Start-up Help please

[aseelllc]

Hello,

I am currently located in Massachusetts and planning to start my home based business to provide the following web related services in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey.
• Web site design and development
• Web hosting
• Software as a service
• IT Consulting (as independent contractor)
Not planning to hire fulltime employees for atleast couple years.

Could you please advice on the following?

Should I register a LLC or DBA?
Is there any Tax benefit for registering in Delaware or Nevada?
If I register in Delaware, do I need to register a Foreign Limited Liability Company in MA, NH, NY and NJ for the above type of business I am planning?

Thank you.

[BusinessAdviser]

1. First, you should understand the difference between the two. That will help you make the decision. Don't just rely on someone else's blind advice of which to pick, as there are great consequences to each.

2. Depends on the entity selected and each state's corresponding tax laws.

3. Depends on the laws of each of the other states and likely the extent to which you're conducting business in each

[dontheinfoguy]

I think you should head over to legalzoom.com It's very helpful. If you haven't been there already. When i started a my business I was trying to decide the same thing. But I know one thing. I have a tax strategist and he says that sole proprietors are the NO 1 target for audits because there most likely to over exaggerate there income or expenses. guilty

and also make sure you use software for accounting purposes. My tax strategist says the more paperwork the better.

Good Luck and congratulations on your new venture.

[aseelllc]

Thank you for your response.

I will be providing web development services to clients in MA, NH, NJ and NY. The development work will be done remotely from my home office in MA. I am not going to advertise or have offices in NH, NJ and NY.

In this scenario, considering I am registering my LLC in MA, am I required to register Foreign LLC in NH, NJ and NY?

[Biz Lawyer]

Be wary of LegalZoom as they do not give legal advice, only provide you with very generic forms. You should really sit down with a business attorney to get some guidance, the cost should be minimal but it will be well spent so you get your biz off on the right foot. In general there are no real tax benefits based on where you incorporate, since the state you work out of will be the taxing authority. However, there are ancillary benefits from state to state that could sway you one way or the other. Again, lots of variables that make it worthwhile to get legal counsel. If you don't know who to talk to, the site lawadvicenow is a good site to get in touch with an attorney for a free consultation. Good Luck!