sole proprietorship

noun

plural sole proprietorships

: a business practice consisting of a single owner

The wife's business is not a partnership but a sole proprietorship. It belongs to her, not the couple.

—Alan Farnham

Each business organization is structured in one of three ways: (1) as a sole proprietorship, (2) as a partnership, or (3) as a corporation. A sole proprietorship is owned and operated by one individual. The owner reaps all profits and is responsible for all the debts of the business.

—Harriet E. Jones et al.

Examples of sole proprietorship in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Then, as now, the most common form of small business was the simple sole proprietorship, taxspeak for a business with a single, human owner. —Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 11 Dec. 2024

Filing a document with a government agency to obtain an IRS employer identification number, a fictitious business name, or a professional or occupational license does not create a new entity and does not make a sole proprietorship filing such a document a reporting company. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024

No, unless a sole proprietorship was created (or, if a foreign sole proprietorship, registered to do business) in the U.S. by filing a document with a secretary of state or similar office. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024

For example, Biden could oversee the expiration of a 20% tax deduction for specific income generated at pass-through businesses, such as sole proprietorships, that file taxes through a personal owner. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2024

One way to avoid this is to set up a management company such as a sole proprietorship or an LLC and pay a legitimate management fee to this entity structure. —Karlton Dennis, Forbes, 19 May 2021

LLCs can be taxed as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. —Dallas News, 24 Jan. 2023

This workshop will explain federal and state income taxes for businesses; sales tax and payroll taxes; different income tax implications for sole proprietorship, LLC, S Corp, and C Corp; and business license, AB5, various deductions, and retirement plan options. —Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2022

Many of the individuals targeted during the investigation listed the fake business as a sole proprietorship, barber shop or hair salon. —Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

sole proprietorship

noun

: a business owned and controlled by one person who is solely liable for its obligations compare corporation, partnership