How can my wife and I make a corporation for the business we will be starting owning an apartment complex?

truthsense: How can my wife and I make a corporation for the business we will be starting owning an apartment complex?
My wife and I are buying a commercial property with 8 apartments, and will be living in one of them. We have read that there are tax benefits to making our own corporation and listing my wife as an employee of it so that the profits will go towards her social security eligibility and we will also save on taxes.

Is there anyone else out there who has done this before and knows the process? Are there any advantages or disadvantages that could help us make the decision? Any expert advice is appreciated. Thank you.

Answers and Views:

Answer by AmusedOne
You need to hire a very competant CPA who has experience in investment properties. I would stronly consider an LLC for the protection against potential liability. You could even create a master S corp, who then purchases the LLC. There are distinct advantages to this.

Answer by theskullknows
contct the small business administration

Answer by blur b
the major part of starting a corp is that liability transfers from a single person on to a corporation. it’s well worth the move, and not vey costly

Answer by MLaw
You have read correctlty. The process is not difficult. You must form the corp, obtain a tax ID# & have it purchase the building. How you treat revenues & expenses to maximize benefits is between you & your accountant.

Answer by boston857
This is common. Many people with investment properties incorprate to protect themselves.

To incorporate:
1/ Select what type of entity you wish to be. S-Corps & C-Corps are generally taxed at the lower personal tax rate versus the higher corporate tax rate. The legal benefits of S-Corps, C-Corps and LLC are generally the same.
2/ Make a filing with the state
3/ Get a tax identifaction number from the IRS. Check out their website at www.irs.gov for instructions.

To transfer properties after incorpration:
1/ Need to transfer title to the new entity by making a filing with the county’s recorder’s office. These are usually “no consiedration” transfers and are on the chaeper side although costs can vary. You will be charged a recoding fee in addition to the deed tranfer fee. Pls. note that some counties assess a transfer tax which can be high in some states if based on the market value.

The people you need to contact to help you with all of these are: CPA for tax advice and Title firm attorney for conveyance advice.