Like you said, the corp would protect your assets...def a plus.

The main downside I can think of is double taxation. The corp income is taxed, then you are taxed on any income you report the corp paying you. Any good CPA should be able to shield you from a lot of tax for at least the first 3 years. A buddy of mine has an S-Corp on the side and does very well, not only with the business, but also tax advantages.

As far as self doable, not really sure. I find it hard to believe you couldn't find a packet online. You should probably just need a Notary to make it official. Most state tax commission offices that I have dealt with have a good deal of information on it. Good luck. I'm sure you will do well whatever path you take.

In TX, it costs about $200 to set up an LLC. There are definite advantages over a SP but I'm not a lawyer, as they say. If you're comfortable reading up on everything yourself you can do it without a lawyer / CPA. Of course, their fees are tax deductible. The downside to an LLC (like the previous poster mentioned for S Corp is taxation). In TX, I think it is up to 4% of gross revenue but, IIRC, it's only for income from TX.

Speaking of lawyers, whatever happened to Ken (Verbalkint)?

I have a small business, so here is my advice... LLC (what I used to have) is great for small business, very flexible and it's easier on your CPA... Drawback: you have to have a partner (two minimum). C-corp/S-corp (what I have now), it can be yourself and it's more work for your CPA since you have to be on payroll, meaning pay yourself a salary, social security, etc...
Also don't worry about double taxation, it's the most miss-understood concept and doesn't mean your are taxed twice. Both you as an employee of your own company and your company have to pay taxes, but your salary is deducted from the whole amount your company makes... For legal reason and since I am not a CPA I can't give you specifics, but at the end of the year you keep much more of your money as you would if you are on salary since you can deduct much more. Also, you can open a SEP IRA and have your company put up to $41k in your retirement account which you can deduct from your taxes etc.... Also keep in mind that tax laws change every year in a big way, so what is true today may not be next year. also to keep in mind, my CPA tells me that it's not worth opening a Corporation or an LLC if you make less than 200k/year... You won't get much benefits, and pay a lot in CPA fees.
Don't set up your corp. using online services, use a real Lawyer, it's important to be set-up properly, and a good business lawer will want to talk to your CPA, so that they can decide jointly what is best for you. It's quite a bit more money, but if you ever get audited or in a Legal bind you'll be more than grateful you did, plus you get the benefit to be able to say "I'll have to talk to my lawer"

Not in TX. I am the sole member of my LLC.

LLC,Sole Prop, will get taxed at YOUR rate. Meaning if you have a day job that puts you in the 28 or higher bracket, a C corporation only gets taxed at 15% for the first 50k in income so it might be beneficial to look at that. Good luck with the business though!

IMHO, as an attorney and owner/member of 4 different LLCs, I believe that is the way to go. But I don't know all of your details, so I can't offer you 'legal advice.'

Filing a company yourself is easy, especially if you are the only owner/member. If you don't want to bother, use one of the online filing services. I just used BizFilings for a new company a few weeks ago and was very pleased--I used them because I needed to expedite the filing process. But again, you can download all of the forms from the state web site (probably the Sec. of State site). There are some other items to consider. What state to choose (usually depends on where you are doing business and what kind of business you are), registering to do business in your state if you are an out of state company, etc.... Generally you go with your own state, or Delaware.

Good luck!

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Thanks for all the info. I'll probably just file where I live (Illinois) since filing somewhere then registering here is way too involved for me right now. Just looking to get it setup so I seperate the business from personal. As for type of work, mostly computer stuff (repairs,upgrades,consulting,etc.). However, I also do some auto detailing and electronics on the rare occasion.
I forgot to mention in the original post, I'm also looking for a new CPA for both business and personal, so if anybody has any recommendations, please send me a PM.
Rangerfan: Thanks for that link, I'll probably go that route, it'll be easier.

Glad to help. Make sure to track all of your business expenses, keep them organized, and make use of the deductions available to you. You should disucss all of this with you new CPA, but the expenses add up fast and by the end of the year you are talking real $!

You can also start some retirement funds with the new business when you have some income. It's always good to put away pre-tax $ !!

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-'13 E93 M3 Cab, Interlagos Blue, Carbon Black leather, DCT, all options, and fun, endless fun!
-'13 X5 35i M-Sport, Carbon Black & Cinnamon, Dinan Stage 2!
-'15 Toyota Sienna Limited Premium AWD, Silver & Grey, Nav & BluRay, and less lame than the 2011 it replaced
-'07 Mini Cab S, Laser Blue, 6sp, endless fun that ended (sold)
-'04 X5 4.4i, loaded, loved, modded and sold