sole proprietorships and other unincorporated ventures are getting a lot more respect and seamlessness lately!
the stimulus programs specifically included them and the SBA asked no questions
you do still want the liability protections, more disciplined separation of assets and accounting by having an incorporated name, and deterrent to people looking to sue, alongside additional levels of anonymity if you choose which can further deter potential creditors
they can also make elections to parallel regulatory or tax regimes, which you don't want to alter on your personal body. such as election 475 for active traders, converting capital gains and losses into ordinary income allowing for unlimited tax deductions on losses, instead of the default status for capital.
or setting up "blocker" corporations in other jurisdictions to help other people avoid onerous default tax regimes.
My partner and I just had a very similar conversation as she has several business ventures that she could continue to conduct as a sole proprietor, or she could form a corporate vehicle.
My thinking is - if you are engaged in an ongoing concern, especially if it is responsible for your livelihood, it makes so much sense to explore incorporation of some variety. This could be for no other reason than to split out business vs personal finances and records. As you explore various financing, tax, and legal scenarios though, the cost to form and keep an LLC (or then choose S-corp taxation...) make it completely worth the administrative overhead.
Second nature to me. Not that costly of a “hobby” and I’ve let them go delinquent temporarily if I have a disruption in income.
I’m often sitting down at a local bank branch opening a new account for one.
But I would also say consider Transferwise for business bank accounts. Super easy and you can get Euro SEPA region accounts for your US entities as well. (Without Transferwise update, this is actually hard for American citizens but it might not be something you ever encounter.)
I never do a local/“foreign” llc filing unless the state is fining me to do it.
Can’t really relate to the idea of debating to incorporate. I know the unknowns can be daunting but sole proprietorships are lazy.
the stimulus programs specifically included them and the SBA asked no questions
you do still want the liability protections, more disciplined separation of assets and accounting by having an incorporated name, and deterrent to people looking to sue, alongside additional levels of anonymity if you choose which can further deter potential creditors
they can also make elections to parallel regulatory or tax regimes, which you don't want to alter on your personal body. such as election 475 for active traders, converting capital gains and losses into ordinary income allowing for unlimited tax deductions on losses, instead of the default status for capital.
or setting up "blocker" corporations in other jurisdictions to help other people avoid onerous default tax regimes.