Robert M. Gary wrote:

Be careful. In some locations the LLC has a minimum franchise tax. In
CA you pay a minimum of $800/year in state tax for the right to have
the LLC. If you create the LLC out of state you pay a use tax of
$800/year (they get you either way). You can fill out a form to
request an exception as not-for-profit but it takes a very, very long
time to get a response and you need to pay the taxes in the meantime.
It may or may not be the same where you are.

How difficult and expensive is straight-forward incorporation in the U.S.
(i.e. not an S-corp or an LLC -- is that what you mean by a C-corp?)? In
Ontario, Canada, it costs a bit over CAD 200 (USD 150) to set up a federal
corporation online, including the name search -- you pay by credit card, and
if there's no name conflict the federal government e-mails you the articles
of incorporation in PDF format a few hours later. Unless the corporation
collects sales tax or makes a profit, the only other fees are CAD 20/year
(about USD 15/year) for filing the annual corporate information return
online, and whatever you pay at Staples for some blank paper and a binder to
keep the articles and minutes.

If it's similar in the U.S., perhaps that would be a better choice than an LLC.


All the best,


David