Building Your Fortress:

The First Step to Protecting Your Assets


Entity selection is a foundational decision that protects both your personal assets and your business. Choosing the right structure, such as an LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, Inc., LLP, or Sole Proprietorship,is a critical step that impacts liability, taxation, and administrative burden. By carefully selecting the appropriate entity and completing the business formation process, you create a legal shield that separates your business’s financial obligations from your personal finances. This foundational action is about more than just paperwork; it’s about strategically setting up your business to minimize risk, maximize tax efficiency, and ensure you have the peace of mind to focus on growth.

What's Entity Selection?

 The Foundation of Your Business

Choosing a legal structure for your business is one of the most critical decisions you'll make. It affects everything from your personal liability and tax obligations to how you can raise capital. This choice is known as entity selection or business formation. It's the essential first step that lays the groundwork for your company's future success and stability.


Beyond the Basics: The Strategic Importance of Your Business Structure

The entity you select is more than just a name; it's a strategic framework that determines your business's legal identity and its relationship with you, its owners. This decision impacts:

  • Liability Protection: How much of your personal assets (your home, savings, etc.) are at risk if your business faces legal action or debt.
  • Taxation: How your business's profits are taxed—either at the business level, the personal level, or both.
  • Administrative Burden: The amount of paperwork, meetings, and filings required to maintain legal standing.
  • Access to Capital: Your ability to attract investors and secure funding for growth.


Navigating Your Options

Without a clear understanding of the different business structures, you're building on shaky ground. Each type of entity offers a unique balance of liability protection, taxation, and administrative complexity.


Key Entity Types: Your Blueprint

  • Sole Proprietorship: The simplest and most common structure for single-owner businesses. There is no legal separation between you and the business, meaning you are personally liable for all business debts.
  • Limited Liability Company (LLC): This popular hybrid structure offers the liability protection of a corporation with the tax benefits and flexibility of a partnership or sole proprietorship. An LLC shields your personal assets from business liabilities.
  • Corporations (C-Corp and S-Corp): These are separate legal entities from their owners.
  • C-Corporation (C-Corp): Subject to "double taxation," where profits are taxed at the corporate level and again when dividends are distributed to shareholders. C-Corps are ideal for businesses that plan to raise significant capital from investors.
  • S-Corporation (S-Corp): A tax classification, not a legal entity. An S-Corp avoids double taxation by passing income and losses directly to the owners' personal tax returns, similar to an LLC.
  • Partnership (General vs. Limited): A structure for two or more owners.
  • General Partnership: All partners share profits, debts, and liabilities equally.
  • Limited Partnership (LP) & Limited Liability Partnership (LLP): These structures offer some liability protection for specific partners, often used by professional services like law or accounting firms.


Building a Strong Foundation with Fiscal Integrity Group

Don't guess what's best for your business—choose a structure that aligns with your goals for growth and risk management.

At Fiscal Integrity Group, we go beyond simple paperwork to provide the expert guidance you need. We'll help you analyze the pros and cons of each entity type based on your specific business, industry, and financial objectives. It’s about making a strategic decision that protects your assets, minimizes your tax burden, and positions your company for long-term success. We provide the peace of mind you need to focus on what you do best.

Entity Formation
Protect Your Business and Assets

Forming a new business entity is one of the most important steps in protecting your personal assets. Our expert team can help you choose the best structure for your business, and set up your company quickly and efficiently.

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Understanding Entity Formation: The Basics

  1. Separate Legal Entity:
    Forming a business entity creates a separate legal entity from its owners, protecting your personal assets from business liabilities.
  2. Limited Liability:
    This separation shields your personal assets (home, car, savings) from business debts or lawsuits.
  3. Entity Formation:
    Depending on the entity type, you may enjoy tax benefits like lower rates or deductions.
  4. Credibility and Trust:
    A formal entity structure enhances your business's credibility and makes it easier to secure funding or partnerships.

Choose the Right Entity Type: Inc., LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, Partnership, or Sole Proprietorship...

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Incorporation (Inc.)

Incorporation (Inc.) provides liability protection, separating your personal assets from business liabilities.

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LLCs

LLCs offers pass-through taxation and liability protection, making it a popular choice for small businesses.

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S-CORP

An S-Corp provides pass-through taxation, meaning profits and losses are reported on your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation.

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C-CORP

A C-Corp offers greater flexibility for raising capital and is suitable for larger companies with complex ownership structures.

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Partnership LP/LLP

  • Partnerships provide partial asset separation. LPs and LLPs offer stronger protection.
  • Partnerships offer some personal asset protection; LPs/LLPs increase it.
  • While not as robust as incorporation, partnerships do separate assets. LPs/LLPs offer improved protection.
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Sole Proprietorship

  • Sole proprietorships offer no legal separation; personal and business assets are fully combined.
  • In a sole proprietorship, personal assets are at full risk for business debts.
  • Sole proprietorship: No asset protection.
  • Sole proprietorships provide no distinction between personal and business liabilities.

Advantages For Entities

Built on integrity and expertise, our firm delivers exceptional personalized service that goes beyond standard accounting practices.

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Limited Liability Protection

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Pass-Through Taxation

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Fundraising Potential

Protect Your Business & Investment With:

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Registered Agent Services

  1. Registered agents accept legal documents on behalf of your business.
  2. Registered agents ensure your personal address is separate form your business address. Hide your home address.
  3. Registered agents ensure you receive important legal and tax notices.
  4. Registered agents provide a reliable point of contact for official business correspondence.
  5. Registered agents maintain your business's legal compliance.
  6. Registered agent: Official legal document recipient.
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Charging Order Protection Services

  1. Charging orders limit creditors to business distributions, protecting business assets.
  2. Charging order protection: Creditors can only access profits, not seize assets.
  3. Charging orders restrict creditor access to business profits, not ownership.
  4. Charging orders protect business assets by limiting creditor access to distributions.
  5. Charging order: Creditors get profits, not the business.
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Advantage of Registered Agent Services

  1. Flexibility: Registered agents are available during normal business hours, allowing business owners to operate outside traditional hours or travel frequently.
  2. Privacy: The registered agent's address is used for public records, keeping the business owner's personal information private.
  3. Reliability: They ensure timely receipt of important documents and legal notices.
  4. Convenience: Registered agents handle document management, freeing up time for business owners to focus on growth.
  5. Compliance support: They often offer additional services like compliance monitoring and training.
  6. Multi-state representation: Registered agent entities can provide services across multiple states, facilitating business expansion.
  7. Professional expertise: They typically have trained professionals with extensive knowledge of state regulations and compliance requirements.


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Advantage of Charging Order Protection

  1. Asset protection: It exempts the business assets of an LLC and its members from personal liabilities of individual members.
  2. Business continuity: The protection ensures that the LLC's operations remain uninterrupted, even when a member faces financial troubles.
  3. Limited creditor access: Creditors are restricted to receiving only the debtor-member's distributions, without gaining voting rights or management authority.
  4. Multi-member LLC protection: In multi-member LLCs, the protection is stronger as it safeguards all members' interests from an individual member's debts.
  5. Privacy: It helps maintain the separation between a member's personal financial issues and the LLC's business activities.