I spend a lot of time reading about incorporation. C Corp vs LLC, Delaware vs NY, Stripe Atlas / Clerky vs something local. For the sake of simplicity I’m currently leaning towards using a NY local agent to register my LLC in NY. Anybody thinking this is a stupid idea?

Incorporation in US (NY specifically)

Any huge benefits of being a Delaware LLC over a NY LLC?

My reasoning

• It will be a single owner LLC.

• LLC vs Corp: I’m planning to bootstrap my business and not get VC funding any time soon. So LLC seems fine.

• Delaware vs NY: Delaware seems to be the location of choice (e.g. Stripe Atlas uses that). However foreign LLCs need to file for <https://dos.ny.gov/application-authority-foreign-limited-liability-companies|Authority in NYC> ($250) and also need to do <https://dos.ny.gov/certificate-publication-foreign-limited-liability-company-0|the publications part> (~$350+). On top of potentially having to deal with taxes in two states this seems like a big hassle.

• There are plenty of providers that help you form an LLC. Stripe Atlas is an obvious one. It incorporates your C-Corp / LLC for ~$500 ($250 with discounts). Since Stripe creates the LLC in Delaware the NY parts would need to be done anyway. On the other hand I found a local provider that does the incorporation for $350 (including state fee & registered agent for the first year).

author Pascal Bovet

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4 Answers

Do you actually need to register a company before you make a substantial amount of money? I’d first work on making money and worry about setting up a business later. But of course you might have valid reasons for it, so ignore my advice if that is the case