Comment by MicahWedemeyer | Hacker News Reader

Comment by MicahWedemeyer | Hacker News Reader

I'd recommend finding an accountant (ask other local freelancers for references) and have them handle all the business incorporation issues (LLC vs S-corp, payroll taxes, etc, etc). It will cost more than doing it yourself, but they may end up saving you money, and you'll definitely sleep a little better.

No offense to anyone in particular, but beware the legal/accounting advice you receive here on HN. Just like you shouldn't ask an accountant for programming advice, it's not a great idea to take accounting advice from a programmer. Pay an accountant to handle things, at least at first. Have them teach you how to handle payroll taxes and quarterly filings and all that stuff. You may find it's easy enough that you can do it on your own. Or, you may find that it's complicated and you're glad to have an accountant handle it.

While taking this approach, does it make sense to read and familiarize oneself, to the level of layperson, in advance, to the extent possible? The purpose being to make those meetings as efficient as possible and maximize knowledge transfer.

If so, does anyone recommend particular resources?

My biggest concern is liability. I don't want any more potential attachment to present and future personal assets than necessary.

EDIT: I'm seeing some references/recommendations in the other comments. So thanks, and sorry if my query begged repetition.

Educate yourself, sure. But don't get any ideas about how much you know. When you do meet with an accountant, go in with ears open and mouth shut. You probably don't know half as much as you think you do. Plus, their knowledge is what you're paying for. If you don't utilize that, you're not getting your money's worth.

Finally, it's probably a good idea to at least get a cursory second opinion. From what I've seen, accountants are a lot like programmers. Where one is adamantly behind Ruby on Rails, another will recommend PHP. There probably is no single right answer, but it never hurts to hear opposing viewpoints.

What should I expect this to cost?

Honestly, I don't know. I think it varies between accountants.

My accountant charged me $500 to handle everything related to creating an S-Corp. That included the $150 or so in fees that went to the state, so he ended up keeping $350. I consider it money well spent.

For the record, I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm not sure how much it costs to do the filings in other states.

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