Business owners: C corp, S copr, or LLC?

[grumpydasmurf]

Which would be the best for a service company with employees? I'm pretty sure most every business owner is a C corp. What would the benefit of S corp be? I know a few guys who operate as LLC. WHat are the benefits to that over a C corp?

[Rich]

I'll lump S Corp and LLC into a group as they provide many of the same benefits. The largest difference between those 2 and a C corp is that a C Corp is taxed twice.. once as the corporation and once when the dividends of profit are distributed. My company was setup as an LLC.
The benefits for an S Corp or an LLC are again, no double taxation, no personal assets or money can be attacked for reasons like bankruptcy and being sued even though the profits are distributed to owners.
Depending on where you live and what laws they have adopted for LLC's will depend on what structure is available to you. Some states say that there has to be at least 2 people to form an LLC - others say that a sole proprietorship can be setup as an LLC. The best thing to do is setup the company in your wife's name and do an LLC... quite a few federal grants and such to help with business setup.
Here's a pretty good page for information on exactly each one provides and doesn't. http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/index.cfm/catID/19B45DBF-E85F-4A3D-950E3E07E32851A7/subcatid/5DE04E60-45BB-4108-8D757E247F35B8AB