Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Stripe Atlas for LLCs

stripe.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 212 posts

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#201

Post by wbmstrmjb »

freehunter wrote: post #198
wbmstrmjb wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi @freehunter, as a fellow skeptic, I can appreciate your question as to how Azlo makes money if there are no fees. As an executive of Azlo, I can tell you that there are many ways Azlo can and will make money without having to charge fees. Some have been mentioned here (interchange and deposits) and some are coming down the pipe (lending, international payments, etc). Many accounts will be lost leaders in that thei…

Perfect, thanks! I don't mean to criticize, I just want to make sure that my bank will be able to survive and won't unexpectedly shut down. Thanks for the clarification!

We didn't take it as a criticism at all! I love that people other than us, think about these sorts of things. It was a perfectly valid question and one that everyone should know the answer to so that doubt and/or fear are not part of your decision to join our community.

If you are in the market, I hope you check us out. If you aren't, tell your friends!

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#202

Post by pbnjay »

nodesocket wrote: post #183
nodesocket wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

-- Update: Buried deep in the depths of TN website and using the most confusing and counterintuitive language ever assembled is this article: https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/204647155-W... Essentially it says if I am a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes I am exempt from both franchise and exercise taxes.

Ok, I am even more confused after reading this: https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/article_attachments/... How do you even have a single member LLC that is a disregarded entity where the single entity is a corporation? Huh? That seems to indicate I am responsible for these taxes?

I'm not an accountant/lawyer, but yeah my reading is if you're a sole proprietor, disregarded for IRS purposes (e.g. you use Schedule C)... then yeah you owe TN this tax.

FWIW, I don't live in TN, but I used to. And I've done sole prop LLC's in a couple states now so I looked into moving back to TN and found this info.

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#203

Post by nodesocket »

pbnjay wrote: post #202
nodesocket wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, I am even more confused after reading this: https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/article_attachments/... How do you even have a single member LLC that is a disregarded entity where the single entity is a corporation? Huh? That seems to indicate I am responsible for these taxes?

I'm not an accountant/lawyer, but yeah my reading is if you're a sole proprietor, disregarded for IRS purposes (e.g. you use Schedule C)... then yeah you owe TN this tax. FWIW, I don't live in TN, but I used to. And I've done sole prop LLC's in a couple states now so I looked into moving back to TN and found this info.

That is also how I read it, but I reached out to an accountant today and he said no. His response was:

> Since you are an LLC, and you are operating an active business, you will need to file a Franchise and Excise tax return, but you will be exempt from the Excise portion of the tax.

No idea how it works? I'm thoroughly confused.

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#205

Post by gk1 »

xapata wrote: post #181
gk1 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd say it's worth it because to be honest I have no idea what my company's responsibilities for taxes are and yeah that makes me a little uneasy. Yikes. You should get an accountant. Ask for referrals from other businesses in your area that are similar to yours. Ask your local co-working spaces or incubators. Google...

And don't skimp on a quality accountant. I "saved" $2k one year by shopping for a bargain accountant. I've since learned his advice cost me between $50k and $100k in unnecessary taxes.

What was the advice about? I’m curious what led to such a big difference.

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#206

Post by xapata »

gk1 wrote: post #205
xapata wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And don't skimp on a quality accountant. I "saved" $2k one year by shopping for a bargain accountant. I've since learned his advice cost me between $50k and $100k in unnecessary taxes.

What was the advice about? I’m curious what led to such a big difference.

LLC vs S-Corp. Trump muddied the waters though. Now it's unclear which is better.

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#207

Post by xapata »

zawerf wrote: post #195
xapata wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Delaware ain't the Caribbean.

I didn't understand the Caribbean reference which led me down a pretty fun rabbit hole trying to figure out how that world works. Apparently it's fairly common to incorporate in British Virgin Islands (and a few others like Cayman islands, Bahamas, or Panama) for international companies. I was sincerely asking about it because of privacy and not tax reasons though.

To clarify: Many countries allow "anonymous associations", which provide privacy and the side effect of enabling tax evasion.

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#208

Post by chrisweekly »

nodesocket wrote: post #185
chrisweekly wrote: post #184

S-Corp always seems to get short shrift compared to LLC. I live in MA, where I registered my S-Corp, and it simply costs less, w/ no downside. Do your research (or, better, ask your accountant) before following the herd! :)

There is downside to S-Corps. Lots more regulatory requirements, minutes, and tax forms required. As a general rule of thumb assuming you are a single person company it doesn't make sense unless profits are greater than at a minimum of $150,000 a year. At that level you can pay yourself a "reasonable" salary say $80,000 and then lump dividend for the rest which is taxed at 15%.

"unless profits are greater than at a minimum of $150,000 a year."

Ok, sure. Similarly, an LLC is probably overkill if you're making under $100k. I'd argue it's a minority of entrepreneurial software consultants who make over $100 but under $150. Finding a good accountant to help you figure it out (and to handle the paperwork) is also likely to help you join the S-Corp cohort.

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#209

Post by challenge »

wbmstrmjb wrote: post #177
rolleiflex wrote: post #131

Heads up, if you’re not a US citizen, Azlo (the underlying checking account provider they use) doesn’t let you open an account. I’m not sure if they have a special deal with Stripe that lets you through, but they definitely don’t let their regular customers through without a US passport.

Hi @rolleiflex, this is not exactly correct. You do not need a passport to sign up for Azlo. It certainly is accepted as a form of identification, but not the only one. Also, we will be accepting both resident aliens and non-resident aliens this month!

@wbmstrmjb Just tried to sign up as nra a few days ago. It told me it was not available. Also sadly I forgot the password and now can't even recover it because it complains that there's no verified phone number (???), it never asked for one as the procedure failed as soon I selected a different country than USA.

Re: Stripe Atlas for LLCs

#210

Post by challenge »

challenge wrote: post #209
wbmstrmjb wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi @rolleiflex, this is not exactly correct. You do not need a passport to sign up for Azlo. It certainly is accepted as a form of identification, but not the only one. Also, we will be accepting both resident aliens and non-resident aliens this month!

@wbmstrmjb Just tried to sign up as nra a few days ago. It told me it was not available. Also sadly I forgot the password and now can't even recover it because it complains that there's no verified phone number (???), it never asked for one as the procedure failed as soon I selected a different country than USA.

nvm got answer from support.
Post reply on HN