Thursday, November 27, 2008

Why Form a Texas LLC for Your Business?

By Christine Snook

If you are thinking of starting a business in Texas, you are fortunate. This is because Texas is a pro-business state which encourages and has good laws to promote small business growth. One law in particular, the Texas Limited Liability Company Act provides an ideal legal vehicle for operate a small business. This article sumamrizes some of the benefits of the Texas LLC and as you will see these are real and relevant ones that can be used by any business owner to help them succeed in the world of business.

The most important benefit of a Texas LLC is that owners are not personally liable for the business debts and liabilities of the company merely because they are owners. This is not the case if you do not use an entity like this and run your business as a sole proprietor. Sole proprietors are 100% personally liable for whatever happens in their business. And, as recent lawsuits reveal, many lose their homes, savings and assets because of this.

The limited liability company offers a layer of protection separating the owners from the business. This benefit alone makes it worth the few hundred dollars it takes to form a Texas LLC for a business. Thousands of lawsuits are filed a day in Texas alone with small business being a common target.

A second advantage of a limited liability company is that you will have an LLC designation after your business name. This designation is like a credibility seal because the public will know that you went through the process for forming an official entity for your business. Statistics show that customers prefer to do business with official legal entities like the Texas LLC.

A third benefit relates to federal income taxation. A Texas LLC can choose whether it wants a single layer of pass through taxation or to be taxed as a corporation. There are no requirements or conditions to either choice. The ability to avoid the double taxation of a C corporation without having to worry about meeting a list of requirements is one reason the Texas LLC is the most common choice for small business in Texas.

Another benefit is that a Texas LLC is very simple to manage and operate. Unlike corporations, there are no legally mandated formalities or structures when it comes to management and operations. In fact, the law allows for the owners to decide what rules and processes will apply to their business.

These are great features for the small business owner because each business is different and has different goals, objectives and concerns. Smaller and simple businesses can focus more on their businesses without having to worry about unnecessary compliance requirements while larger and more complex businesses can add the necessary requirements to meet their business needs.

When you form a Texas LLC, you are taking the most important step for you and your business and putting in place a solid structure to build your business.

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