Types of Businesses

The various forms of organization are established by state law. There are a wide variety of business organizations recognized by the states. For example, a popular form of organization is the Limited Liability Company (LLC). The LLC is a state designation. At the federal level, an LLC is taxed as a partnership. If the LLC so chooses, it can be taxed as a corporation at the federal level. While there are a variety of designations at the state level, for federal tax purposes there are only 6 forms of business organizations:

Sole Proprietor (1040 Schedule C),

Corporation (1120),

Partnership (1065),

S-Corporation (1120S),

Trust (1041)

Sole proprietors are unincorporated businesses. They are also called independent contractors, consultants, or freelancers. There are no forms you need to fill out to start this type of business. The only thing you need to do is report your business income and expenses on your Form 1040 Schedule C. This is the easiest form of business to set up, and the easiest to dissolve. (An LLC with only a single shareholder, a so-called single-member LLC, is taxed as a sole proprietor on a Schedule C.)

Corporations are incorporated businesses. Every form of business besides the sole proprietor is considered a separate entity, and this often provides a measure of legal and financial protection for the shareholders. The shareholders of corporations have limited liability protection, and corporations have full discretion over the amount of profits they can distribute or retain. Corporations are presumed to be for-profit entities, and as such they can have an unlimited number of years with losses. Corporations must have at least one shareholder.

Partnerships are unincorporated businesses. Like corporations, partnerships are separate entities from the shareholders. Unlike corporations, partnerships must have at lease one General Partner who assumes unlimited liability for the business. Partnerships must have at least two shareholders. Partnerships distribute all profits and losses to their shareholders without regard for any profits retained by the business for cash flow purposes. (LLCs are taxed as partnerships, unless they choose to be taxed as corporations.)

S-Corporations have features similar to a partnership. An S-corporation must have at least one shareholder, and cannot have more than 100 shareholders. If any shareholder provides services to the business, the S-Corp must pay that shareholder a reasonable salary. This salary is a separate payment from distributions of profits or losses.cl and are designed to provide continuity of the investments and business activities of the deceased individual. We will not discuss trusts further.