DBA

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A DBA (also known as a “sole proprietorship”, “Doing Business As”, or a “Fictitious Name”) is a business that is not separate from its owner, merely a different name that the business owner operates under. The owner is personally liable for the company and its debt; all income is added to the owner’s personal tax returns (pass-through taxation). If there is more than 1 owner, the business is classified as a “Partnership”.

PROS: Easy to set up, easy to maintain.

CONS: Owners are personally liable for the company and its debt ( you could lose your house, cars, personal assets, etc.) in a lawsuit. Usually not recognized at the State level, only in your city/county. No corporate “prestige” of having the “Inc.” or “LLC” attached to your name.

NOTE: Most people now choose to form an LLC which starts at $79, provides liability protection and, in many states, is actually formed faster (and typically doesn’t require “publishing”), is taxed the exact same, and is sometimes as inexpensive as a filing a DBA. We can help you do either!

How to Get Started: DBAs are typically filed at the County Clerk’s office or at the State level. Getting a DBA or FBN can be a complicated task. There are thousands of counties in the United States and each has its own particular filing requirements. Some jurisdictions require separate publishing in a newspaper that notifies the public of your intent to “do business as” another name.

Do I Need a DBA?

A DBA serves two purposes:

If you are starting your business as a sole proprietorship or a partnership, then you will need to file a DBA so that you can “do business as” a name other than your real name.

For example:
If you are named John Smith and wanted to operate as “JS Enterprises”, you would need to file a DBA so that you can a) operate under that name and b) open a company bank account to accept payments made to “JS Enterprises”.

If your business is already set up as a corporation or an LLC, and you want to do business under a different name than your existing corporate or LLC name, you will need to file a DBA.

For example:
If your company name is ABC Services, LLC and you want to operate as “QuickKleen Services”, then you would file a DBA. If you want to operate only as “ABC Services, LLC”, then the DBA would not be required.

You can start right now. We can form your Corporation in any of the 50 States and D.C.

How to Get Started

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S-Corporation

After a corporation has been formed, it may elect “S-Corporation Status” by adopting an appropriate resolution and completing and submitting a form to the Internal Revenue Service (some states require their own version). Once this filing is complete, the corporation is taxed like a partnership or sole proprietorship rather than a corporation. Thus, the income is “passed-through” to the shareholders for purposes of computing tax returns.

Most new small corporations elect S-Corporation Status so profits and losses can be added to the shareholders personal tax returns without having to pay taxes on profits once, then again when they are given back to the shareholders as income (dividends). This is known as “double taxation” and is the reason why S-Corporations were created. An S-Corporation can also revert back to regular Corporation status fairly easily.

How to Get Started

You can start right now. We can form your Corporation in any of the 50 States and D. C. We can also prepare the IRS Form for your corporation to elect “S-Corporation Status” as well as the required corporate resolution.