I have a little doubt here, do hosting companies need to be registried?

Well it differs depending on where you are, but any serious business should be registered as a company in its state/country.

Thats usually LLC for most of USA,LTD for UK & Canada etc.

Well it differs depending on where you are, but any serious business should be registered as a company in its state/country.

Thats usually LLC for most of USA,LTD for UK & Canada etc.

And perhaps local district (county, etc).

I disagree sole traders is also an option. Pending how well your business is doing. Theres alot to think about, I suggest going to your local business link coz each persons unique. Only my opinion :D

EDIT: Basicly don't need to be registered but in the UK trading standards do like to be aware of your company or sole trading doing business.

Depends where you're located and what sort of liability you want to assume for your company. If you remain a sole proprietorship, you assume full liability for any lawsuits of your company and your personal assets will be involved.

Someone said it won't need to be registried 'till I start receiving high sums of money... Is this right?

Someone said it won't need to be registried 'till I start receiving high sums of money... Is this right?

That is correct. You will want to establish an LLC once you get a good amount of clients.

You can trade as a sole trader however you must alert your local tax authorities.

That is correct. You will want to establish an LLC once you get a good amount of clients.

Agreed. Once you start getting big, a LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) or a Inc. (Corporation) name is a very good idea even if you are a 1 person business. Main reason is for your protection. If you are sued for more money then you have, your LLC or Inc will just go bankrupt. If you do not have a LLC or Inc then you will suffer everything being taken away from you (house, car, boat, etc.) and the possibility of going to jail depending on how much you owe.

Also its much easier to keep taxes for yourself and business separate and you can easily expand with more employees when you are ready.

Note this only applies in the US. I do not know anything about foreign law but I would imagine it would be fairly similar.

You should also register your company because of Tax purposes.. You will need to get a Tax ID as well to do business as an LLC or a Corporation.. You should be able to register through your local "Secretary of State" website..

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this is different in every state and in every country
in Canada you do not need to be registered if your company name is the same as your name but you are open to all liability so you need to register to protect yourself

Well, to be honest with you I registered an LLC for employment verification purposes, as well as protecting my personal assets. See, in job interviews, I can discuss my current/ongoing Web projects with Whatever LLC, and use my partner for employment/project verification. We ain't big enough yet to quit our day jobs, so I think we will be tied to our Technical Support jobs for a while longer (hopefully no more than 2 years!!!) Side note ---- I never really worried about getting sued even when I performed design/hosting work soley. See, I have small change real estate sites, chiropractors, couple restaurants, galleries. Are they going to SUE me for House and Car?.... Ummmmmmm... not really man. I've defined all that in my TERMS also. I cannot be held responsible for business/revenue loss due to downed website time. Period. Sure, I'll do a monthly hosting refund if the downtime is bad enought. But ... no guys ... ain't nobody claming my little 1/2 acre $180,000 Colonial because a router at WestHost blinked out for 2 hours. NOPE. Your thoughts please.

Also its much easier to keep taxes for yourself and business separate and you can easily expand with more employees when you are ready.

but by the same token, a sole proprietorship will be taxed at a lower level then a corporation. Plus at times it may be beneficial to include the businesses income/expenses with yuor personal taxes.

The liability however is the huge problem with sole proprietorships. I'm not sure about LLCs but S-Corps are taxed at the lower sole proprietorship level but enjoy the benefits of limiting the liability of the owner. The downside is the restrictions it places with terms of growth and international business.

As always, its always best to talk with a tax accountant and/or lawyer before making any types of decisions.

As always, its always best to talk with a tax accountant and/or lawyer before making any types of decisions.

Definetly a good idea. They will help you decide what is best for your situation.

but by the same token, a sole proprietorship will be taxed at a lower level then a corporation.

Not necessarily. In the US, someone with $35K/year of taxable income is going to be in the 25% tax bracket, whereas a business with the same taxable income is only going to be in the 15% tax bracket.

I agree with the others, get one if you plan in being in business for a long time and have a large client base. A LLC isn't cheap so make sure that you are here long term otherwise, it's a waste of money because licenses are paid for yearly I believe.

I agree with the others, get one if you plan in being in business for a long time and have a large client base. A LLC isn't cheap so make sure that you are here long term otherwise, it's a waste of money because licenses are paid for yearly I believe.

Not in Virginia. To file an LLC for a year it costs about $60 and then an additional $99 for your corporate books. A corporation is around $90 for a year and then $99 for corporate books. Very cheap if you don't count your attorney fees.

Also if you want to file one, consult an attorney because the forums you need to fill out aren't very easy and a mistake can be easily made.

When it comes times to file your corporate tax return, I would recommend getting an accountant to do it for you. It was a little pricey but I looked over all the paperwork our accountant did for us and there is no way I could have done it by myself or with an employee. Just too many numbers. All I did was print out Microsoft Money records, hand it to the accountant, and then bam, it was done.

Not in Virginia. To file an LLC for a year it costs about $60 and then an additional $99 for your corporate books. A corporation is around $90 for a year and then $99 for corporate books. Very cheap if you don't count your attorney fees.

Also if you want to file one, consult an attorney because the forums you need to fill out aren't very easy and a mistake can be easily made.

When it comes times to file your corporate tax return, I would recommend getting an accountant to do it for you. It was a little pricey but I looked over all the paperwork our accountant did for us and there is no way I could have done it by myself or with an employee. Just too many numbers. All I did was print out Microsoft Money records, hand it to the accountant, and then bam, it was done.

Wow, last I checked a LLC in California was at around $100+.

Wow, last I checked a LLC in California was at around $100+.

Mabey that included corporate books or was that just the filing fee?

Yeah, Nevada is also a higher filing fee than that.

it wise to contact the professional for your problem. they will give some good point to be considered for taxing purpose.

I *think* the filing fee for a Corporation here is $450-$680 or somewhere around there.

Not 100% sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.