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

During Tuesday’s hearing, Republicans frequently mentioned the 199A passthrough deduction, which allows businesses structured as partnerships, sole proprietorships, S-corporations and limited liability companies to deduct around 20 percent of their income. —Tobias Burns, The Hill, 14 Jan. 2025

Debtor failed to keep the records of his sole proprietorship in a manner sufficient to establish his financial condition with substantial completeness and accuracy. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024

The state has seen an influx of new residents and new companies, and several cities in Tennessee rank high in sole proprietorship. —Molly Davis, The Tennessean, 16 Jan. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sole proprietorship

• airship
• airstrip
• clerkship
• courtship
• equip
• filmstrip
• flagship
• gunship
• headship
• heirship
• judgeship
• kinship

Legal Definition

sole proprietorship

noun

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