Starting a Sole Proprietor Business

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sole Proprietorship

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Most small businesses are sole proprietorships because they're the easiest and least expensive way to start a business. In fact, the IRS reports that over 27.8 million businesses filed tax returns as sole proprietors by filing Schedule C of Form 1040 in 2019 (the last year calculated).

Key Takeaways

  • A sole proprietorship (or “sole prop”) is a form of business in which an individual starts a business under his or her own name.
  • Sole proprietorships are simple to set up and don't require registration with states or the federal government.
  • One disadvantage of sole proprietorships is that they do not provide liability protection to their owners.
  • Profit from a sole proprietorship is included in their owners' personal income tax and paid at the same rate.

What Is a Sole Proprietorship?

The sole proprietorship is the oldest and simplest form of business ownership. A sole proprietorship (or “sole prop”) is a form of business in which an individual starts a business under his or her own name. It's a one-person business; your business can't be a sole proprietorship if it has more than one owner. In a sole proprietorship, you are the business in a sole proprietorship. The business isn't a separate entity from you.

The IRS calls a sole proprietor someone who owns an "unincorporated business by himself or herself." That means the business isn't a corporation (or S corporation) or a single-owner limited liability company (LLC).

Many sole proprietors work from home and starting a home-based business is often the first step.

How Does a Sole Proprietorship Get Started?

A sole proprietorship is unique because it's the only business that doesn't have to register with a state. All other business types—partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations—must file a registration form with each state in which they do business.

Starting a sole prop business is fairly simple. To start a sole proprietorship, all you need to do is:

In addition, your sole proprietorship may have to register with federal or state entities (these registrations are the same for all types of businesses):

Advantages of a Sole Proprietorship

Forming a sole proprietorship offers several advantages.

Easy Startup

You don't have to prepare any legal agreements because you're not in business with someone else, and you don't have to set up an elaborate business structure: no board of directors, no meetings, no minutes, no complicated accounting for shares in the business. You just start running your business.

Control

You have complete control over all the operations and you get to make all the decisions as the sole owner of the business. You don't need a board of directors or shareholders, and you won't have other owners to answer to.

Tax Preparation and Filing

Sole proprietorship income taxes are easy to file, using Schedule C and adding the income/loss from the business to your other income on your personal tax return.

Use of Losses

You can use any business losses to offset personal income from other sources (a spouse's salary, for example), because you're including your sole proprietorship income/loss on your personal tax return.

You must actively participate in the business and not be just an investor to take the maximum loss. You also have to be careful not to run up against the IRS restrictions on "hobby" businesses which generate losses for years. Losses can lower your taxes if you can prove your business is legitimate and not a hobby.

Disadvantages of a Sole Proprietorship

The primary disadvantage of a sole proprietorship is that your personal finances and those of your business are one and the same. You're personally liable for any debts or obligations of the business when you're the owner. Lawsuits or creditors may be able to access your personal accounts, assets, or property if your business can't pay its bills.

You can't file bankruptcy for your business without filing personal bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy for your sole proprietorship means involving your personal assets. A bankruptcy case involving a sole proprietorship includes both the business and personal assets of the owners and debtors.

Note

The issues of personal liability and involvement of personal assets outweigh the advantages of sole proprietorship structure for many businesspersons. Consider forming a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation instead if this is the case for you.

Getting Business Insurance Protection

You can't protect your personal assets if your business is in trouble financially, but you can have some protection from liability lawsuits if you get property and liability insurance. You'll probably have to get this insurance specifically for your business, but it can help protect you if your business is involved in a liability lawsuit.

You might want to get business auto insurance to cover you while on you're on business trips if you drive your car for business purposes. Most personal auto policies won't cover business driving.

Taxes and Sole Proprietorships

A sole proprietor pays federal and state income taxes on all the net income of the business (income minus deductions), even if you don't have cash on hand to pay these taxes.

Your business income is included with your personal income on your personal tax return. The tax rate you pay may on your business income can be hard to determine because it's all combined. The corporate tax rate is a flat 21% for all corporate income levels, so your tax rate might be higher or lower, depending on your personal tax rate.

And don't forget the self-employment tax. Sole proprietors must pay self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) on the profits of their business. This is withheld from your business income, so you'll probably have to make quarterly estimated tax payments for this and your business income tax.

Note

The IRS publishes a Tax Guide for Small Business, which you might find helpful in dealing with federal taxes.

The Bottom Line

Check with your tax and legal advisors before settling on a business form, even if you have a very small, one-person business. There may be other things you should consider before you start your sole-proprietorship business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is a sole proprietorship easy to start up?

A sole proprietorship is a simple form of business to start up. You'll need to choose a business name and a location, secure appropriate business licenses for your region, and get a business bank account to help keep business and personal finances separate. If you plan to hire employees, you'll also need a Tax Identification Number from the IRS.

How much should I pay myself as a sole proprietor?

Sole proprietors don't draw salaries from their businesses. All of the profit (and loss) from the business is reported to the IRS as personal income of the sole proprietor. You'll use Schedule C, which captures all of your business's income and deductions, and your personal 1040 to report these figures. After that, you can decide how much of your business's income to spend on yourself, or on growing and maintaining your business.

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Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. IRS. "SOI Tax Stats - Nonfarm Sole Proprietorship Statistics." Number of Returns, Business Receipts, Business Deductions, Net Income. 2019. Download XLS file. See column B, "Number of returns."

  2. IRS. "Sole Proprietorships."

  3. Small Business Administration. "Register Your Business."

  4. California Franchise Tax Board. "Sole Proprietorship."

  5. IRS Publication 925. "Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules."

  6. IRS. "How Do You Distinguish Between a Business and a Hobby?"

  7. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. "Sole Proprietorship."

  8. U.S. Courts. "Chapter 11 - Bankruptcy Basics."

  9. IRS. "Instructions for Schedule C."

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