How to File Business Taxes for an LLC (2026 Tax Year Guide)

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: September 1, 2026

FACT CHECKED by Aran Quinn, CPA, Esq., LL.M

Methodology
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LLC taxes work through two systems: the IRS taxes your LLC by classification, and your state taxes it on its own track. The table below shows both figures for all 50 states.

Each classification files its own federal form: Schedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120-S, or Form 1120. Which one applies depends on your member count, or any election you file.

This guide covers every classification, with the federal form for each, and a link to your state's dedicated guide. Jump straight to your own section below if you know your classification already.

Quick Summary

How LLC taxes work: quick overview

By default, the IRS does not tax an LLC as its own entity. Instead, it assigns your LLC one of four classifications.

The classification depends on your member count, and on any election you file. This choice matters a lot: it decides the form you file, the return's due date, and whether your profit faces self-employment tax.

• One owner, no election. The IRS treats a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity. Income and expenses pass straight through to the owner's personal return, on Schedule C. That's the same form a sole proprietor without an LLC would use.
• Two or more owners, no election. The IRS treats a multi-member LLC as a partnership. The LLC files Form 1065 and issues each member a Schedule K-1 showing their share of income.
• S corp election. An LLC that files Form 2553 is taxed as an S corp. The LLC then files Form 1120-S, and owner-members split their income between a salary and distributions.
• C corp election. An LLC that files Form 8832 can elect C corp status. The LLC pays corporate income tax on its own return, and owners pay personal tax again on any dividends they later receive.

That federal status, though, has no bearing on your liability protection. That's a state-law question, and it stays the same no matter how the IRS taxes you.

None of these federal classifications change how your state taxes the LLC, since state treatment runs on its own separate track entirely.

Some states tax an LLC's profit on the owner's personal return, and some charge no income tax at all. Every state charges some kind of recurring fee to keep the LLC in good standing.

The table further down this page breaks out both figures, with a link to each state's dedicated page where one already exists.

Most LLCs start out in the first two categories without ever filing an election. A disregarded entity or partnership setup is simply what happens by default once you form the LLC.

You only file Form 8832 or Form 2553 if corporate taxation really fits your specific business situation and long-term goals.

Forming the LLC is a separate step from any of this. Your state paperwork creates the legal entity, and your federal tax status is settled later, on its own timeline.

You don't have to pick one before you file your formation papers. Most new owners simply start with the default, then revisit it later as their income grows.

State-by-state LLC Tax Requirements

The table below summarizes how each state taxes an LLC. It shows whether the state has a personal income tax on an owner's share of profit, plus the state's own recurring LLC charge.

Linked states open a full breakdown of forms, deadlines and fees. One scope note first: some states have no true franchise or privilege tax on LLCs.

For those states, the "LLC franchise/fee" column shows that state's own Secretary of State annual-report fee instead. That recurring charge is the real cost of keeping the LLC in good standing, even where no separate tax applies.

State tax figures change without much notice. Double-check the numbers with the state's own tax agency, or on the linked page above, before you file.

LLC tax filing deadlines for 2026 tax year

These are the federal due dates that apply no matter which state you're in. Each one follows the standard calendar-year rule.

When a date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the IRS pushes it to the next business day instead.

Filing taxes by LLC type

Start by identifying your LLC's tax classification, since that decides everything else about how you file. The default depends on your member count: one owner means a disregarded entity, two or more means a partnership.

Corporate treatment only applies if you file an explicit election: Form 8832 for C corp status, or Form 2553 for S corp status. Without one of those on file, the IRS keeps you in whichever default matches your ownership structure.

The sections below walk through each one at a time. You'll see which form you file, how income flows through to you, and what makes each one different.

Keep in mind that your state's own tax and fee requirements sit on top of it. Those requirements vary a lot by state, as the summary table above shows.

A federal change like that usually doesn't require a separate state filing. Some states offer their own elections too, covered on your state's own page, that change how the state taxes your share.

Your classification can also change over time, and often does as a business grows. Plenty of LLCs start out as a default single-member or multi-member entity.

They elect S corp or C corp status later, once profit reaches a level where the added complexity starts paying for itself. There's no penalty for starting simple and switching later, as long as you file the right election on time.

1. Single-member LLC (disregarded entity)

As a single-member LLC, the IRS taxes you like a sole proprietor by default, with no separate entity-level federal return required.

All income, expenses and losses flow straight through to you as the owner, and you report the net result on your personal return. The LLC is what's called a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes.

The IRS looks through the LLC and taxes you directly, even though the LLC still protects your personal assets under state law.

In practice, that means completing Schedule C alongside your Form 1040. Schedule C lists your business income and deductible expenses, and calculates your net profit or loss.

That number carries over to your personal return, and separately to Schedule SE if you owe self-employment tax on it. A single-member LLC owner doesn't file a separate business tax return the way a partnership or corporation does.

If you have a net loss instead, it can usually offset other income on your return, subject to the usual limits.

You'll also complete IRS Schedule C as a single-member LLC owner, the same form sole proprietors use to report business income. If your net profit is $400 or more, you'll separately owe self-employment tax, calculated on Schedule SE. You still owe regular income tax on that same profit too, on top of the self-employment tax described above.

Electing corporate taxation instead, covered further down this page, is one way owners with steady profit reduce that self-employment tax exposure.

2. Multi-member LLC (partnership)

LLCs with two or more members are taxed like partnerships by default. Income flows directly to each member, in proportion to their ownership share.

There's no entity-level income tax the way a C corp pays. That pass-through treatment is a main reason owners choose a multi-member LLC over a corporation from the start.

Here's how the filing process works. The LLC reports all income and expenses on Form 1065, the U.S. Return of Partnership Income.

The LLC then issues a Schedule K-1 to each member. Each K-1 shows that member's share of income, deductions and credits for the year.

Each member reports those figures on their own return. They pay tax on their share, whether or not they got a cash distribution that year. Profit that stays in the business to fund growth is still taxable to the members who earned it, even without a cash distribution.

Form 1065 itself doesn't generate a tax bill. It's an information return, and the tax liability lands on the members through their K-1s.

Because of that, a late or missing Form 1065 still carries its own penalty. That penalty is assessed per partner per month, even though the return itself reports no tax due.

Multi-member LLCs can also elect S corp or C corp taxation, using the same mechanics covered elsewhere on this page.

LLC taxed as S corporation

An LLC that wants S corporation tax treatment files IRS Form 2553, the Election by a Small Business Corporation. Electing S corp status keeps the LLC a pass-through entity for federal tax purposes.

It doesn't change your state-law entity type or your liability protection. Only the way the IRS taxes your profit changes, and your business still stays an LLC under state law after the election.

Once the election is in place, the LLC files Form 1120-S each year to report business income and losses. Each member gets a Schedule K-1 that reports their individual share.

Members then report that K-1 income on their own return, filed the same basic way as a default multi-member LLC's income.

The difference that draws most owners to this election is how compensation splits. An S corp-taxed owner who materially works in the business must pay themselves a reasonable salary, subject to payroll tax.

The rest of their profit can come out as a distribution, which isn't subject to self-employment tax. That split happens at the federal level only, separate from anything your state does.

The IRS expects the salary to reflect what a similar role would really pay in the open market. An unreasonably low salary, set purely to dodge payroll tax, is a common trigger for an IRS inquiry.

S corp status also comes with real costs the default classification doesn't have. You'll need payroll processing, a separate business return and often a CPA to run the salary math correctly.

It tends to make financial sense once an LLC's profit is comfortably above what a reasonable salary alone would be. Below that line, the extra complexity rarely pays for itself.

LLC taxed as C corporation

An LLC can also elect to be taxed as a C corp, by filing IRS Form 8832, the Entity Classification Election. Once that takes effect, the LLC files its own return on Form 1120, apart from any member's own return.

As with the S corp election, the LLC's state-law structure doesn't change. Only the way the IRS taxes it changes.

The mechanic worth understanding here is double taxation, since the LLC itself pays corporate income tax on its own profit first.

If it then distributes any of that after-tax profit to owners as a dividend, each owner pays personal income tax on the dividend too.

The same dollar of profit gets taxed twice before it reaches an owner's pocket, once at the entity level and again at the individual level.

Every other classification covered on this page taxes profit only once, at the member level, whether or not it's really distributed to them.

C corp election is uncommon for small LLCs, precisely because of that double layer. It can still make sense for a business that plans to reinvest most of its profit rather than distribute it.

Retained earnings don't face the second, personal-level tax until they're really paid out to an owner. It can also suit an LLC seeking outside investment.

Many investors are more familiar with, and sometimes flatly require, standard C corp tax treatment before they'll agree to put money in.

Most LLC owners weigh a C corp election carefully before filing Form 8832. Many work with a tax professional, who can model both scenarios using real projected profit and distribution plans.

There's no single profit level where a C corp election clearly makes sense. It depends far more on what the business plans to do with its profit than on the size of that profit alone.

Other LLC taxes you need to know

Beyond income tax, most LLC owners owe at least one more federal tax, and often a state one too. Here's what to expect beyond the classification-specific mechanics covered above.

Self-employment tax (15.3%). LLC members taxed as a disregarded entity or a partnership don't get a pass on this one. Those classifications aren't taxed at the entity level, so members pay self-employment tax on their share of profit.

That's true whether or not they really withdrew cash from the business. The 15.3% rate breaks down into two parts.

That's 12.4% for Social Security, up to the annual wage base, plus 2.9% for Medicare, which has no income cap [1].

This is calculated on Schedule SE, separate from any income tax owed on the same profit. Members who elect S corp taxation only pay this self-employment-style tax on their salary.

The distribution portion escapes that tax entirely, which is the main reason the S corp election appeals to owners with steady profit.

An LLC's federal tax usually isn't withheld from a paycheck the way an employee's is. Members who expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year make quarterly estimated payments instead, using Form 1040-ES.

The four due dates fall on April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year. Missing a quarter doesn't just delay the payment.

The IRS charges an underpayment penalty for that quarter, even if you pay the full amount owed by the annual filing deadline. Corporations taxed as a C corp make their own separate estimated payments, through their own return rather than an owner's personal one.

State income tax, franchise tax and recurring fees. On top of the federal picture above, most states tax LLC income at the personal level. States call the recurring charge covered above by different names: a franchise tax, an annual report fee or a business privilege tax.

Some states also apply a gross-receipts tax that applies whether or not the LLC turned a profit. The summary table earlier on this page gives you both figures for your state. The linked state guide, where one already exists, covers the full filing procedure and current requirements.

If your LLC sells taxable goods or services, or has employees, you'll likely have separate state sales tax and payroll tax obligations too. Those requirements vary widely by what your business sells and whether you have employees.

They're covered in that state's guide rather than generalized here. A single-member LLC with no employees and no taxable sales may owe nothing beyond the recurring fee in the summary table.

A multi-state retailer with employees on payroll, by contrast, can face a much longer list of tax obligations to track.

Operating in more than one state can trigger obligations in each of them, a concept states call nexus. Selling into a state, hiring someone there or storing inventory there can all create nexus, even without a physical office.

Once nexus exists, that state can require its own registration, its own recurring fee and sometimes its own income tax filing. That's on top of whatever your home state already charges, so it's worth checking early if your LLC operates across state lines.

How to change your LLC tax classification

To change your LLC's federal tax classification, you file IRS Form 8832, the Entity Classification Election. By default, the IRS classifies your LLC based on member count.

Form 8832 lets you switch to C corp treatment, or back to the default, if your circumstances change. This is a federal tax filing only.

It doesn't dissolve, reform or otherwise change your LLC's underlying legal status as a business entity registered under state law.

An LLC that instead wants S corp treatment files Form 2553 rather than Form 8832, and timing matters a great deal for both.

An election usually must be filed within 2 months and 15 days after the tax year starts. Otherwise it takes effect the following year instead.

An LLC already classified as a corp may want to switch between C corp and S corp treatment, or back to partnership status. Each path follows its own separate IRS rules on timing and eligibility.

Confirm those directly on the relevant form's instructions before you file. A late or defective election can push the change out by a full year.

Changing your federal classification doesn't automatically change anything at the state level. Some states offer a separate election of their own, most commonly a pass-through entity tax (PTET) election.

A PTET election affects how the state taxes your LLC's income, independent of your federal choice. These elections usually exist to work around the federal cap on deducting state and local taxes.

PTET rules carry their own deadlines and eligibility, and those don't line up with the federal Form 8832 or Form 2553 timeline. Your state's guide walks through whether a PTET election applies to you and how to make it.

If you never file an election, none of this applies to you, and that's fine. Most LLCs stay in their default setup for good, without ever filing Form 8832 or Form 2553.

There's no deadline for staying default, since it's simply where the IRS starts you off. An election only matters once you decide a different setup serves you better.

FAQs

References:

1. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes