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Ask HN: Legalities with creating a startup?

2 points by applesnaps ↗ HN
Hi HN, I've been lurking and reading posts for a while, but finally decided tonight to make an account and my first post. A few days ago I came up with a marketable service, and have since decided to make a startup, but I'm unsure as to what I need to do legally in order to make this legitimate. I'm sure that part of this is surely relative to the state I live in, but are there some de facto tax forms or something I should be filling out? I'm very new to anything like this, and am willing to accept any sort of resources available. Thanks!

6 comments

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dasht
The Nolo Press catalog contains several helpful books on the topic. (I've no affiliation or stake in them - just like their stuff.)
applesnaps
Wow, taking a look and it seems pretty comprehensive. Thanks, this is probably going to make for good reading material.
kls
If it is truly a service with no actual product, you need to incorporate, A good accountant will charge you around $500 to set it up and can guide you to the best set-up for what you will be doing. If you have to build something first then build it before you do anything. If you can't swing $500 then there are some online sites that will do it for cheap, just understand that they provide no legal or accounting advice. If you go that route, be safe and file an SCorp, you can change it later, but it is the best one for the little guy just starting out. You may need to get a local business license, depending on what you are doing.
applesnaps
I plan on offering both a product and a service related to it. After reading a little, a LLC seems like the best option for me. The articles of organization only run for $125 in my state, and it doesn't appear I need to fill anything else out other than that.
kls
be careful, with an LLC you will be responsible for paying 15.3% more taxes than an S-Corp. The S-Corp is the only one that reduces employment tax liabilities. As well, if you ever think that you will entertain bringing on investors you will have to form a S or C and buy out the LLC.
applesnaps
Ah, interesting. I assume that this is the only major difference between S-Corps and LLCs? I hadn't even heard of them until you mentioned, I'll look into it further.