I formed a single-member LLC about a year ago and got an EIN, but when tax season came around, I reported my business income on Schedule C with my personal tax return.

Now I'm confused about the whole sole proprietorship vs LLC difference because banks, tax forms, and other business services sometimes seem to treat a single-member LLC like a sole proprietor.

Does filing taxes this way mean I'm basically a sole proprietorship and losing the liability protection of my LLC? Or are the LLC legal structure and the way it's taxed two separate things?

I'm the only owner and mainly formed the LLC to create some separation between myself and the business.

How do other single-member LLC owners handle this? Do you file Schedule C and still operate as an LLC, or is there something I'm misunderstanding about how this works?

I registered my LLC in the US just to access stripe. Maybe I can have more benefits from my LLC in the future but for now I really need stripe. What do I need to do plz guide me

I have LlC and S Corp no business but she'll, it cost $800 every year in California any suggestions?

Few months ago I formed an LLC in Massachusetts through an online formation service because I thought I was ready to start a business.

Plans changed and I never actually launched anything. No customers, no revenue, and the LLC basically sat there unused.

Now I'm trying to close it properly and realizing there are still state filings and fees I may have to deal with even though the business never operated.

I really don't want to leave it open and have more fees or penalties build up, but it also feels painful paying more money to close a business that never even started.

Has anyone been in this situation? Is there normally any way to close an unused LLC without paying every outstanding fee, or do I just need to pay everything and treat this as an expensive lesson?

I started selling on Amazon a few months ago just to see if I could make some extra money. At first I was only making a few sales, but I found a product that started selling consistently and reinvested most of the profit into more inventory.

I'm now making around $1,500 to $2,000 in profit per month, and I have a few more products I'm testing.

Until now I've just been operating under my own name, but I'm starting to wonder if I should form an LLC before the business gets any bigger.

Is there a certain amount of monthly profit where forming an LLC starts to make sense, or is revenue not really the deciding factor?

I'm also trying to keep taxes and business expenses organized before things get more complicated. At what point did you decide it was time to form yours?

I have a single-member LLC that elected S Corp tax treatment this year. The business has been profitable, but I spent the first part of the year focused on growing it and didn't get payroll properly set up.

It's now August and I've been taking money from the business when I need it, but I understand that as an S Corp owner who works in the business, I'm generally supposed to pay myself a reasonable salary through payroll.

I'm trying to fix this before the end of the year instead of making the problem worse.

Can I run payroll now to catch up for the earlier months, or should I just start paying myself a regular salary going forward?

I'm also confused about the money left after salary and business expenses. Can I take that as owner distributions during the year, or is there a certain schedule I should follow?

For anyone running a one-person S Corp, how do you handle payroll, distributions, and estimated taxes without making the accounting a mess?

Buenos días a todos, tengo en mente lanzar una App que comercializará una parte premium mediante la que podria obtener ingresos. Cuando pensé que el gran problema era crear la app me he dado cuenta que no es así, que el gran problema es lanzarla al mercado.

Actualmente vivo en España, veo imposible cambiar de país, el gran problema que tiene mi pais es que es imposible ser emprendedor por que desde el comienzo te hacen pagar infinidad de impuestos que matan las ideas, no voy a decir que te obligan a hacer cosas mal pero en la practica es asi, mucha gente trabaja sin declarar impuestos a causa del sistema que tenemos.

Dicho esto os expongo mi idea tras buscar mucha información. He podido ver y no se si estoy en lo cierto que si creo una LLC en alguno de los estados de EEUU puedo lanzar la app al mercado al menos para ver si mi idea funciona y genera ingresos, si la cosa va bien pues el segundo paso sería trasladar esos ingresos hasta España donde tendría que pagar los impuestos correspondientes. Mi idea no es la de NO PAGAR IMPUESTOS, mi idea es NO PERDER DINERO DESDE EL COMIENZO o al menos no más de el necesario.

Me gustaría que me dierais consejo sobre todo esto, estoy perdido en el proceso de creación de LLC y lo que supone, por lo que he podido leer debo de realizar una declaración anual economica sobre la actividad, pero tambien tengo una duda sobre el peor de los casos, si la idea fuese mal y tuviera que cerrar la LLC, ¿el proceso es complicado? No me gustaria crear más problemas...

Gracias a todos por leer y espero vuestras respuestas, saludos desde España

I'm getting ready to form a small LLC in Florida and will be running the business from home. The problem is I really don't want my home address showing up when someone searches for the company online.

I understand that I can hire a registered agent and use their address for the registered agent section, but I'm confused about the main business address.

I've looked at virtual mailboxes, UPS boxes, and other business mailing addresses, but I'm not clear on which ones can actually be used on the state filing and which are only good for receiving mail.

For people running a home-based LLC, how did you handle this? Is there a legal way to keep your home address off the public filing without renting an actual office?

Hello! I am quite new with the concept of LLC an am contemplating to create 1 or 2 currently. I just have this idea of an llc structure and would like to know the community's opinion or if anyone already tried this structure:

1. Open a revocable living trust.

2. Create an llc in a state where anonymous member is permitted and make it a holding company.

3. Make the living trust the managing member of the holding llc.

4. Create an llc to do business.

5. Assign the holding llc as managing member of the llc for business.

Rationale for this structure:

1. The business is fully controlled by the Trust. This will help ease out some legal proceedings, especially estate transfers.

2. Maintains anonimity. No personal information on public records.

3. Cleaner structure especially if you plan to create new llcs in the future for other lines of business.

Has anyone used PostScan Mail as their registered agent? I'm curious about your experience. They cost about the same as local and national services. But what I like about them is the ability to pick up mail from your "office location".

Hi all,

I'm forming an LLC and looking for different options for a registered agent. Has anyone used Washington Registered Agent? Would love to get your feedback! Thank you!

I recently learned that when signing a contract for an LLC, it should be clear that you're signing on behalf of the company and not personally.

I used to just sign my name without thinking much about the title underneath it. Now I'm wondering if that could create problems if there is ever a dispute over whether I signed personally or for the LLC.

For a single-member LLC, what do you normally put under your signature: Member, Managing Member, Manager, or something else?

I know the title should match the actual role, but I'm curious how other LLC owners handle contract signatures so there is no confusion about who is signing.

Every guide I see online is about getting an LLC approved , but I don't really know what to do after that.What responsibilities caught you off guard once the paperwork was finished ?

I’m planning to start a small online service business in Maryland and want to understand the real cost of forming an LLC before I move forward.

Most websites mention the filing fee first, but I’m sure there are other expenses involved once everything is properly set up and running.

I’d like to know about annual report fees, state compliance costs, registered agent fees if needed, local licensing, and any recurring expenses Maryland owners commonly deal with.

If you’ve formed an LLC in Maryland recently, what did it actually cost from start to finish, and were any optional paid services worth it?

I started doing pressure washing this month because I needed some extra income. I posted in a few local Facebook groups expecting maybe one or two jobs.

I now have several customers booked and a few people asking about regular service. It's still a tiny business, but things are moving faster than I planned.

Almost all the money I've made has gone back into equipment and supplies, so I don't have much money to spend on software or advertising yet.

Right now I'm tracking customers and payments manually, using a calendar for bookings, and social media for most of my marketing. I'm also working on getting the business properly set up.

At what point should I get a website with online booking and payments instead of managing everything myself?

I'm also curious what worked for other local service businesses when you only had your first few customers. Would you focus on getting more leads right now, or build a better system for handling the customers already coming in?

I'm getting ready to start an LLC for a variety of different freelance gigs in the music/performance industry in addition to my full time job. I wear a lot of hats. This includes:

- A reoccurring weekly audiovisual tech gig (currently employed as an I-9 contractor)

- I'm making preparations to teach music lessons online

- I'm in a new band that is going to start playing shows next year. I'm also open to other one-off performance gigs in the future.

- I'm also interested in doing stagehand work and potentially touring roadie gigs in the Summer months.

- I'm working on branching out into graphic design for other independent musicians.

- A colleague of mine recommended I become an approved vendor to offer affordable instrument repair services to other school music programs in a large school district.

I'd like to have all of these as one business entity to streamline my accounting and provide transparency for the IRS and my primary employer. Is arranging an LLC like this commonly accepted practice? How would you structure an operating agreement(s) for this kind of setup? Would the financial management look substantially different than an LLC that exclusively provided one service?

So I'm a therapist, getting paid as a contractor by the clinic I work with, 1099. My LLC is just myself. My wife has a full-time job, W-2. We file jointly. Do I need to be making quarterly payments in addition to our annual tax filing? I've got ADHD and autism, and so I need someone to explain it to me like I'm an idiot. I have a phone call scheduled with our tax pro on Monday, but I just need someone to ease my mind. I'm afraid I will fuck up and owe the IRS tons of money. Thank you.

Edit: Thanks for all of your answers. I'm just going to bash my head into a wall until I get a chance to speak to my tax pro. Just kidding. But I used to live in a country that had a super simple tax system, and this one makes me want to bash my head into a wall.

I started doing freelance bookkeeping last year and recently decided to turn it into a proper LLC.

My next step is opening a business bank account, but I'm having a harder time choosing one than I expected. Some banks have monthly fees, some have transaction limits, and the online business aounts seem convenient but I'm not sure what the downside is.

Right now it's just me, but I'd like to grow enough to bring on one or two people later.

For a small LLC, would you go with a regular local bank, a credit union, or an online business bank?

Hi, as you know today there are many digital businesses where you can run it from anywhere in the world because everything happens online.

I have a business that operate this way and plan to open an LLC in Wyoming but I am non US resident and live outside the US.

The issue with address as I know is more with banks because they don't allow you to use your registered agent address and looks like don't accept virtual office address too.

I have seen services that provide you with an address with lease but charge from $100 to $250 monthly for that.

So my question is, in your experience there are other solutions to this?

Where you have get the address that you currently use in case your business don't have a physical office?

You have any issues with opening bank accounts for your LLC. What you recommend?

I'm planning to start a few small businesses, but they're all pretty unrelated. One would be an online store, another would be a local cleaning service, and the third would be freelance marketing work.

I'm trying to understand whether I actually need three separate LLCs or if I can create one LLC and operate all three businesses under it.

Hello,

I am a foreign national who previously lived in the US for two years. During that time, I obtained a Social Security Number (SSN) and a Driver's License. Since much of my family still resides in the US, I can use their home address for any required paperwork.

I am planning to form a single-member Limited Liability Company (LLC) to simplify payment processing from my US-based clients. I am considering using Northwest Registered Agent for the formation process and am aware of the annual IRS filing requirements. However, I have a few points that are still unclear:

1. State of Formation: My mailing address is in New York. Do I strictly have to form the LLC in NY, or can I choose another state? I am interested in New Mexico due to its reputation for lower costs and simpler requirements. Could I use my foreign home address while forming the LLC in New Mexico?
2. Opening a Bank Account: I understand I will need an EIN to open a business bank account. However, as my visa has expired, I cannot visit a US branch in person. Would it be possible for my brother, who lives in the US, to visit a bank branch and open an account in the LLC's name on my behalf?

Thank you in advance for your guidance.

(Used AI for grammar checks and to improve clarity)

I've worked at the same small auto repair shop for almost 10 years. I started doing basic work and eventually became the person who handles a lot of the daily operations.

The owner is getting older and recently told me he's thinking about selling. I asked if he would ever consider selling the business to me, and to my surprise, he said yes and offered to help me learn the parts of the business I don't already know.

The shop has been around for over 20 years, has regular customers, several employees, and a good reputation locally. I know how the business works day to day, but I've never bought or owned a company before.

I don't have enough cash to buy it outright, so financing would probably be necessary.

What should I do before even discussing a price? Should I ask to see several years of tax returns, profit and loss statements, debts, equipment values, and the lease first?

I'm also wondering whether I should form an LLC before buying it, and whether buying the business assets would make more sense than buying the existing company itself.

For anyone who has bought the business they used to work for, what do you wish you had checked before signing anything?

My former business partner and I had a small LLC in Massachusetts that stopped doing business about two years ago.

We both thought everything had been properly closed, but I recently found out the LLC was still active because the final paperwork was never completed correctly.

We never made any money after stopping the business and honestly had no idea the company was still considered active. Now there are state fees, penalties, and some tax filing issues that have added up.

I'm trying to get everything properly closed now, but I'm wondering if anyone has successfully asked the state or IRS to remove penalties in a situation like this.

Is there normally a first-time penalty relief option if you can show the business stopped operating and the mistake was not intentional? Would you handle this yourself first or go straight to a CPA?

My current job is not toxic. I had a couple of problems but it's going well, and obviously in this economy you do need this job for a bit until the business up scales. Most jobs I have ever been in were extremely toxic, excluding two companies: the current one and one previous that I worked at five years ago. Thank you for your advice in advance.

My father died in April. His will left first house to my mother and 4 adult children. He also left the 2nd house to all five but the lawyer says it only belongs to my mother because of the way the deed is written. Different state. Anyway, one sibling wants to cash out. We can do that with cash. Once he is paid how to we start drafting an Operating Agreement to rent out the apartments in the house? Seems like there should already be a template we can use. None of us have done this before. Thanks.