Interactive Tool · Business
Which entity is
right for you?
Answer six questions about your business to get a personalized LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, or Professional Association recommendation for Florida.
Takes about 2 minutes
How many owners will the business have?
The four Florida business entities the quiz chooses between
The six questions cover the things that actually decide the entity: expected profit, how many owners and where they live, whether you will raise outside capital, whether a professional license is involved, and whether the business will hold real estate. Here is what each outcome means in Florida.
- 1
LLC
The default for a Florida small business. $125 to file Articles of Organization on Sunbiz, a $138.75 annual report due May 1, liability protection, and almost no formalities. Taxed as a sole proprietorship or partnership unless you elect otherwise, which means 15.3 percent self-employment tax on every dollar of profit. Best when profit is under about $50,000, income is irregular, or the business holds real estate.
- 2
LLC with an S-Corp election
Same entity, different tax return. File IRS Form 2553 within two months and 15 days of formation (or by March 15 for an existing business) and the owners take a reasonable salary plus distributions; only the salary carries payroll tax. The savings usually clear the added payroll and accounting cost once net profit is consistently above $50,000 to $70,000. All owners must be U.S. citizens or residents.
- 3
C-Corp
A corporation taxed at the 21 percent federal rate, with dividends taxed again at the shareholder level. Worth that double tax only when you are raising venture or angel money, issuing stock options, planning for more than 100 shareholders or foreign investors, or retaining earnings inside the company. $70 to file in Florida.
- 4
Professional Association (P.A.)
Florida's corporation for licensed professionals: physicians, dentists, lawyers, accountants, architects, and others who practice under a state license. Chapter 621 restricts ownership to licensees in the same profession. A P.A. can elect S-Corp taxation, and most do. Professionals who want LLC flexibility instead form a professional limited liability company (PLLC) under the same chapter.
One Florida-specific caution the quiz flags: a single-member LLC gives weaker creditor protection here than in most states, because a creditor of the owner can foreclose on the membership interest rather than being limited to a charging order. The LLC vs S-Corp vs C-Corp guide covers the tax math in detail, the formation guide walks through filing step by step, and our business transactional practice forms the entity with the operating agreement that keeps it protective.