How to start a company in the US?

PERSONAL LIABILITY. First, as a business owner, you may be exposed to personal liability for activities related to your business. As such, your personal assets may also be exposed to the risk of attachment, seizure and sale. To reduce the risk of personal liability, consider creating a separate legal entity for your business and file a Declaration of Homestead (if applicable in your jurisdiction) for your primary residence (assuming that you are residing in the US).

CHOICE OF ENTITY. There are several ways you may create a separate legal entity, including, establishing a Corporation or a Limited Liability Company [LLC]. Factors involved in deciding which business formation is right for you, include, the following: is there foreign or US ownership of the business; how many owners of the business; is the business involved in international or domestic transactions; and other related issues. If there will be any owners that are not individuals and US residents, an LLC is a better choice, for reasons including that the benefits of an S-Corp will not be available to you.

Remember that simply filing the Articles of Organization or Certificate of Organization with the Secretary of State and paying the filing fee is not enough to maintain corporate or LLC protection.

Disclaimer: The above is provided for informational use only,is not intended to be and is not legal advice. Consult an attorney with regard to the specific details of your situation.

There are many considerations when starting a new business in the U.S., including tax, corporate, geographic, and industry-specific guidelines.

1) Entity Type

This is perhaps the biggest consideration, since it drives so much of what you want to do with your business. C Corporations, S Corporations and LLCs are the three most common entity types and work for most businesses. Which entity a given company chooses depends on what they are doing with their business.

• C Corps are better for venture financing, equity plans, IPOs, pensions, etc.

• S Corporations are better for tax reasons, but have certain restrictions (e.g., no foreign shareholders). This will likely not be an option if you are not a U.S. citizen or resident green card holder.

• LLCs are an excellent option for tax reasons and do not have the restrictions that S Corporations do on foreigners.

2) Location

Delaware is the most popular choice for a business that has no particular operational connection to any U.S. state because of the flexible corporate code and low franchise taxes for certain operations.

3) Filings and Deadlines

Once you form a corporation, you must make various filings relating to tax securities, as well as recurring follow-up filings with the Secretary of State and labor filings if you hie employees in the U.S.

These are some of the main considerations when forming a U.S. company.

*The standard legal disclaimer as posted above applies