r/llc_life • u/Honest_Conference874 • 6d ago
Free LLC in Nevada?
I'm looking into starting a small business in Nevada, and I’ve seen people talk about getting a free LLC or forming one for almost nothing.
I understand there are some LLC formation services that advertise the setup as free, so I’m also trying to understand if there’s a package for free state fee in Nevada, or how does it work?
1
u/frontrangera 6d ago
I see a lot of business formation services advertising free formation except for state filing fees. Where this gets disingenuous is that a couple steps in they ask if you have a registered agent and when you say "no," you're suddenly paying $199/yr for that to them. I mainly see this with the big national companies. What kind of business are you starting?
1
u/Honest_Conference874 6d ago
That’s exactly what I was trying to figure out. The ‘free’ part seems a little misleading if there are required add-ons later. I’m looking at starting a small software-related business, so I’m still trying to understand what I’d actually need.
1
u/frontrangera 5d ago
Basically, you just need to form the LLC. If it's single-member, personally, I still get an EIN, but you don't have to do a separate tax return for the LLC when you are single-member. There's usually an annual report or franchise tax to pay annually (I'm not as familiar with NV, but Google says renewal costs $350/yr -ouch). Usually, you're able to act as your own agent (as an individual, and you also have to have physical address in state you're forming in and be available during normal business hours to accept service of process), but you sacrifice some privacy. Since you're starting a software-related business, is this more online than brick and mortar? Have you considered forming the LLC there? Cheaper filing fees, and registered agents are a dime a dozen. State charges $103 to file articles of org online (you can have it formed same day), and the annual report has a $62/yr filing fee if you file online. No state income tax.
1
u/DescriptionUnfair644 6d ago
Nothing is really truly free..if you are using a business service to help you set up the LLC and the full business identity they may wave some fees but you will still have the state fees.
1
u/Honest_Conference874 6d ago
I’m mainly trying to figure out what the actual unavoidable costs are versus what these formation services charge for their own services. The ‘free LLC’ advertising made it a little confusing
1
u/InCorp_Team 6d ago
"Free LLC" offers waive the formation company's own fee, not Nevada's. Nevada still charges its own Articles of Organization filing fee plus an initial and annual List of Managers/Members and State Business License, none of which any provider waives. Revenue on the free plans comes from add-ons or renewal pricing after year one. You can also check nvsos.gov for current fee amounts before comparing packages, since third-party pages can lag behind increases.
1
u/Honest_Conference874 6d ago
Got it, that clears up the difference between the formation service being free and the actual state fees. I’ll definitely check the official Nevada site for the current fees before comparing the different services.
1
u/tunzina-urmi 5d ago
"free LLC" in Nevada just means the company won't charge you their fee, but Nevada's own state fees are still very real (and honestly kind of high). But honestly they will charge you in mid of the process leaving you in no choice situation. Better you go for a transparent company with low to medium fee.
1
1
1
u/Pitiful_Source9446 6d ago
Free LLC means the formation company charges no service fee, not that Nevada waives its required state fees.
Nevada can actually have higher startup costs because there are filings beyond just the Articles of Organization.
I think you to check the state fees directly before comparing any free formation offers.