A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a popular hybrid structure. It provides the liability protection of a corporation (protecting your personal assets like your home or car from business debts) while maintaining the tax flexibility of a partnership. By default, the IRS treats an LLC as a "pass-through" entity, meaning profits go directly to the owners without being taxed at the corporate level first.

A Corporation is a legal entity that is entirely separate from its owners. It is owned by shareholders and managed by a board of directors.

• C-Corp: The standard corporation; it faces "double taxation" (taxed at the corporate level and then again on dividends).

• S-Corp: A special tax designation for smaller corporations that allows profits to pass through to owners' personal tax returns, similar to an LLC.

DBA stands for "Doing Business As." It is a registered trade name (also called a fictitious name) that allows you to conduct business under a name other than your own name or the official legal name of your LLC/Corporation.

An EIN is essentially a Social Security Number for your business. Issued by the IRS, this 9-digit number is required to open a business bank account, apply for business licenses, and file your federal tax returns. It is also necessary if you plan to hire employees.

E-Verify is a web-based system used by employers to confirm that their employees are legally authorized to work in the United States. It compares information from an employee's Form I-9 against records available to the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. While voluntary for some, it is mandatory for federal contractors and in many states.

The BOI Report is a federal filing required by FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) to identify the individuals who actually own or control a company.

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• Important 2026 Update: While this was previously required for almost all small businesses, regulations changed in 2025. Currently, most domestic U.S. companies are exempt, and the requirement primarily focuses on foreign-formed companies registered to do business in the U.S. Your tax office will check your specific entity type to see if you still need to file.