Start a Small Business in Texas in 10 Steps

The Lone Star state attracts entrepreneurs because of its business-friendly environment, minimal tax burden, reasonable cost of living, robust infrastructure, and other factors. If you’ve been wondering how to start a small business in Texas, this article will walk you through some of the most important steps.

As you explore entrepreneurship opportunities in Texas, make sure you seek the legal, accounting, and tax advice you need from licensed professionals. This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant as legal, tax, or financial guidance.

1. Write a Business Plan

Have you ever heard the saying, “have a plan or plan to fail?” Without a business plan, entrepreneurs miss an opportunity to map out what they want their business to be and where they want it to go. A business plan is a roadmap to business success. It’s a dynamic document that captures the purpose of the business, the industry outlook, a description of the company’s products and services, competitive strengths and weaknesses, operational structure, financial projections, funding needs, and other essential details to help business owners guide their activities and priorities. Not only do business plans serve an important purpose internally at a company, but also lenders and investors want to see one before agreeing to finance a business. You can find many business plan examples and templates online, so you don’t have to start 100% from scratch when creating yours.

2. Choose a Business Name

This crucial step often serves as the foundation of a company’s brand identity. Most small businesses use their business name in marketing materials and directly tie it to the products and services they provide. CorpNet’s free corporate name search tool can help identify if another Texas business has already claimed the desired business name. A trademark attorney familiar with Texas and federal trademark law can help in this effort as well.

3. Choose a Business Structure

The business entity type affects the personal liability of the business owners, has tax implications, and determines how much compliance complexity is involved in keeping the business in good standing. Selecting the right business structure requires understanding the pros and cons of the choices based on your particular situation. Asking for guidance from an attorney, accountant, or tax advisor can help you determine the best entity type for your business.

Most businesses in Texas operate as one of the following entities.

Sole Proprietorship

• A Sole Proprietorship is when a single individual (or married couple) runs a business without registering a formal entity with the state.
• If the business will operate under an assumed name (a name that doesn’t include the legal name of the owner), it must file an Assumed Name Certificate with the county where it maintains a premise.
• If the sole proprietor doesn’t maintain a business presence, then it must file assumed name certificates in all counties where it conducts business under the assumed name. Costs to file assumed name certificates vary by county.
• Because the business and its owner are considered the same legal and tax-paying entity, the owner is personally liable for debts and legal issues of the Sole Proprietorship, and all business profits and losses flow through to the owner’s individual tax return.
• Sole proprietors must also pay self-employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare Tax) on all business profits.

General Partnership

• A General Partnership is established when two or more people associate to conduct business for profit.
• Partners are personally liable legally and financially for the business.
• There’s no state filing requirement for a General Partnership in Texas.
• Usually, business owners (partners) operate the partnership in accordance with a partnership agreement that describes all roles, responsibilities, allocations of profits and losses, dispute resolution, and other details about how the business should be operated.
• If conducting the partnership under an assumed name, the business owners must file an Assumed Name Certificate with the county where it maintains a physical premise. If no physical premise, then it must file for assumed name certificates in all of the counties where the partnership conducts business under the assumed name.
• Profits and losses flow through to the partners’ personal tax returns.
• In addition to paying income tax, partners must also pay self-employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare Tax) on all company profits.

Limited Liability Company

• A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a legal entity that’s a hybrid between a sole proprietorship or partnership and a corporation.
• An LLC limits the liability of owners (members) while keeping compliance requirements simple and providing management and tax treatment flexibility
• A Limited Liability Company can be a single-member LLC or a multi-member LLC.
• Members may be individuals, partnerships, corporations, trusts, or another legal or commercial entity. Either the LLC’s members or managers may manage the company.
• By default, an LLC receives pass-through tax treatment.
• Members can instead choose to be taxed as an S Corporation, through which members only pay self-employment taxes on the income they receive as wages and salaries. Profits paid to them as distributions are not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.
• To establish an LLC in Texas, members must file a Certificate of Formation for a Limited Liability Company with the Texas Secretary of State.

C Corporation

• A C Corporation is a legal entity that provides owners (shareholders) with limited liability. It may raise funds by selling shares (stock) of the company.
• A board of directors manages a C Corporation’s affairs, and bylaws set forth the provisions that the directors must follow in overseeing the organization.
• A corporation is its own tax-paying entity, so it files its own tax returns.
• Shareholders report their income (wages and salaries and distributions) on their personal tax returns.
• Some of a corporation’s profits undergo what many refer to as “double taxation.” Dividend income distributed to shareholders gets taxed first at the corporate level as company profits and then again on the shareholders’ personal income tax returns. To avoid this double tax situation, if it meets the federal requirements, a corporation may elect to be taxed as an S Corporation instead (more on that shortly!).
• A C Corporation’s name becomes registered with the state when the organization files to form its entity by submitting a Certificate of Formation for a For-Profit Corporation to the Texas Secretary of State office.

S Corporation

• An S Corporation is not an entity type, but rather a federal tax election requested through IRS Form 2553.
• Corporations and LLCs that meet the IRS’s eligibility requirements may choose to be taxed as S Corporations.
• An accountant or tax advisor can help you determine if the S Corporation election could be financially advantageous for your company.

Limited Partnership

• A Limited Partnership has two or more owners, with one or more being general partners and one or more limited partners.
• General partners assume personal liability for the business and are actively involved in running it.
• Limited partners are liable for the company only to the degree of their investment in it.
• A partnership agreement sets forth how the business should be conducted.
• Profits and losses of a Limited Partnership flow through to the partners’ personal income tax returns. Partners must pay self-employment taxes on their share of the business profits, as well.
• A Certificate of Formation for a Limited Partnership must be filed with the Texas Secretary of State to create an LLP.

Additional Statutory Business Structures in Texas

The other business entity types that Texas recognizes include:

• Limited Liability Partnership
• Nonprofit Corporation
• Professional Corporation
• Professional Limited Liability Company
• Series Limited Liability Company
• Professional Association

4. Designate a Registered Agent

Any formally organized business in Texas must appoint a registered agent to accept service of process (official government notices, legal notices, and other essential documents) on its behalf. An owner, employee, or officer may serve as the registered agent for its business, but a company may not serve as its own registered agent. Although an officer, owner, or employee may serve as an entity’s registered agent, an entity may not serve as its own registered agent.

Many businesses contract a separate company that offers registered agent services to ensure all requirements are covered. Registered agents must meet specific criteria such as being available Monday through Friday from 9 to 5 p.m. and maintaining a physical address in the state. If a business is or plans to operate in more than one state, it can be helpful to use the services of a company (CorpNet, for example) that is authorized as a registered agent in all 50 states.

5. Register Your Business in Texas

Here’s a recap of the Texas Certificate of Formation and the filing fees associated with them:

• C Corporation = $300
• Limited Liability Company = $300
• Limited Partnership = $750
• Professional Corporation = $300
• Professional Association = $750
• Professional Limited Liability Company = $300

6. Request an Employer Identification Number

Most businesses need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) even if they don’t plan to hire employees. An EIN, also called a Federal Tax ID Number, identifies a business when filing federal taxes. Most banks require an EIN before they will open a business bank account.  The IRS issues EINs at no charge. Note that only individuals with a Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number may apply for EINs.

7. Open a Business Bank Account

If owners mix their personal and business accounts, things can get messy at tax time. Moreover, if a formally registered company gets sued, the business owners could lose personal liability protection if the court determines they failed to keep their personal and business affairs separate. That could put the owners’ house, car, retirement savings, and other personal assets at risk. Bank accounts and credit accounts exclusively for the business help to maintain a clear separation between “personal” and “business,” and they make accounting and tax filing less cumbersome.

8. Register to Pay Taxes in Texas

One of the most attractive features of running a business in Texas is that the state does not charge income tax. However, there are other state and local tax responsibilities to be aware of. The Comptroller of Public Accounts handles state tax filings, and each county’s appraisal district or tax assessor-collector can answer questions about local business and property taxes.

Some tax obligations businesses should have on their radar include:

• Texas Sales Tax – Texas imposes a sales tax on retail sales, rentals, and leases of most goods and on some services. Businesses that sell taxable goods and services must apply for a Sales Tax Permit to register, collect, report and remit sales tax. Some counties and local municipalities charge sales tax, as well, with a maximum of 2% so that a business’s total sales tax does not exceed 8.25%.
• Texas Franchise Tax – The state also imposes this privilege tax formed, organized, or doing business in Texas. Learn more about franchise reports.
• Unemployment Tax – Businesses that hire employees in Texas, must register for and pay unemployment taxes. The taxes paid support the state’s Unemployment Compensation Fund, which provides unemployment benefits to eligible workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own.

Learn more about registering for payroll taxes in Texas.

9. Register for Business Licenses and Permits

To operate legally, businesses must obtain whatever required licenses, permits, certifications, registrations, or authorizations apply to them at the federal, state, and local levels. The Texas Business Permit Office (BPO) offers insight into the requirements in the state, and CorpNet can assist business owners in applying for business licenses and permits.

10. Stay in Good Standing

Maintaining compliance by completing all ongoing reports and filings when they’re due is essential. The requirements vary according to the business structure, type of business conducted, location, and other factors. CorpNet’s free compliance portal can help you stay on top of what you need to file and when your deadlines are approaching.

Learn more about the dangers of falling out of compliance.

My team at CorpNet is here for you, too! We can help you start your business. We can complete and submit all of your business formation paperwork, license and permit applications, EIN applications, compliance filings, and more. We’re also an authorized registered agent in Texas and every other state in the U.S. If you want to keep your legal fees to a minimum while having the peace of mind that your forms and documents are completed accurately and on time, contact us today!