Incorporations and LLCs Free Again — All Month
I got so used to mentioning free stuff for existing and aspiring small business owners that I just can’t stop myself! 
This week month (December 1 – 31, 2008) over at MyCorporation.com, you can get an incorporation or a new limited liability company (LLC) organized — for free.
Free means that MyCorporation will not charge you for processing the application for incorporating your business or creating an LLC. That’s a $149 value. You still have to pay governmental filing fees, of course — but the MyCorporation services are completely free.
Call 1-888-692-6771 or go to MyCorporation.com and use code MYGIFT.
Go for it! Tell all your friends!
→ UPDATE FROM ANITA: Just wanted to confirm that this discount is good through December 31, 2008. The original one-week promotion was extended to a full one-month promotion.
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Hi Anita,
When can you say that LLC or Inc. is best for your business?
I’ll once again reiterate my strong opinion that organizing your own entity without the aid of an attorney is a bad idea. Yes, I am an attorney but I don’t make this suggestion out of a self-preservation mentality; there are several things you can do incorrectly and using a service like mycorporation.com gives users a false sense of security.
Rose – using an LLC or corporation (or other limited liability entity, like an LLP) is almost never a bad idea. Their primary purpose is – as the name implies – a way to limit the owners’ liability. It allows the company to be treated as a separate entity and separately responsible for anything that the company could get sued for.
People also use limited liability entities for tax purposes, though LLCs are generally treated as partnerships by the IRS. In any event, there are tax advantages to forming an entity.
Another big benefit is when there are multiple owners. LLCs and corporations force you to think about how the business is managed, who makes what decisions, who can write checks and for how much, who can sell company assets and, perhaps most importantly, what happens when there are disagreements or when an owner leaves (death, disability, divorce).
These issues are never adequately addressed in a “canned” formation, yet they are issues that impact almost every business, no matter how small. For around $1,000 plus filing fees you can have an attorney counsel you through the whole formation process and help you make decisions regarding management issues and other matters in your operating agreement or bylaws.
A wonderful offer, thank you for sharing it with us.
Hi Rose, the question you ask is a good one, and at MyCorporation, they actually have a little self-quiz to help you choose: http://mycorporation.intuit.com/help_me_choose/index.jsp
But I agree with TD that you should get legal advice — and also advice from your tax planner/accountant. There are legal, tax and accounting issues to consider.
But assuming you’ve made that decision, MyCorporation can help with the filing. It’s easier and faster than trying to do it yourself.
And as much as I believe that people should seek legal advice — in advance — not everyone can afford to pay an attorney to process the paperwork. That’s especially true for startups, who have to pinch pennies wherever they can. Processing the paperwork is different from getting legal advice on what to do.
– Anita
If you are looking to get a business started there is no better offer available. Why use other services or pay an attorney 1,000′s of dollars? MyCorporation is an Intuit company that has been servicing small businesses for 25 years now.
Speaking with an attorney is always a good idea to find out which entity type would be best based on the companies given situation. Once the entity type is determined there is not reason to pay an exuberant amount of money to get the business set up and filed.
Hi Anita,
I agree that MyCorporation is doing a great thing for small businesses. I have checked out all the legal and tax issues and have decided to incorporate, but just kept putting it off. I am so happy I can save $149 now! Thank you MyCorporation and thank you Anita for telling me about it.
It’s an interesting point that TD makes – the problem is that most new businesses (especially in this economy) cannot afford to hire an attorney to do it for them. This is a great alternative. Another interesting point is that many attorneys use services like these to get it done – as suggested, once you know what type of entity you want, a service like MyCorporation offers can really get things going. Lawyers often charge a ton and take forever to get eveything done. …and I don’t know if lawyers know best – it often seems like an accountant better understands the tax consequences of an entity – not a lawyer (unless you get a very high priced tax attorney). Anyway, I tried it and it worked out quite well. I even elected to “delay the filing” so that I don’t have to pay taxes in 2008.
This is a great opportunity for any user to setup his/her own business legally. If you are unsure there is another link that gives overview of the incorporation details. http://mycorporation.intuit.com/why-incorporate/
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I totally appreciate the reluctance to pay an attorney, though I would like to reiterate that you are not paying an attorney to file the paperwork for you – this is obviously the easy part. Likewise, any attorney (other than a tax attorney) will tell you to consult with your accountant on tax issues.
What an attorney provides is guidance in addressing issues particular to your organization. A common example is how to handle an owner’s membership units/stock if that person gets divorced or dies. Absent specific language in the governing documents, that ownership interest will pass to people you have no desire to be in business with, which can have disastrous consequences.
Other considerations are the owners’ rights to sell their interests in the company, to purchase or sell company assets, to enter into contracts, how to make distributions, etc.
As a single member entity, these issues are not as significant, though keep in mind that even the single member is a mortal, while the organization is not. Who will control the company once you die?
These are but a few concerns an attorney will address in your governing documents and, as mentioned above, they will do so for around $1,000 (in the Nashville market, anyway). A visit with an attorney will also help insure you’ve taken all the other necessary steps in forming a new entity that may be particular to your industry or market (local, state registrations, licenses, etc).
An attorney will also advise you on how to make sure the corporate entity is respected (for example, not commingling personal and corporate assets) so that if a problem arises, your personal assets remain protected.
While many may be able to justify skipping the attorney and going for the DIY method, and many may never be any worse off for having done so, it is clearly a risk and may result in being a penny wise, a pound foolish.
At the end of the day, however, you are perhaps much better off having formed a limited liability entity on your own than having not formed one at all.
That said, I wish everyone the best of luck!
This is a great opportunity to begin the incorporation process! You can even choose the delayed filing option and MyCorporation will hold off on filing until the new year (so that you do not get taxed for this year). It is wonderful to see Intuit giving back to the small business communityespecially during this hard economic time.
Either way, thanks to SmallBizTrends & Anita Campbell for letting us know! …we should spread the word so other small businesses can take advantage of this opportunity. I ordered and they have a “incGuard” option where you can be notified of annual report filing and tax deadlines – thank goodness b/c I might not have known otherwise.
In response to TD’s comments, which are definitely valid comments in regards to making sure you set up everything to protect yourself in the future, especially if there is more than one owner:
MyCorp does provide a customized operating agreement (for LLC) or bylaws (for corp) with all filings. These are the internal documents that set up all the rules for after the entity is formed and up and running. The internal docs that MyCorp provides are editable — so if you need to, you can take the documents to an attorney for personal advice and alter it as appropriate. I assume this would save a lot of money compared to having an attorney draft such documents from scratch.
Hi Rose,
I was searching for some details about LLC and Inc. I have here two post from wiki and I hope that helps too…
for LLC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company
for Inc: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporation_(business)
I will give you a book tip on the topic on how to register a LLC and what things you should think about when you use this form of company.
Wow. Thanks Martin.
On the issue of whether an LLC or S corporation is best for your small business, I generally with the LLC especially for a single owner business. Why? A single owner LLC can be disregarded for federal tax purposes allowing the owner to report the business income / loss on schedule C of his 1040 thus doing away with the necessity of a separate return for the entity. Further, no employment taxes on compensation for the owner. The S corp has one advantage for owners who have invested significant capital into the business: you may be able to avoid some amount of FICA tax by paying out part of your compensation as dividend instead of salary. Bottom line: it’s mostly a tax issue. Talk with your tax account about the decision.
My personal view is that using a lawyer to form a single member LLC is not necessary. Here is a page with instructions on forming an LLC with links to the secretary of state’ office for all states.
http://www.medlawplus.com/library/legal/llcformation.htm
Rose: I met Judy Gedge, attorney at law, in CT. She has written a book as a legal road map for consultants. In the book she discusses for example the following:
“The benefits of incorporating your consulting business and whether a limited liability company may be right for your consulting business.”
You will find her site at “GedgeLaw dot com”.
I really do appreciate your help, Martin. I’ll check it out…
Rose: You are welcome!
Please send me an email and tell me how it goes…
Intuit’s MyCorporation.com is going free AGAIN through the end of December. It must be working out well for them or something because they’re free straight through the end of the year. If you’re going to incorporate your business in 2008, you might as well use them. I called, and it looks like I might have to rush to have it filed this calendar year, but I can always wait until the beginning of 2009 – I guess there are pros & cons of each.
Reminder: 9 days left to take advantage of this deal
Reminder: Tomorrow (December 31) is the last day for Intuit/MyCorp’s “Free December” corp and LLC filings services deal.
Happy New Year!
Info:
http://mycorporation.intuit.com/
877-692-6772 (PST business hours)
MyCorp’s corp and LLC filing services remain free, and in addition, we’ve added free TurboTax Business software and free QuickBooks Simple Start. The package is called MyBizPack. For more info, you can go to:
http://mycorporation.intuit.com/promotional_offers/
or call 877-692-6772 to speak with customer service.