[socalwillie]

I just formed my corporation, my accountant told me is was the smarted thing to do as an independant driver. I used www.myllc.com

[dieselgrl]

Giving you the benefit of the doubt that this is not a spam post, the owner operator forum would have been a better place to put it.

[socalwillie]

opps sorry. thanks for the heads up.

[ben45750]

yep, i'm an incorporated company driver. let me tell you smartest thing i ever did. i did mine thru 1-800-eat-s**t

[GMAN]

I have owned corporations for many years. However, I see no benefit from being a company driver and incorporating. There are a number of benefits if you actually run a business. If you own a truck and lease to a carrier, there could be some tax benefits to doing so. You don't need a service to set up a corporation for you. All you need to do is contact your Secretary of State's office and fill in the blanks to incorporate. That is all the attorney's do. If you do it yourself, you can pay about $100 for the filing fee. It could be a little more or less in some states. I don't think it is necessarily beneficial for everyone to incorporate if they are an owner operator. There can be some legal protections, but as a small corporation, you are always subject to personal liability.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by GMAN

I have owned corporations for many years. However, I see no benefit from being a company driver and incorporating. There are a number of benefits if you actually run a business. If you own a truck and lease to a carrier, there could be some tax benefits to doing so. You don't need a service to set up a corporation for you. All you need to do is contact your Secretary of State's office and fill in the blanks to incorporate. That is all the attorney's do. If you do it yourself, you can pay about $100 for the filing fee. It could be a little more or less in some states. I don't think it is necessarily beneficial for everyone to incorporate if they are an owner operator. There can be some legal protections, but as a small corporation, you are always subject to personal liability.

There are many misconceptions flying around about incorporating. The biggest one being that it will protect your assets if someone sues you. While this can be true in some cases, incorporating will not protect you if you are involved in an accident, and you are the driver. Unfortunately, too many companies are out there that are willing to fleece you out of your money promising you protection under articles of incorporation. For the owner-operator with a single truck, the hassles of being incorporated far outweigh the benefits.

[GMAN]

I don't think everyone should incorporate. It won't necessarily protect you if you are sued, contrary to what some may tout. I like the idea of it being a cleaner way to run the business and keep assets separate. With a small operation, the pluses may or may not outweigh the benefits. There are additional costs and paperwork associated with maintaining a corporation. I have owned corporations for more than 30 years. If someone wants to start a corporation, they should probably consult a CPA or attorney to see if it fits what they need to meet their long term objectives.