Blog

You can often name an LLC after yourself, but the state’s naming rules, existing entity names, assumed-name requirements, and trademark risk still apply. A personal name may support a professional brand, but it does not automatically create privacy or nationwide exclusivity.Check the state business registry and trademark landscape before filing. Then decide whether the legal entity name, a DBA,... Read more >

To start an LLC in North Dakota, you file Articles of Organization through the FirstStop portal. You also pay a $135 fee to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State's Business Services team runs that portal. A standard Business LLC or PLLC also owes a $50 annual report by November 15 each year. There's no grace period. This guide covers forming a brand-new North Dakota LLC. If you're... Read more >

“Managing partner” is a business title some LLCs use for a person who leads day-to-day work. The title alone does not establish the person’s ownership or authority.An LLC’s members, managers, governing documents, and state law determine who may make decisions and act for the company. Before relying on the title, confirm the person’s actual role and approval limits in the company records. Read more >

An LLC generally needs an Employer Identification Number (EIN) if it is taxed as a partnership or corporation, has employees, or owes certain excise taxes [1]. A single-member LLC disregarded for federal income tax may not need its own EIN, but banking, state tax, and foreign-owner reporting requirements can change the answer. Read more >

Form SS-4 is the IRS application for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), a federal number used to identify a business for tax purposes. The form asks about the LLC, the person who controls it, and why the EIN is needed.Form SS-4 requests an EIN; it does not choose an LLC’s federal tax classification. Read the IRS overview of Form SS-4; an eligible applicant can use the IRS’s free online... Read more >

An LLC does not automatically send or receive a 1099. The answer depends on the payment, its federal tax classification, and whether the LLC is the payer or recipient.Keep Form W-9, invoice, payment, and tax-classification records together. Use the IRS reporting instructions for the payment type and tax year, since thresholds and exceptions differ. Read more >

A “partnership LLC” usually means an LLC with two or more members. It remains an LLC under state law; “partnership” usually describes its default federal tax classification unless the LLC elects corporate treatment [1]. The IRS partnership guidance explains that a partnership involves two or more people carrying on business and sharing profits and losses. That tax description does not... Read more >

To add an employee to your LLC, first confirm that the worker is an employee rather than an independent contractor. Then make sure the LLC has the EIN it needs, register for the required state employer accounts, and set up payroll before the first payday. Collect the employee's tax forms and work-authorization paperwork. Report the hire if required in the employee's state. Follow the applicable... Read more >

An LLC generally does not have to appoint a president or CEO, although its own operating agreement can require those offices. Start with the management rules in the formation state, then document who can make decisions and sign for the company.Owners are called members, as the IRS LLC overview explains, but ownership and management are different roles. A president or CEO may be a member, an... Read more >

To form a domestic Arizona LLC, file Articles of Organization with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Prepare the name, statutory-agent acceptance, principal address and management attachment before submitting.Approval also starts the clock for Arizona’s publication requirement, which depends on the agent’s county. This guide covers the filing steps and the records to keep afterward. Read more >

How long it takes to form an LLC depends on your state. It also depends on how you file. Timing runs anywhere from same-day approval to six weeks out.Every figure on this page traces back to each state's Secretary of State, or the equivalent filing agency, as of this update.Online filings are often fastest. Mail filings are often slowest. A rush fee only makes sense when standard online filing is... Read more >

Alaska records a legal entity name, a business-license name or DBA, and exclusive name protection through separate processes. Choose the record that fits your business before filing, because a license alone does not secure exclusive rights to a name.If you are forming an LLC, its active entity registration protects its legal name in the Corporations Database. A different trading name may need its... Read more >