Arizona Sole Proprietorship

How to Become an Arizona Sole Proprietor

In Arizona, becoming a sole proprietor is simple. There’s no official setup process or fees. Just start working to operate as an Arizona sole proprietorship. However, even though it’s easy to start, there are optional steps that many sole proprietors find beneficial along the way.

DBA Acquisition

A doing business as (DBA) name is a crucial part of many sole proprietorships, as it enables you to use an assumed name for your business, rather than your own personal name. The advantages of acquiring a DBA start with image ― most customers feel that an assumed name is more professional and trustworthy than doing business with a company that uses its owner’s personal name instead.

That said, sole proprietors can sign up for a business bank account using their DBA name, which is another step that goes a long way toward making customers feel more comfortable doing business with you.

To begin the process of obtaining an Arizona DBA, you should first run a business entity search with the Arizona Secretary of State to see if your desired DBA is available. Then, to claim that DBA, you must file a Trade Name Registration Application online or mail in a printable PDF version.

Determine Taxation Requirements

Sole proprietors without employees usually don’t need to acquire a federal tax ID number (EIN), because as a one-person business, you can typically just use your own social security number for most things an EIN is used for. Still, if you would rather not use your SSN for privacy purposes, it would be a good idea to get an EIN regardless.

Beyond that, the nature of your business will determine which taxes apply to you as a sole proprietor.

For example, many types of Arizona businesses, such as vendors or contractors, will need to pay a Transaction Privilege Tax, and the State of Arizona also levies a number of other business-specific taxes. To ensure that you’re fully tax-compliant, you should use AZTaxes, which is the State of Arizona’s official tax filing website that allows you to automatically sign up for any taxes relevant to your business.

Obtain Business Licenses and Permits

There isn’t a requirement in Arizona for sole proprietors to acquire a general business license, but depending on the nature of your business you may need other licenses and/or permits to operate in a compliant fashion.

You can use Arizona’s Business One Stop online portal to search licensing and permitting regulations for your particular location and industry.

In addition, you should check to see if your business needs any licenses or permits on the local level.

Most large cities in Arizona – including Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, and Scottsdale – have individual permitting, licenses, and tax requirements. Therefore, you should also take care to make sure that you also understand all local laws and regulations.

What Is an Arizona Sole Proprietor?

As opposed to a corporation or limited liability company (LLC), the sole proprietorship is not a legal business entity. The sole proprietorship is a one-person business that is not considered to be a distinct entity from the person who owns it, and it is frequently operated using the owner’s personal name.

Here are the three main things you need to know:

Tax Responsibilities

Because there’s no distinction between the owner and the business itself, sole proprietors don’t need to file business tax returns ― they instead simply claim any business profits or losses on their personal tax returns.

Contracts

Sole proprietors are allowed to sign contracts using their personal name, and along those same lines, customers can write checks to the business by using the sole proprietor’s name.

More Flexible

The other big difference between sole proprietorships and more formal business structures is the fact that sole proprietors are allowed to commingle business and personal assets as much as they want to. With LLCs and corporations, ownership is required to keep their assets separate from those of the company. The downside of this aspect for sole proprietors is that if your business is sued, creditors are free to pursue your personal assets like your house, car, personal bank accounts, etc. For corporations and LLCs, creditors are limited to your business assets.