I have been operating for a number of years as a sole proprietor (independent contractor housing inspector). I will soon be branching out into a few more ventures (sales agent as an independent contractor, as well as the possibility other local services).

I am in the process of incorporating as an S-corp for tax and asset-protection purposes.

My question is in regards to the name I chose to incorporate under. I used my own personal name (Firstname Lastname, Inc.)

I did this, honestly, because I was having trouble thinking of a good generic name for my corporation. A number of people suggested I just use my name.

HOWEVER, after doing a great deal of reading and thinking over the past week, I am wondering if I made a bad decision. Perhaps I should have used a name other than my own personal name.

Does anyone know if using your own personal name as a corporation name in this way can have negative consequences?
1) In a legal sense, in terms of asset separation (piercing the sheild)
2) From a tax standpoint (might look less like a business and more like just a tax shelter, etc.)

I have not conducted any business under the corporation yet. I just registered it last week, and the only other thing I have done is get an EIN. So if I need to scrap it and start over with a different name, now is the time.

Thanks!

#1; I guess choosing a business name is an important step in the business planning process. Not only should you pick a name that reflects your brand identity, but you also need to ensure it is properly registered and protected for the long term. You should also give a thought to whether it’s web-ready. Many businesses start out as freelancers, solo operations, or partnerships. In these cases, it’s easy to fall back on your own name as your business name. While there’s nothing wrong with this, it does make it tougher to present a professional image and build brand awareness.As you intend to incorporate your business as an S corp, you’ll need to contact your state filing office to check whether your intended business name has already been claimed and is in use. If you find a business operating under your proposed name, you may still be able to use it, provided your business and the existing business offer different goods/services or are located in different regions. As long as you use your full name as an S corp name, you do not need to choose DBA, doing biz as , option.


#2;UNLESS you operate your personal biz as sole proprietorship, yes. A major advantage of operating as a corp, either C corp/ S corp, is that the owners (shareholders) of the corp are shielded from the liabilities and debts of the corporation. Owners of a corp are liable for the company's obligations, debts and liabilities up to their ownership interest in the business. Business creditors and parties that initiate legal process against a corp may not pursue the personal assets of a shareholder as compensation for the debts and obligations of the company.



#3;As an S corp, I think so; an S-Corp is not subject to corporate tax rates. Generally, an S corp is exempt from federal income tax other than tax on certain capital gains and passive income. S-Corps therefore avoid the so-called "double taxation" of dividends; instead, an S-Corp passes-through profit or net losses to shareholders. The business profits are taxed at individual tax rates on each shareholder's Form 1040. The pass-through nature of the income means that the corp's profits are only taxed once at the shareholder level; the S corp's shareholders include their share of the corp's separately stated items of income, deduction, loss, and credit, and their share of nonseparately stated income or loss. UNLIKE sole ownership, S corp is NOT subject to SECA tax.

#4; I guess so.