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Create an LLC

Starting an LLC gives you limited liability protection and credibility.

Forming a limited liability company (LLC) should be among the first steps you take as a new business owner. Creating an LLC can help you protect your personal assets while adding legitimacy to your company.

$99+ state fees

What are the benefits of an LLC?

Protect Your Personal Assets

Starting an LLC designates your business as a separate legal entity, preventing you from being personally responsible for the debts of your business.

Build Credibility

Establishing a professional identity provides the benefit of showing potential customers and investors that your business is legitimate and here to stay.

Save Money on Taxes

Set your business up to take advantage of potential tax deductions and savings designed to help your LLC to grow and flourish.

We handle the paperwork

We make filing your business quick and painless. Answer a few simple questions about your business and we complete all the required filings.

What is an LLC and why do I need one?

An LLC (limited liability company) is one of the most popular entity types chosen by new business owners and start-ups. It's of the easiest entity types to set up and maintain with few annual requirements or ongoing filings.

One of the reasons that forming an LLC has become so popular among small business owners is because it limits your personal liability for the debts of the business, while still being very easy to operate and maintain.

What is Liability Protection?

Liability Protection is the separation of your personal assets from the assets of your business. This separation prevents you from being financially responsible for debts and liabilities of your business. Even though members are still liable, that liability is limited to the extent of their investments in the business. If, for instance, your company is involved in a lawsuit, the assets of the LLC itself could be in jeopardy, while the personal assets of the members/owners would be protected.

What kinds of businesses typically choose to file as a limited liability company?

Limited liability companies are easy to maintain while remaining extremely flexible, so it's not surprising that it is a popular choice among businesses of all different shapes and sizes. Often, owners of an LLC are self employed or run smaller businesses, where the simplicity of pass through taxation and a lack of annual requirements makes a lot of sense.

Since the profits and losses are reported directly on the owners personal tax returns, filing taxes is much easier.

For businesses in industries like construction or real estate, where unforeseen circumstances and hazardous conditions may hold the owner responsible, consider creating an LLC online. The protection gained means you will not be held personally liable, protecting you and your family from litigation or the debts of the business.

An LLC may not be the best choice for business owners who plan on raising capital through outside investment. LLCs are not public structures and do not have shareholders, so taking a company public is not an option either. However, in the event that you'd like to take your business public you may switch to a public legal structure, like a C corporation, later on.

To learn more about the differences between an llc and a corporation, take a look at our detailed llc vs corporation comparison.

What are the maintenance requirements of an LLC?

LLCs have fewer ongoing requirements compared to their corporation counterparts. For example, an LLC is not required to keep minutes or hold annual meetings. An LLC also does not have a board of directors, and isn't held to the same record keeping standards of a corporation. Keep in mind that the state of incorporation in will have its own set of annual requirements. That includes filing the required business licenses and permits, which vary from state to state.

Be sure to check in with your Secretary of State to ensure you don't accidentally miss any required filings.

Are there tax advantages for LLCs?

Depending on how your business is structured, the amount of revenue your business earns, and several other factors, forming an LLC can provide potential tax benefits for business owners. LLCs are allowed to choose how they want to be taxed, either as an S corporation or C corporation. These options are not available when you are operating as a sole proprietorship.

LLCs don't pay their own taxes directly, the income of the business its passed on to the members of the LLC through "pass through taxation." This means that a member is subject to self-employment taxes, but at higher levels of income, the LLC can often pay a lower base tax rate than a C Corporation. The best way to determine your potential tax benefits is to consult an accountant.

Does an LLC have flexible ownership?

Even though many LLCs only have a single member (owner), the LLC structure itself allows for an unlimited amount of owners. This also gives the power to you, the owner of the business to determine its structure.

What is a Series LLC?

A series LLC is a form of limited liability company that provides liability protection to multiple "series". Essentially, it's a master LLC with separate divisions, each protected and operating independently. As an entity, the series LLC is geared towards businesses where investors own multiple companies, with each series being protected from the debts and obligations of the other series. Currently, only several states support this option, including Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

LLC vs. Corporation: What are the main differences?

Watch our video to learn about the difference between a corporation and a limited liability company.

LLC vs. Corporation Video

or try our entity wizard

Need additional assistance?

Contact our experts with any additional questions.


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Frequently asked questions

Laws and fees governing LLCs can vary from state to state.

Most of our customers choose to form an LLC in the state in which they are conducting business. This is typically the most simple and cost effective way to operate.

Some customers form their LLC in other states for tax reasons. Any state that you do business in will require you to file a "Foreign Qualification" if you are not forming an LLC in that state. This regulation is state-specific.

Get more details in "Foreign Qualifications".

To keep your business legally viable after you incorporate, there are a number of steps you may need to follow. You may need to file an Article of Amendment to indicate changes in your company. You also may need to file an Initial or Annual Report, which is a requirement in most states. Our business filing experts can help you process necessary changes to your business.

Processing times for LLC filings will differ per each state's Secretary of State office. This is also true of LLC filing application submissions.

The average length it may take to set up a standard LLC filing online is between 24 to 48 hours. Standard LLC applications filed by mail may require anywhere between 2 to 14 days for processing time.

Are you mailing in your LLC paperwork and want to move ahead in the line? Many states offer expedited LLC filing services. By paying a bit more money in your filing fee, you may receive expedited service that allows your articles of organization, and LLC, to be processed within a few days. Check in with your local Secretary of State to determine if your state offers expedited service.

Seasonal rushes may also impact the amount of time it takes to set up an LLC. Let's use the example that you are filing to form an LLC at the end of the year. However, this is a very busy time of the year. The state level receives an influx of filings and may be backlogged as a result. It is possible that you may be waiting for weeks to set up your LLC.

Rather than wait, you may decide to submit your business filing paperwork using a delayed incorporation filing. This ensures that your business may choose the date the business is officially in registration. By setting your effective date for the incoming year, you may avoid processing delays and save money on state fees and franchise taxes that would have been applicable to your business if it filed in the current year.

The main difference between an LLC and a PLLC is the ownership requirements. Almost any individual can be a member/owner of a typical LLC, whereas the members, or a certain percentage of the members of a PLLC must be licensed professionals. For this reason, many doctors, accountants, and other licensed professionals choose to start a PLLC instead of a traditional LLC.

Once we complete your filing, you'll receive your Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement. These are the documents that support your organization and they arrive in your Corporate/LLC Kit — or Elite Corporate/LLC Kit if you choose to upgrade.

Articles of Organization: The Articles of Organization are the main filing documents that begin your existence under state law. Once filed, you have a legitimate business!

Your Articles of Organization spell out the name, basic purpose, incorporators, amount and types of stock which may be issued and any special characteristics of the business entity. They are included in your LLC kit when we form your business.

The Articles of Organization are approved by the Secretary of State and should be kept in your kit as a record of filing with the Secretary of State.

Operating Agreement: The Operating Agreement of your LLC contains the written rules for conduct of the LLC. They are distinct from the Articles of Organization, which only state the basic outline of the company.

Operating Agreements generally contain information on meetings, elections of a board of directors and officers, notices, types and duties of officers, and other routine conduct. They are, in effect, a contract among members and must be formally adopted and/or amended.

The Operating Agreement is included in your kit when we create your LLC, and should be completed and signed upon receipt.

If you experience any difficulty in accessing our content, please contact us at 877.692.6772 or email us at accessibility@mycorporation.com.

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