Change A Business Operating Name
Your operating name is the name you use in your day-to-day activities and to advertise your business. You only need to provide your operating name if it is different from your legal name.
- Example for sole proprietor
You are a sole proprietor, your name is John Smith, and you advertise your business as ABC Framing. In this case, your legal business name is John Smith and your operating name is ABC Framing.
If you decide to change your operating name to ABC Portraits, you must advise us of the change.
- Example for corporation
The corporation’s name is 12345 Canada Inc. and the business advertises as ABC Properties. In this case, the legal business name is 12345 Canada Inc. and the operating name is ABC Properties.
If the operating name changes to ABC Management Properties, that is considered an operating name change and you must notify us.
- Online:
Changing Your Business Name: A Step
Over time, you may decide that the business name you chose for your company no longer accurately reflects your brand. Or you might decide you would be better off legally to have a different name.
Depending on the entity type, the process for changing a business name varies. It can be confusing, so let’s take a moment to break down the options that sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations have when changing their company name.
Whether you run a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or a corporation, our detailed step-by-step … guide breaks down your options for changing your companys name.
While this guide will give you an understanding of what’s involved, it is not a replacement for advice from a lawyer. Changing your business name may have legal implications, so it’s best to talk with a licensed business attorney before jumping into action.
Is It Time To Convert Your Sole Proprietorship To A Corporation Or Llc
One of the biggest issues a small business owner must face is whether to incorporate and if so, when.
Many people start their businesses as sole proprietors. Often, it is because they aren’t really planning their business and just started selling a product or service. Sometimes, they don’t want to go to the effort or cost of incorporating until they know if the business is viable. Other times, they don’t feel their business is risky enough to need protection.
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How To Switch From A Sole Proprietorship To An S Corporation
When starting your private practice, oftentimes the act of finding clients is enough of a battle. Then, the world of small business hits, and youâre suddenly throwing around terms like âentitiesâ and âcorporationsâ, when in reality, you just want to see your clients. We’re here to bridge the gap between therapist and small business, and make it a bit more digestible.
One of the most important decisions youâll make in your journey as a therapist and private practice owner is what your business entity will beââa âsole proprietorâ or an âS-corporationâ. The difference between these two entities comes mainly from how youâll be taxed.
A sole proprietor means that you are the one in control of your private practice. You own it and you personally pay its taxes. Youâll report any profits on your own personal tax return at the end of the tax year.
An S corporation is a tax designation that is granted by the IRS. To keep things simply, this legally separates your company from you as an individual. There are also tax benefits. S corporations, like sole proprietors, are pass-through entities. That means that your practice income passes through you as the owner of your S corporation you donât have to pay separate taxes on your business. The owner then pays the taxes on the income. Income passed through to an owner from an S corporation is not subject to self-employment tax. The owner only pays income tax on their business income.
Mind The Tax Election Due Dates
Tax entity classification elections must be made within a specific timeframe. Youll need to notify the IRS about your decision to switch no later than two months and 15 days after the start of the tax year when you want the election to take effect.
If you decide that starting January 1, 2022, you would like to be taxed as an S-corporation, you must inform the IRS by March 15, 2022.
You inform the IRS of the above by filing Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation.
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Changing Your Business Legal Type
Want to change your business type? It’s easier than you might think. In this article, we’ll look at why businesses might decide to change, and how to make the change, depending on which type of business you are moving from and moving to. Most of the time, a business will change from a less complex structure to a more complex structure .
A sole proprietorship is a business with a single owner, paying income tax through the owner’s personal tax return. It’s the default business type and the simplest to start.
What Is An S Corporation
An S corp is a tax status that business owners elect by filing a form with the IRS . Only LLCs or corporations can elect S corp status.
If an LLC or corporation owner makes this election, the business will benefit from the tax advantages offered by an S corp.
A sole proprietorship must become an LLC or C corp before making the S corp election. You can read more about this in our How to Change From a Sole Proprietorship to LLC guide.
S Corp Taxes
The owner of an S corp is considered an employee of the company for tax purposes. As a result, they pay both income tax and self-employment Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax on their reasonable salary.
However, S corp owners only pay income tax on distributions. Although the resulting tax savings can be significant, they will be at least partially offset by additional payroll taxes and accounting expenses.
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How To Form An S Corporation
A Review Of The Options
As we discussed at the beginning of the article, the choice of entity fundamentally boils down to a few key considerations:
From a tax standpoint, the S corporation offers a single layer of tax and earnings are not subject to FICA tax . Accordingly, most often the best choice for Point 1 is the S corporation.
Sole proprietorships win 1st place for Point 2. They are by far the least complex and have the lowest cost of setup and ongoing governance and administration. For multi-owner companies, a partnership or LLC wins out for simplicity.
Finally, from a liability standpoint, the LLC structure is hard to beat. It offers liability protection along with the choice of any of the four tax entity structures. A straight S corp or C corp are considered solid from a liability perspective as well.
Below is a table that hopefully lays all of the above out in a clear way.
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Disadvantages To The Sole Proprietorship
There are two notable disadvantages to the sole proprietorship:
The owner is held personally liable for the outstanding debts and obligations of the business. This is not the case for corporations, LLCs, or most partnerships. So youll need to keep in mind that if a creditor or someone else files a lawsuit against your business for any outstanding debt, the lawsuit will actually be brought against you as the owner. Therefore, while the assets of the business can be used to satisfy the judgment, the assets of the business are actually your assets, which means that your other personal assets can be used to satisfy the debt. This could include your own personal bank account, savings, car, home, etc.
As a sole proprietor, you and your business are treated as one legal entity for tax purposes. The sole proprietorship, similar to that of the LLC and partnership, doesnt pay federal income taxes or file returns. As a sole proprietor, any money that is made from the business will need to be reported on your IRS Form 1040 as interest income.
There is a benefit to the tax implication, as sole proprietors are eligible for up to a 20 percent tax deduction. In fact, all pass-through tax entities, which include the sole proprietorship, partnership, and LLC, can benefit from such tax deductions for those entities established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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Advantages Of Setting Up A Sole Proprietorship Business In The Usa
- One of a Sole Proprietorships primary benefits is that it enables you to scale up your business far more quickly and with less government paperwork on the line.
- If you own a sole proprietorship, you do not need to bother about some of the other elements of an LLC or corporation, such as company officials or registered agents.
- Saving money on registration fees is one of the biggest advantages of operating a business as a sole proprietor.
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What Happens To The Current Business/contractor License Or Certificate
In most cases the license, certificate or registration becomes inactive and replaced by the new business structure. Exceptions are:
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Plumbing contractors because the license number is held by the master plumber or restricted master plumber associated with the plumbing contractor.
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Water conditioning contractors because the license number is held by the water conditioning contractor.
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Certified pipelayers because there is no license number issued to businesses that file a plumbing contractor code compliance bond to install water and sewer lines external to building structures.
Licenses and certificates issued to business entities required to obtain and file a bond are inactivated and a new license or certificate issued to the new business entity.
Can I Add Another Person To The Incorporation
Yes, if you wish to add someone to the incorporation as a director who was not part of your original business, now is the perfect time to add them. As a Sole Proprietor, you were not able to add other partners to your business registration however, this is not the case with incorporating, and new directors can be added to an incorporated company at any time.
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Why Is A Corporation Better Than A Sole Proprietorship
Using your own business can save you money on taxes. The taxable income of a corporation is only its salary . Saving thousands of dollars a year can be achieved this way. A sole proprietorship earning $80,000 earns a 15% state tax on that amount, for example. In total, 3% of the $80,000 would need to be paid in taxes.
What Will I Need To Change After The Incorporation Has Been Completed
- Bank account incorporating puts your business in a new business category with most banks. A new bank account, credit card, and other banking items may be required
- Cheques new cheques will be needed with the business name including legal ending
- Tax accounts HST, payroll, WSIB, etc. will need to be set up or changed
- Business cards to reflect the new corporate name
- Letterhead to reflect the new corporate name
- Logo if the business name is listed
- Storefront/signage
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Sole Proprietorships And General Partnerships
Operating as either of these entities means you have not set up an official business structure with the state. A sole proprietorship or partnership are one in the same entity as their ownerthe business name must have the owners first and last names in it. However, that doesnt mean sole proprietorships and general partnerships cant market themselves under a name thats more interesting and attractive. They can file for a fictitious business name, also called Doing Business As .
If your business is a sole proprietorship or partnership and you want to change your DBA, you can do so by:
- Canceling the existing DBA and filing for a new one. This involves contacting the government authority that approves and registers DBAs, or you might consider using an online legal business document filing service to handle the details for you.
- Contacting your bank to find out if the existing business bank accounts name can be changed to the new DBA, or if it will require opening a bank account for the new DBA.
- Checking with the county, city, and local government authorities to find out if business licenses and permits must be updated or obtained for the new DBA.
- Finding out from the IRS if getting a new DBA will require applying for a new Employer Identification Number .
- Notifying the IRS of the new DBA. The following is from the IRS website:
Types Of Sole Proprietorship Business
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Franchisee
Sole proprietors are another type of franchise owner. In exchange for royalties paid to the franchisor, the franchisee gains access to the brand, business model, and other resources.
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Independent Contractor
A self-employed sole entrepreneur who works on projects under contract with clients is known as an independent contractor. Although they are free to select the clients they work with, they are frequently bound by the procedures and standards set by the client.
-
Business Owner
Like contractors, business owners are also sole proprietors that work for themselves, but unlike them, they have much more control over how clients work is carried out, and their operations may even be more complicated with regards to personnel and/or intellectual property.
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Sole Proprietorship Vs S
3 min read
When you start a business, youre faced with an important decision: whats the right type of business entity? If you go by pure popularity, the answer is the Sole Proprietorship, which is created by default when you start doing business, and requires little to no formalities. Sole Proprietorship, like the name implies, is tied to a sole business-person, and legally, theres no separation between the individual and his or her business. Even though Sole Proprietorships are extremely popular because theyre so simple to set up, there may be a better choice for your business. Many small businesses choose to form an LLC or an S-Corporation instead. Here are the benefits of forming an S-Corporation and how it compares to a Sole Proprietorship.
How To Transfer Business Ownership: What You Need To Know
One way to realize the American dream is to start a business, become wealthy and eventually sell the business for a nice profit. When the time comes to do the latter, though, youll need to transfer business ownership.
There are several methods of transferring business ownership. The method chosen depends on the business owner’s needs and plans, the market and the structure of your business.
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How Do I Change From S Corp To Sole Proprietorship
What Is The Difference Between C Corp And S Corp
The major difference is how they are taxed. S Corp income flows to stockholders and is taxed on their personal tax returns. Dividends paid to S Corp stockholders are not taxable. C Corps pay income tax on their corporate tax return. Stockholders must generally pay income tax on any dividends they receive.
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How To Change From A Sole Proprietorship To A Corporation
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As a Canadian business owner, there are plenty of ways that you can expand your operation beyond the private sector. In fact, as your enterprise grows and starts earning more income, you might want to consider taking the next step incorporation.
However, before that can happen, youll need to file the right paperwork that, when approved, allows you to switch over from your sole proprietorship. Not sure how this is done? Keep reading to find out.
to see how you can expand your business with new capital.
