Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship, or simply proprietorship (British English: sole trade) is a type of business entity which legally has no separate existence from its owner. Hence, the limitations of liability enjoyed by a corporation and limited liability partnerships do not apply to sole proprietors. All debts of the business are debts of the owner.

The person who sets up the company has sole responsibility for the company's debts. It is a "sole" proprietorship in the sense that the owner has no [[partnership|partners)]. A sole proprietorship essentially refers to a natural person (individual) doing business in his or her own name and in which there is only one owner.

A sole proprietor may do business with a trade name other than his or her legal name. In some jurisdictions, for example the United States, the sole proprietor is required to register the trade name or "Doing Business As" with a government agency. This also allows the proprietor to open a business account with banking institutions.

A sole proprietorship is not a corporation; it does not pay corporate taxes, but rather the person who organized the business pays personal income taxes on the profits made, making accounting much simpler. A sole proprietorship also does not have to be concerned with double taxation, as a corporate entity would have to.