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The wife and I are both attending the instructor course the week of July 5 - 9, and are all gear up for it. Anyway, I am already self employed and the wife works with me.

My question is, how many of you instructors have choosen to remain sole proprietors as opposed to making an LLC or S corp for you instructor work? After searching around on the forum I was able to find NRA sponsored insurance, and most certainly will be looking at taking that out, but in the back of my mind I really think that another level of limited liability would be best.

Working with people your unfamiliar with and don't know how much training they have with guns just seems to warrant as much protection as one can muster. I know the incidents are probably very rare of a student having a negligent discharge resulting in an injury or death but with Murphy hanging around one never knows.

I appreciate the comments on this.

Look into the LLP in texas. Protects your personal property without the corporation headaches.

Just remember that filing an LLC isn't easy...I recommend using a lawyer to do it for you. Expect to pay between $300-$1000, depending on how you set up and your filing fees.

lkd wrote:Just remember that filing an LLC isn't easy...I recommend using a lawyer to do it for you. Expect to pay between $300-$1000, depending on how you set up and your filing fees.

My lawyer suggested that I just file using the states online system instead of paying him. It will cost a few bucks to do the name search ($3 in my case, more if you have conflicts) and then $308.10 for the filing. If you use a lawyer, their charges will be over and above this fee.

I've created two LLC's over the last few years. I filled out the online form late one evening and got the confirmation back from the state on the next day. Thats pretty painless for a transaction with the state.

A lot of people don't realize that you can can create an LLC and then choose to file with the IRS as an S-Corp. You have to file IRS Form 2553 soon after formation of the LLC to choose S-Corp filing. BTW, a lot of lawyers won't have a clue about the tax side and there are even some accountants that don't seem to be aware that an LLC can file as an S-Corp.

There are lots of companies out there that will take a lot of your money and then turn around and file online with the state.

I do recommend that you talk with your lawyer and accountant before taking action.

You should also check with a CPA on how to file if you have an LLC. I just set up my LLC so we will see how it goes next year with 2010 taxes.

I guess I should have posted, that I am an accountant, and know the ins and outs of filing for an LLC and filing taxes for such an entity.

I was really looking for answers as to whether other instructors remained sole proprietors or chose another form of business entity.

What are the problems with the Texas franchise taxes? What forms would I have to file with an LLC. Do I need file the forms if I do owe any franchise taxes?

My Attorney/CPA and shooting buddy advised me to set up an LLC. The State fee is $300 he did the paperwork for me for the price of lunch. It took him about 20 minutes to fill in the blanks on his computer.

I set up as a LLC also

We used legalzoom to setup an LLC as well. The paperwork is a pain but not too difficult.