Legal Question in Business Law in Texas

Re: Number of company activities allowed in a single corporation

A corporation can have any number of separate businesses. You would have to file assumed name certificates with both the Secretary of State and the County Clerk, stating A, Inc. d/b/a B and A, Inc. d/b/a C. for corporation A doing business as B and as C.

Re: Number of company activities allowed in a single corporation

A Texas corporation can do business under assumed names, and may conduct more than one type of business (assuming that the articles of incorporation do not limit business to one type of business). A key question to your proposal is liability exposure. If your business is a higher risk type of business for tort claims such as construction, trucking, or the like, your wife's business would have no protection from your business liabilities if you are using the same corporation. On the other hand, if neither of the businesses have such a risk, then you may be okay in conducting the businesses under one corporation. The answer is made without regard to your differing tax consequences. As to tort claims against Texas businesses -- although the legislature has seen fit to limit exposure for doctors, it has not seen fit to give the same protections to other occupations and professions.

Re: Number of company activities allowed in a single corporation

Yes, Texas business corporations can operate more than one business. If you wanted each business to retain its present name, the corporation could operate under one or more assumed names.

While using one corporation for both businesses would save on your setup costs, and you would only have to file one of each kind of corporate tax return each year (federal income tax, Texas state franchise tax, and so forth), using one corporation might not be your best choice. For example, if you both had employees and one business had a high turnover rate, both businesses would be subject to a higher unemployment tax rate. Also, if both businesses are operated within one corporation, each business could be adversely affected if the other business got into financial trouble.

There are other options in addition to incorporating, such as forming a limited partnership. There is not a general "one size fits all" rule when it comes to business organizations.