Do-It-Yourself Colorado S Corporation Kit

Forming an S corporation typically saves your business thousands of dollars in taxes, but the thought of paying an accountant or attorney a few hundred dollars to set one up discourages some business owners.

Fortunately, many small businesses easily set up S corporations themselves, without the outside help from a lawyer or CPA. Especially if you work from the instructions provided in one of my affordable Colorado S corporation kits.

Before I talk more about the incorporation kits, though, let me first describe the three steps you need to take in order to set up an S corporation in Colorado.

Step 1: Create Your Eligible Entity

Different types of eligible entities work as a platform, or starting point, for an S corporation, including limited liability companies and traditional corporations. To clarify, you don't technically need to be a "corporation" to be an S corporation. When you form an S corporation, you elect for your business to be treated using Subchapter S of the tax code. Any eligible entity can make this election.

The Colorado Secretary of State requires that businesses file both the Articles of Organization form for an LLC and the Articles of Incorporation form for a corporation online. You can download these forms from the Colorado Secretary of State website.

Step 2: Getting an EIN

Once you form your eligible entity, you take the next step: getting an Employer Identification Number, or EIN, for your business. For your EIN, fill out and submit an SS-4 form to the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS website has this form. You should receive your EIN in a few weeks.

Step 3: Make the S Corporation Election

Once you receive you EIN, you make the election to be treated as an S corporation. Fill out and submit a 2553 form to the Internal Revenue Service Center in Ogden, Utah. The IRS evaluates if your business is eligible to make this election, and if you followed correct procedure in making the election.

After reading these brief instructions you may feel capable of starting this process on your own. And if that's the case, don't hesitate to get started. If you would benefit from some additional coaching, my do-it-yourself kits provide helpful hints and clear steps to make S corporation set-up as easy as possible. I created two separate versions of the do-it-yourself kit: one for LLCs and one for regular corporations.

LLC S Corporation Kit

A business usually benefits most from using an LLC to make the S corporation election. The LLC version of my do-it-yourself S corporation kit analyzes the positives and negatives of forming an LLC in Colorado. I broke down the three steps for forming an S corporation into smaller, more manageable steps, along with easy-to-follow instructions to guide you through the entire process. I also include sample LLC operating agreements: one set for single member LLCs and another for multiple-member LLCs.

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Traditional Corporation S Corporation Kit

In a few rare cases, a business benefits more if it uses a traditional corporation rather than an LLC. In some fields, for example, a business is awarded more credibility if "Corporation" or "Inc." is in its name. For businesses in this or similar situations, the traditional corporation version of my do-it-yourself kit provides valuable help. Like the LLC version, this kit breaks down the steps for forming an S corporation into smaller, more manageable steps with detailed instructions. I include a set of sample corporate by-laws as a bonus, for you or your attorney to use when crafting your own bylaws.

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Additional Information You May Find Useful

If you want additional information about how to maximize the tax savings related to running a business or investment venture, you may also be interested in one of our downloadable e-books (see descriptions below). Each book covers a category of tax planning topics that easily save a business owner significant amounts of income or self-employment taxes (potentially thousands of dollars a year) and is instantly downloadable.

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