Northern Virginia: LLC/S-Corp?

Question

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Northern Virginia could be a state of its own, I was hoping to stumble upon professionals with experience in this area. The question has been discussed with no end in sight, however, it was difficult locating sources with personal accounts of performing in Northern Virginia. Would one desire to be taxed as a LLC, a S-Corp, or is it fruitful to establish a LLC taxed as an S-Corp. Minimal taxes, Maximum profit for all.

I understand there are generic answers for this all over this forum, so perhaps we could limit the responses to those located in Northern Virginia?

Thank you for your time and I eagerly await your responses.

-Jason

J Scott · Answer

You don't give enough information about the type of business you plan to be operating, or about your reason for creating a business entity...

Without (at least) that much information, there's really no way to know what's best...

Additionally, even with that information, there are a lot of nuances (your financial situation, your risk tolerance, potential partners or shareholders, your income outside the business, etc) that are very important.

You should talk to a CPA or tax professional who can give you advice based on all the information, not just a couple sentences you provide here.

General rule of thumb is that a good tax professional will save you MUCH more than he costs...

J Scott · Answer

Good decision to meet with an attorney...

Just a guess, but assuming you plan to just flip houses and assuming you'll be doing more than 1 or 2 a year, and assuming you will be working with at least one other person, he'll likely recommend an LLC taxed as an S-Corp.  This will give you asset protection and possibly some tax benefits (depending on how much the business earns).

If it will just be yourself, he may recommend an S-Corp, as a single-member LLC generally isn't a good entity choice.

I'm not a tax professional, so take the above for what it's worth...  :)

Jason Peters · Answer

Of course! How could I forget the most important part. I will be flipping houses, primarily foreclosures and short sales, and don't plan on holding any properties long term (aka no rentals). 
          
          On another note I'm taking your sound advice and have a meeting with a corporate tax attorney this thursday. Thank you for your time.