StretchLearn Course

Choose the legal structure that protects your assets and lowers your tax bill.

Sole prop, LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp, compared head to head on liability, taxes, and cost, with a framework that matches a structure to your exact stage and goals.

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Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

The entity you choose shapes how much tax you pay, whether your house is exposed if the business is sued, and how easily you can raise money or bring on partners. This course breaks down sole proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, and C-Corp into plain language, with real tax math, the IRS forms involved, and the dollar thresholds where switching structures starts to pay off. By the end you will know which structure fits your stage today and what triggers a change later.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Compare sole proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, and C-Corp on liability protection, taxation, and administrative cost

Distinguish a legal entity from a tax classification and explain how the IRS check-the-box rules connect them

Calculate the self-employment tax savings of an S-Corp election against the cost of running payroll and a reasonable salary

Evaluate when double taxation and the C-Corp make sense for outside investors, equity, or QSBS treatment

Apply a step-by-step framework to match a structure to your revenue, risk profile, and growth goals

Execute the formation and election filings, and maintain the corporate formalities that keep liability protection intact

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: The Foundations: Liability, Pass-Through, and the Four Structures

What an entity actually does, the difference between liability protection and tax treatment, and a first look at the four structures you will compare.

3 lessons

Why Your Entity Choice Matters More Than You ThinkContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Liability Protection: The Corporate Veil ExplainedContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Legal Entity vs Tax Classification: The Key DistinctionContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Sole Proprietorship and the LLC: The Starting Structures

The two structures most businesses begin with, how they are taxed, what they protect, and exactly how to form an LLC.

3 lessons

The Sole Proprietorship: Simple, Cheap, and ExposedContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The LLC: Liability Protection With Pass-Through TaxesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Forming an LLC: Steps, Costs, and the Operating AgreementContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: The S-Corp Election: Cutting Self-Employment Tax

How the S-Corp tax election works, the reasonable-salary rule, the math behind the savings, and when it actually pays off.

3 lessons

How S-Corp Taxation Works: Salary Plus DistributionsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The Reasonable Salary Rule and S-Corp ComplianceContent · 45 min

LMS Access

When the S-Corp Pays Off: Thresholds and Worked MathContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: The C-Corp and Choosing Your Structure

When the double-taxed C-Corp is the right call, the QSBS advantage, and a complete framework for matching a structure to your stage and goals.

3 lessons

The C-Corp: Double Taxation and Why Startups Choose It AnywayContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The Decision Framework: Matching Structure to Stage and GoalsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Implementing and Changing Your Structure Over TimeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

entity selectionLLCS-CorpC-Corpsole proprietorshipbusiness structureself-employment taxliability protection