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Written by : Aracely Haris |
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hey business warriors welcome to the show I do have to apologize that there is a big concrete mixer truck parked outside today and I don't know if you're gonna be able to hear it in the audio I've waited for several hours and it hasn't moved so we're just gonna start recording and today we are gonna be talking about how to save even more taxes with your small business and it's about basically converting your business structure to escort okay from LLC partnership taxation to escort taxation so let's kind of start from the beginning and let's explain how it works with an LLC so if you're a multiple member LLC generally you will be taxed by default text as a partnership and that's you know that's the way it works here in New Jersey your state might be different you'll have to check that out and with LLC income it's what they call a pass-through business so the LLC itself is not taxed but the income passes through onto your personal tax return and is taxed personal rates and you know if the business has two members and their each have a 50% share 50% of the profit goes to each of them and it's taxed at their personal rates on their personal tax returns the pros of LLC's are you have a limited liability and then you can also have deductions okay so like any money you spend for your business that eats into your profits can be deducted and then you don't have to pay tax on that money for example the rent I pay on this office here which is a really crappy deal because like I said concrete mixer trucks are parked right outside I've got to change it soon but anyway that money is a tax deduction so I'm not taxed on that money I'm only taxed on my profit so that goes through on to my personal tax return and then I'm taxed but the disadvantage of the LLC structure is that you become liable for self-employment taxes this is sometimes known as FICA taxes and it includes Social Security Medicare a few things like that there's a few different components to it but it works out at about fifteen point three percent now when someone is an employee and they work for another company they pay half of that okay they pay seven point six five percent out of their salary so that's why you see on your pay stub there'll be like Social Security tax withheld etc a few little things like that small amounts that's basically seven point six five percent of your salary and well we just said it's fifteen percent right for self-employed that's because when you're an employee your company the company you work for pays the other half the other half of that fifteen point three percent so let's say your salary is a hundred thousand dollars a year and we're just using that level because it's it's one hundred okay so it's easy to you know say percentages in relation to the salary you're gonna end up paying seven thousand and six hundred and fifty and your company on top of your hundred thousand salary will pay seven thousand six hundred fifty so it actually costs the company one hundred and seven thousand six hundred fifty dollars to employ you okay it doesn't just cost them one hundred thousand dollars but the problem is when you're self-employed there's no employee picking up the tab for that extra seven point six five percent so you or your LLC or whatever ends up having to pay the full fifteen percent okay fifteen point three percent so it really can be quite a lot for self-employed people that is where the beauty of the escort comes in okay now escort we don't recommend switching to escort right away okay because there are a few things about escort that you need to know and the main thing is that you need to pay yourself a set salary and then you can also pay yourself a share of profits or you know a dividend on your shares in the business on top of that okay now the advantage of this is the salary you pay yourself you have to pay that fifteen percent on okay just like normal normal LLC or normal employee whatever you have to pay those FICA taxes so it's just Korea etc but the dividend that you pay yourself you do not have to pay any of that fifteen percent okay so you just pay federal and state income taxes if your state has an income tax some states don't but yeah you just pay income taxes on it you do not have to pay the Social Security Medicare part on the dividend part of your income so let's give an example the IRS says that you have to have a re simple income okay so you have to pay yourself a reasonable income thus your company needs to be making a certain amount of money all right because if you pay yourself say ten thousand dollars a year and then you take fifty thousand dollars as a dividend that's not a reasonable income okay they they'll see that as you gaming the system if you get audited it's gonna be very bad and it'll increase your chances of getting audited because it'll be like hey this guy's paying himself tendo ten thousand a year but he's getting like 50 grand in dividends I think he's playing the system so this is why we only really recommend this once your business starts get a little bit bigger okay a reasonable income the IRS actually doesn't have any definition of what a reasonable income is okay so it's kind of down to you to decide I met with my CPA yesterday my accountant because we're actually thinking of changing to escort well not thinking of it we are gonna do it and we're preparing it now we're gonna change to escort as of January 2019 and we're gonna use escort structure for our business next year because of the tax advantages I asked my CPA what a reasonable income is and she replied to me well you've got a look at the industry look at other you know jobs in that industry manager of a small media company because that's what our company does generations Media LLC and then you've also got a look at does the income you're paying yourself cover your expenses okay your living expenses basic living expenses like rent electricity bills any like child care you pay for your groceries shopping all those sort of basic living expenses if your salary that you're paying yourself covers those basic living expenses then that should be okay and then say extra money like going on a luxury vacation once a year or investing money in the stock market saving up money to buy a house that could come from your dividend okay because that's kind of like extra but the basic living expenses has to be covered by your your income that's what they the CPA recommended in order to kind of appear that that income is reasonable alright so I asked her if we earn $100,000 each a year how much of that would we pay as an income and she recommended 50% so pay yourself $50,000 as income and $50,000 as a dividend on that $50,000 salary income you're gonna have to pay the 15% in FICA taxes okay but on the dividend part you do not have to pay that what's 15% of 50,000 it's $7,000 so operating as an S corp is gonna save you roughly and I'm kind of simplifying it here rounding the figures and stuff but it'll save you roughly 7,000 dollars a year if you're taking $100,000 in income half of it as a fixed salary and the other half as dividends okay so that's basically the S corp stru
Thanks for your comment Tyra Mcilwaine, have a nice day.
- Aracely Haris, Staff Member
choosing a business structure for your company has implications beyond just how you will file taxes the ramifications for your company's name range from legal administrative and financial businesses with more than one owner are usually organized as limited liability companies llcs or partnerships partnership versus llc that decision will have far-reaching consequences so let's break it down to determine the best structure for your company the fundamentals of partnership businesses with more than one owner are automatically considered partnerships in the states where the company is formed unless otherwise specified in the partnership agreement each partner owns an equal share of the company's assets and liabilities just like a sole proprietorship furthermore while no specific filing or registration procedures are required to form a partnership partnerships must still adhere to the permits licenses filing and tax requirements that apply to all businesses depending on how the company is structured and where it is based there are various types of partnerships partnership in general gp the general partnership is the most basic partnership structure it is simple to form and dissolve the business becomes official when two or more partners create and sign a formal partnership agreement there is no requirement to register with the state unless otherwise specified in the partnership agreement a general partnership divides ownership and profits equally similarly all partners have equal authority to make company decisions regarding contracts and financing furthermore each partner bears equal liability and is held accountable for the company's debts and legalities finally general partnership owners are not company employees instead they are the recipients of owner draws limited liability company lp limited partnerships unlike general partnerships must be registered with the state they must abide by state laws when it comes to information in a limited partnership agreement reserving an lp company name partner duties and annual reporting requirements limited partnerships are ideal for partners looking for investors but who do not want to deal with the more complex compliance issues that come with forming a corporation or llc limited partnerships are made up of at least one designated general partner and one or more limited partners the limited partners contribute money to the company but do not actively participate in its day-to-day operations the general partner is in charge of day-to-day operations furthermore the limited partners share in the company's profits but not its debts or liabilities ensuring that they never lose more than they invested limited liability company llp limited liability partnerships are not recognized in all states and some require the company to register as a professional limited liability partnership or pllp in essence a limited liability partnership is a type of business structure that is mostly used by professionals for example attorneys accountants physicians engineers dentists architects in addition the state usually requires all partners to be licensed in the same profession while the llp allows all partners to share equal responsibility it limits the partner's personal liabilities again the amount of personal liability protection varies from state to state in the real estate industry there is also a partnership known as the limited liability limited partnership llp all partners have limited risk in this structure which is advantageous for investor groups looking to build large hotels commercial buildings and apartment communities overall forming a partnership is a simple process with little paperwork and few regulations however a partnership can expose the owners to unnecessary risk and damaging personal liability because of these considerations many co-owners opt to form a limited liability company limited liability corporation llc llc the llc is a formal business structure a legal entity registered with the company's home state that is responsible for the rules and regulations that apply to llcs in that state unlike in a partnership llc owners are considered separate from the company and are not liable for the debts and liabilities of the company according to state doctrine llcs when formed correctly and compliance is maintained maintain their obligations regarding the businesses liabilities shielding owners from lawsuits and debt concerns owners in an llc are referred to as members most states according to the irs do not restrict ownership so members can include individuals corporations other llc's and foreign entities an llc can have an unlimited number of members and most states allow a single owner to form an llc in fact many sole proprietors form an llc to protect themselves from personal liability when there is more than one owner slash member the llc is called a multi-member llc and all members have the same liability protections the llc is essentially a cross between a partnership and a corporation the primary advantage as with the corporation is the owner slash member's limited liability as the name implies however there is a tax benefit which we will discuss later another advantage is the management flexibility of the llc depending on the company owner's preferences an llc can be member managed or manager managed the owner slash members of a member managed llc manage the day-to-day operations of the business manager managed llc the owner slash members appoint one or more managers to run the business unless the operating agreement specifies otherwise most states consider llcs to be member managed by default the following are the requirements for forming an llc in most states select and register a distinct business name the term llc should be included in the name complete and submit articles of organization form to the secretary of state because each state has its own document to fill out and file it may be referred to as a certificate of organization or a certificate of formation the llc operating agreement is another document that is not required but highly recommended each owner should contribute to and sign the operating agreement which details the company's management structure investor contributions profit division and contingencies such as what happens to the llc if a member leaves or dies if you intend to expand into other states the llc must appoint a registered agent a registered agent serves as the company's point of contact for official paperwork in addition to the articles of organization some states may require new llcs to file a statement of information the statement of information requests the company name information about partners and the business address filing fees for llcs vary by state and if you have locations in other states you'll need to register the llc in those states as well as well as pay fees in each although each state is different most require llcs to file annual notices and pay a fee with the secretary of state's office to verify the llc's continued existence and to update information about the company and its members in addition many states require llcs to pay an annual
Thanks uradujT your participation is very much appreciated
- Aracely Haris
About the author
I've studied microbiology at Houghton College in Houghton and I am an expert in biochemical engineering. I usually feel recumbent. My previous job was sales representative (graphic arts) I held this position for 30 years, I love talking about tapestry and jukskei. Huge fan of Bob Dylan I practice rock climbing and collect bicycles.
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