Do-it-yourself North Dakota S Corporation Kit

With the addition of the healthcare laws in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, North Dakota business owners may face a startling increase in taxes in the coming years. Fortunately for business owners, there is a way to combat this. S corporations can save business owners thousands of dollars a year in payroll and income taxes. And what's even better news is that most business owners can set them up themselves. To set one up, you can follow three relatively simple steps or just download one of the kit options below. They are completely free of charge when you use the promo code stephenlnelsoncpa at checkout.

1. Form an Eligible Entity

You will first need to form the foundation for your S corporation. Both limited liability companies and traditional corporations work well for this. If you want to form an LLC, fill out an Articles of Organization form and submit it and the $135 filing fee to the Department of Financial Institutions in Bismarck. To form a corporation, fill out an Articles of Incorporation form and submit it to the Department of Financial Institutions as well.

2. Obtain an EIN

After you create an eligible entity, you can apply for an Employer Identification Number. These are like Social Security Numbers for businesses. Fill out an SS-4 form and submit it to the Internal Revenue Service. The Internal Revenue Service provides a downloadable version of this form on its website. You should receive you EIN about a month after you submit your application.

3. Make the S Corporation Election

When you receive your EIN form the IRS you can make the S corporation election. This means you will elect to have your business treated using the laws in Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code. Fill out a 2553 form and submit it to the Internal Revenue Service Center in Ogden, Utah. The IRS also provides downloadable versions of this form on its website.

If this all seems manageable, don't hesitate in starting the process yourself. If it at all seems daunting, my do-it-yourself kits provide any extra coaching needed. I created two do-it-yourself S corporation kits. One details how to form an S corporation using a limited liability company, and the other using a regular corporation.

Kit Option 1: Using an LLC

I strongly recommend that you use an LLC as the base for your S corporation. In almost every instance LLCs benefit a business owner more than a traditional corporation would. This kit provides businesses owners with a complete set of instructions for setting up an LLC, obtaining an EIN and making the S corporation election. It includes completed examples of all the forms for reference. It also supplies two sets of sample LLC operating agreements: one set for single member LLCs and one set for multiple member LLCs.

Kit Option 2: Using a Traditional Corporation

In some rare cases, a business may benefit more from using a traditional corporation instead of an LLC. The business may, for example, need to be a corporation to gain credibility in a certain field of business. Business owners in this situation will find the corporation version of my S corporation kit very valuable. It provides comprehensive instructions to guide you through the entire S corporation process, and shows you samples of what the completed forms will look like. As a bonus, I also added a sample set of corporate bylaws for you or your attorney to use as reference when drafting your own bylaws.