Forming a Partnership in Indiana

Here is an outline of the steps you need to follow in order to form a partnership in Indiana. You should also read the general section on forming a partnership for information applicable in any state.

1. Choose a business name for your partnership and check for availability.

• Please see our section on choosing and checking the availability of a name for your small business, as well as our section on the trademark law aspects of choosing a name.

2. Register the business name with local, state, and/or federal authorities.

• If you will be operating your partnership under a name that is different from your name and that of your partners, then you will need to register an "assumed business name" with the county recorder in the county of your primary place of business.

• Although you are not required to do so, you should consider registering your business name as a federal and/or state trademark. Please see the Trademark for Business Naming section for details.

3. Draft and sign a partnership agreement.

• Although not legally required, it is strongly suggested that you and your partners sign a partnership agreement laying out the rights and responsibilities of the partners. For details, please see the Partnership Agreements section.

4. Obtain any required local licenses.

• Please see the general section on forming a partnership for details.

5. Determine what tax and other regulatory obligations your partnership has, and take care of any necessary registrations.

• Request an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. This can be done via its online application. There is no filing fee.

• If you have any employees in Indiana (other than yourself and your partners), register for employment/withholding taxes online using the BT-1 Business Tax Application. The Department of Revenue provides instructions on the registration process.

• Whenever you hire an employee in Indiana, you must inform both the IRS and the State of Indiana. You can find details of all the necessary steps, including verifying work eligibility and withholding allowances, on the Hiring Employees section of the IRS website. You can find state-level information on reporting new hires at the Indiana New Hire Reporting Center website.

• If you have employees in Indiana, you must carry workers' compensation insurance. You may choose to purchase it for yourself, but you do not have to do so.

• As a small business owner or employer, there may be other informational returns that you have to file annually or semi-annually with the IRS. For more information, take a look at the IRS Guide To Information Returns.

• The Indiana Department of Revenue has a useful booklet on other partnership tax obligations.

6. Open a bank account for your business.

• It is a good idea to keep your business's finances separate from your personal accounts. A good way to do this early on is by opening a bank account for your business. You will probably need a Tax ID number (EIN) and either a copy of the partnership agreement or a business name filing indicating the partners' names. (Here is one example of the documentation banks ask for.)