership units can be issued in exchange for a percentage ownership in the business.

Having a separate structure as the business entity greatly facilitates the raising of capital and provides a well known structure to do so which in turn reduces the costs to raise money for your business needs.

PROFESSIONAL IMAGE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERCEPTION

With the many fly by night business and business scams out there today, potential customers are suspicious. A new business has quite a challenge to overcome these concerns .

By going through the process to form a Ga LLC for your business and having an official entity as your business, you automatically separate yourselves from others. You see, it only takes coming up with a name to call yourself a business.

But creating a Georgia company LLC is a clear sign of intelligent business planning which in turn creates more professionalism and trust when it comes to your business identity. This can be a great advantage when trying to get customers and build your brand presence in the marketplace.

FLEXIBLE BUSINESS STRUCTURE

The laws allow a limited liability company to be extremely simple when it comes to ownership and operational structures. There are less formalities imposed upon it. Accordingly, for the single owner business or one with a few related owners, a Georgia company LLC can be set up and structured fairly quickly and cheaply.

As a business evolves and grows over time, its ownership and operational structure may need to change to account for the growth and possible complexity. For example, the business may admit new owners or bring on a passive investor. Also, there may be a need for more official approval processes when it comes to major business decisions.

The Ga LLC allows each business and their owners to define for themselves, how the ownership will be structure and how the business will operate and run on a day to day basis. In business, there is no one size fits all solution to these matters and the Georgia company LLC thus provides ways to customize such fundamental matters for your particular business situation.

FEDERAL INCOME TAX CHOICES

A main reason the Georgia limited liability company has become the entity of choice for small business is because in 1997, the IRS passed regulations that allows for the business entity to choose the way the business will be taxed. There are no longer any additional requirements to qualify for a single layer of pass through taxation.

When you form a Ga LLC, your business will be taxed via a single layer of pass through taxation by default. This type of taxation avoids the potentially significant double taxation effect of corporate taxation.

However, in some circumstances, your accountant may advise that a corporation tax structure is more advantageous. In these cases, a Georgia company LLC may file an election with the IRS to be taxed as a C corporation or an S corporation. The S corporation qualification does require that the entity and its owners meet a set of requirements . You get more choices when it comes to how your business income will be taxed.

Written by admin on November 26th, 2011

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Setting Up a LLC in NV or DE   no comments

Posted at 12:00 am in Delaware Llc



A Limited Liability Company (LLC) can be formed in all 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia. The states that are considered the best for forming an LLC are the States of Delaware and Nevada.

The advantages of creating an LLC in Delaware include:

· Does not have residency or citizenship requirements for forming an LLC.

· Franchise taxes are charged at low flat rates to all LLCs.

· No sales tax on goods and services.

· Does not impose business income tax unless you transact business in the State.

· Does not have an information sharing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Note: if the IRS requests information on business records and issues a subpoena this information will be turned over to the IRS by the State of Delaware.

The advantages of forming an LLC in a state other than your home state are:

· If your home state has high annual LLC fees.

· Your company does not do business in your home state.

The advantages of forming an LLC in your home state are:

· Avoid paying franchise tax and other government fees to more than one state

· Avoid the additional expense of addition registrations (referred to as foreign qualifications) when registering a business in additional states.

Setting up a LLC in NV

States vary in their requirements and policies involving the creation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Many believe the State of Nevada, along with State of Delaware, are the best states to setup up a LLC.

Nevada is a particularly popular state for chartering of businesses because this State does not have:

· Unique tax policy – the State of Nevada does not have corporate income tax, tax on corporate share, franchise tax, personal income tax, estate tax, or inheritance tax.

· Does not have an information sharing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Note: if the IRS requests information on business records and issues a subpoena this information will be turned over to the IRS by the State of Nevada.

The State of Nevada is also popular for forming LLC’s because personal liability is limited for LLC owner(s) to the amount of their investment in the company; an LLC with two or more members is treated as a partnership; and contractual flexibility because Nevada law provides rules on matters where members have failed to agree.

Does it make sense to form an LLC in the State of Nevada if you do not do business in the State because of the above reasons? No, because unless you are a Nevada resident operating a business in Nevada, you will need to apportion your business income among the States where your company operates. Basically, for smaller businesses it is best to form an LLC in the State where your company has the most businesses contacts and does the most business.

Written by admin on November 26th, 2011

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State of Georgia LLC Requirements to Form a Georgia LLC   no comments

Posted at 12:00 am in Georgia Llc



Many form a Georgia LLC because it provides a flexible yet simple to operate business vehicle for managing a business and a shield of protection for the owners. There are certain State of Georgia LLC requirements you must know before you start.

Georgia assigns the responsibility for forming and regulating limited liability companies to a state agency. This agency must follow and requires that anyone wanting to form a Georgia LLC follow, certain State of Georgia LLC requirements.

REQUIRED INFORMATION

The documents that are prepared and filed must meet certain formatting and include information about the new business to be conducted. Always make sure you are reviewing the latest requirements and information needed under the current regulations to make sure you are not missing anything.

NAME AVAILABILITY AND RULES

The name requirements rules are also important. Choosing a name for your LLC is important and there are rules for what will be accepted. The name cannot be the same as of too similar to another name being used by a business registered with the state.

Because of the popularity of the State of Georgia LLC, many names are no longer available and the State can be quite peculiar about names that are viewed as too similar.

GEORGIA REGISTERED AGENT

When you form a Georgia LLC, you must appoint a valid and qualifying person or entity to serve as the Georgia registered agent for the business. The registered agent and its office is the official place where legal papers that are sent to the business can be accepted. Also, other important documents issued from the state agency are often delivered via the registered agent.

If a Georgia limited liability company fails to appoint or continuously maintain a registered agent, it is not in good standing and all the benefits including limited liability protection of its owners are at risk.

GEORGIA FEES

Finally, State of Georgia LLC requirements involve paying the proper fees and charges and making payment to the proper entities. The standard Texas filing fee is $100 but there could be additional fees if you are seeking a faster filing.

Also, you may want to retain a reputable document preparation and filing service to handle the formation for your business. Many feel they are worth their affordable fees as it saves you time and effort and most of all brings peace of mind knowing you have a proper formation.

SUMMARY

Prior to submitting a filing to form a Georgia LLC, make sure that you understand all the requirements and have made the right decisions and disclosures in you documents. Without meeting these requirements, your filing will be greatly delayed and it is not always easy to work with the state to address the issues and get your filing back on track. Also, the liability protection assumes you have a properly formed and maintained State of Georgia LLC. Do not put your personal liability at risk.

Written by admin on November 26th, 2011

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