How to open a LLC business in florida [Updated]

Last updated : Aug 29, 2022

Can I file a new LLC directly in Florida?

To start a Florida LLC, you'll need to file the Articles of Organization with the Florida Division of Corporations. The filing fee is $125. This can be done online at the SunBiz website or by mail. The Articles of Organization is the document that officially creates your Florida limited liability company.

How much does it cost to maintain an LLC in Florida?

After formation, there are two annual costs to maintain a Florida LLC: an annual report fee and a registered agent payment. The annual report fee for a Florida LLC is $138.75 (Florida corporations are $150) due annually between January 1st and May 1st.

Do LLCs pay taxes in Florida?

LLCs in Florida Like S corporations, LLCs, except those that are also incorporated, are shielded from state income tax, and their owners pay no tax to the state of Florida on the personal income that passes through to them from the businesses.

How long does it take for an LLC to be approved in Florida?

Florida LLC Approval Times Mail filings: In total, mail filing approvals for Florida LLCs take 3-4 weeks. This accounts for the 5-7 business day processing time, plus the time your documents are in the mail. Online filings: In total, online filing approvals for Florida LLCs take 1-2 business days.

Does an LLC expire in Florida?

Florida LLC Renewal is a process that businesses registered as Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) must undergo each year to remain in good standing with the State of Florida.

What are the benefits of an LLC in Florida?

• Pass-through taxation. LLCs typically enjoy pass-through taxation where the members (owners) report their share of the LLC's profit or loss on their individual tax returns.
• Flexibility.
• Fewer formalities.

Do I need a business license in Florida?

A business license/occupational license or business tax receipt is required by most counties in Florida to have the legal ability to do have a business in that county. Check with your local tax collectors office to see what they require.

How do I start a small business in Florida?

1. Check with your County Tax Collector to see if you need a license.
2. Register your business with the Department of Revenue.
3. Register with the IRS.
4. Corporate entities or fictitious name registrants should register with the Department of State.

Do I need to renew my LLC Every year in Florida?

The State of Florida requires you to file an annual report for your LLC. File your annual report online at the Sunbiz website. To complete the report you mainly just need to confirm preexisting information regarding addresses, your registered agent, and the people authorized to manage your LLC.

How much is a business license in Florida?

How Much Does a Business License Cost in Florida? The cost of Florida business tax receipts varies by locality with some charging a one-time fee between $50 and $100, while some charge an annual fee of a similar amount or higher.

What happens if I don't pay my LLC fee Florida?

This includes the fee required to file your LLC's annual report. This report must be filed with the Florida Department of State for an LLC to maintain an active status. Without paying the fee and filing the necessary forms, the LLC would be fined $400 and/or dissolved, depending on how late it is paid.

How does an LLC avoid paying taxes?

A general Corporation making a Subchapter “S” Election or an LLC with or without a Subchapter S Election pays no federal tax on its taxable income and no employment taxes on its distributions to stockholders.

Does a Florida LLC need to file a tax return?

LLC in Florida is not required to file a tax return. Its income passes through to its members, who subsequently pay individual income taxes on their shares. For this reason, there are no tax return filing requirements for LLCs in Florida.

How do I pay annual fees for LLC in Florida?

All Annual Reports must be entered and submitted electronically online. Payments can be made by credit card, debit card, or by check or money order. For credit card and debit card processing allow 2-3 days; if paying by check or money order allow 3-5 weeks.

What does an LLC do?

A Limited liability company (LLC) is a business structure that offers limited liability protection and pass-through taxation. As with corporations, the LLC legally exists as a separate entity from its owners. Therefore, owners cannot typically be held personally responsible for the business debts and liabilities.

Where do I get an LLC in Florida?

In order to start a business in Florida, you'll need to go through the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations. The Division of Corporations sets the rules, requirements and costs to form an LLC in Florida.

Can I be my own registered agent in Florida?

A business entity with an active Florida filing or registration may serve as a registered agent. An entity cannot serve as its own registered agent. However, an individual or principal associated with the business may serve as the registered agent. The registered agent must have a physical street address in Florida.

Do I need a business license if I have an LLC?

In most states, forming an LLC doesn't require a business license, but you'll need to follow your state's procedures. An LLC requires registering with the state and filing the appropriate forms. But even though you don't need a business license to form an LLC, you probably need one to operate the LLC as a business.

What is required to maintain an LLC in Florida?

In order to maintain your active status with Florida as an LLC, you must e-file an annual report with the Division of Corporations. The filing fee for each report is around $130 and is due between January 1 and May 1 every year to avoid late penalties.

What is the owner of an LLC called in Florida?

Owners of an LLC are called its members, and you can either form a single-member LLC or a multiple-member LLC in Florida. Different tax treatment applies to different types of LLCs. Hence, it's important to decide on the management structure of your company.

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how to form an LLC in Florida Florida is an excellent place to form a new LLC the Sunshine State has the lowest income taxes in the country and is number one in economic growth prospects every state has slightly different requirements performing an LLC follow along closely to learn the required steps for creating your own limited liability company in the state of Florida there are two ways to form an LLC in Florida you can form one yourself or you can hire a service to do it for you let's start by looking at the five basic requirements to form an LLC in Florida on your own you can also find these steps in more detail on our website linked in the description below 1 name your LLC every state has its own rules about what kind of names are allowed for LLC's in general you will need to observe these naming guidelines your name must include the phrase limited liability company or one of its abbreviations LLC or LLC with a period following H letter restricted words such as Bank Attorney law office etc may require additional paperwork and may also need a licensed professional to be part of the LLC your name cannot include words that could confuse your LLC with a government agency such as FBI Treasury State Department etc you cannot use a name that has already been registered to see if your name is available in your state you'll need to do a name search this free service is available on your state's Secretary of State website check out our free guide for finding the direct link to your state we also recommend that you check to see if your business name is available as a web domain even if you don't plan to make a business website today you may want to buy the URL in order to prevent others from acquiring it to choose a registered agent Florida requires that you nominate a registered agent for your LLC who is the business's point of contact with the state the registered agent can be an individual within the company including yourself or you can hire a professional service authorized to do business in Florida they will send and receive legal papers on your behalf these documents include official correspondence like legal summons and document filings which your registered agent will receive and forward to you your registered agent will help remind you to file the nest Cerie reports failure to properly maintain your LLC can result in fines and dissolution so this assistance is valuable 3 file the articles of organization to register your LLC you will need to file the articles of organization with the state of Florida this can be done online at the my Florida Sun biz website or by mail when filing you will need to consider the management structure of your LLC we recommend learning more about member managed versus manager managed LLC's before you file in Section 4 of the articles of organization you will be asked about your LLC's management structure this section can be left blank however if you plan to open a business banking account the bank may require you to list the name of at least one authorized representative this can be a manager or member in your articles of organization since it's important to open a separate bank account for your LLC most people add the name of the person who will open the account you do not need to list every member for create an operating agreement although not every state requires it you should always create an operating agreement to establish ownership terms and member roles for your LLC this foundational document is the core of your LLC and will help you maintain your organization as well as further establish your LLC is a separate legal entity there are six main sections of an operating agreement organization outlines when and where the company was created who the members are and how the ownership is structured management and voting addresses how the company is managed as well as how the members vote capital contributions covers which members financially support the LLC and how more funds will be raised in the future distributions outlines how the company's profits and losses are shared among members membership changes describes the process for adding or removing members as well as if and when members can transfer their ownership shares and dissolution which explains the circumstances in which the LLC may be dissolved an operating agreement is an internal document it does not need to be filed with the state however it should be updated every time there is a change in membership or management at the company you can download a free sample operating agreement or create a custom one using our free operating agreement tool at how to start an LLC com 5 obtain an ein lastly you'll need to get an employer identification number or ein from the IRS also known as a federal tax identification number your EIN is like a social security number for your LLC and is how the IRS tracks your business for tax purposes an ein is also necessary to open a business banking account and legally hire employees Aeons are free of charge and can be obtained from the IRS online or through the mail and with that you'll have formed a Florida LLC on your own option to hire a professional service the second way to create a Florida LLC is the hire professional service to create your LLC for you hiring a professional service to file your forms and act as your registered agent for the LLC will cost you an additional fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars however there are several benefits to working with a pro a hired registered agent helps with getting your reports filed on time helps you stay organized by keeping your business mail separate and is available at all regular business hours to accept official mail and legal papers on your LLC's behalf a final and important additional benefit of using a service is privacy the professional service will provide a level of privacy by withholding your personal name and home address from the LLC's contact information there are many reasons you might not want your personal information easily accessible and associated with your business hiring a professional LLC for mation service is an easy way to accomplish this now that you have seen the different requirements and ways you can form an LLC in Florida visit our site and take some time to research your options and establish a solid foundation for your business activities click on the links in the description below to research the top five professional formation services or get more information on how to form a Florida LLC on your own now you know all the steps to form an LLC in your state for a more detailed guide go to how to start an LLC com you can also create an operating agreement and use our business plan tool free of charge give the video a like if you found it useful and subscribe if you'd like to see more and if you have questions or encounter any roadblocks leave a comment below good luck and starting your small business you

Thanks for your comment Philip Perteet, have a nice day.
- Darryl Basden, Staff Member

hey my name is eric in today's video we're talking about how to start an llc in florida but before we get to that i always like to research a fun fact at the beginning of the video so you can learn something you never knew before maybe you knew this already but today i learned that there are no dinosaur fossils in florida that's kind of interesting so first things first all the resources mentioned in this video will be in the description below so the first resource i want to give you is the actual irs website on limited liability companies this is really great just for if you have any questions at all coming straight from the irs like here's a really good example if you are starting a business and you need an employee id number this will walk you through and let you know if you need one you know you just have to answer these questions and if you do it'll show you how you can apply for that ein so if you have questions like this this will be a helpful resource for you in the future but before we get to this video i should mention not a cpa or an attorney i'm just somebody who has researched this to death as i've started up my own llc and i want to make sure that you're aware of all the different ways and methods that you can start an llc for yourself so you can take the right path for you now as far as the three methods for starting an llc the first one is the diy method so you know if you google this what you're looking for is dos.myflorida.com and honestly from the other state websites that i've looked at this one's actually pretty well put together usually they're a mess but if you click on florida llc forms what it's still going to do is just kind of kick you down the page and here are all the possible llc forms you'll need don't feel overwhelmed a lot of these are just for like dissolving an llc and like updating or changing it really what you're looking at is articles of organization and then statement of registered agent or registered office change so why don't we click here for this so before we work our way down this form here one thing i do want to mention i see this a lot online especially in forms and comments people thinking that they're going to set up an llc for tax purposes really what an llc is for is creating a division between your personal and your business assets so a business asset could be many things too you could just be somebody who owns a few rental properties and you want to make sure that those rental properties are separated from your business so for example if a tenant is going down the stairs and the handrail gives out and they end up falling down the stairs and hurting themselves and they sue you what they're gonna be able to sue you for is the assets within that llc but not your personal assets not your home your car your personal bank account things of that nature so that is why you're setting up an llc we're gonna get to a tournament a little bit called piercing the corporate veil and i'll get to that in a little bit so as we go down this uh this document here it's really not too bad five pages but you know the first two is just text i do want to highlight the filing fees so in florida there's a 125 filing fee it's not bad it's about middle of the road as far as filing fee costs um just know that you know you're not getting around this if you're filing an llc in florida you're going to pay that fee in the future it may be a little bit more expensive but sometimes people will set up an llc in nevada or delaware because they're trying to get cute to save a few bucks and there's like more privacy that way i wouldn't recommend it every attorney i've talked to says do not do that so if you get sued the attorney that is suing you is going to try to pierce the corporate veil basically what they're doing is they're looking for cracks in your llc did you set it up in another state did you do that correctly did you actually renew with that state properly are you up to date in your paperwork do you have a registered agent is that service set up correctly you know they're going to be looking for all these cracks in your llc so they can pierce the corporate veil so just be smart you know don't try to get cute file in your state as we move down here there is one other thing i want to mention which is article 3 which is a registered agent we'll get to that in a little bit but yeah if you want to file yourself this form is here again uh in the link to the description below so there is this e-file process with florida and you can start a new filing it's going to take you through everything again there's your 125 and then name and address of registered agent what is a registered agent so there's a lot of resources here that you can fill out a little daunting because they put like everything on one page but again not too bad so if you don't want to go the full diy route there are services like ink file similar to zen business legalzoom rocket lawyer the reason i always recommend this one is two parts one is that if you look at the pricing of this compared to the competitors it is the cheapest number two if i'm being honest i do have an affiliate link for this so i do get income if people use this link but the reason i recommend this one is just what i said it is the cheapest one out of all the online tools if you go to legalzoom it's probably gonna cost you 80 bucks then business is going to cost you 50 a year to use that service this one you can see is zero dollars plus state fee so if you launch your business and then you go to llc and you go to state of formation and you go to florida uh what you're gonna see here is again that 125 dollar state fee but zero dollars to go through the package fee the nice thing about this tool though is they give you a ton of free resources they also do a better job of guiding you through the process and they also have a free registered agent service for a year so just to kind of back up a little bit some of these free resources are in the learning center so this one's like start a business checklist so this is just a really helpful checklist if you're starting a business it's going to walk you through everything you need to know a little drop downs you can get this emailed to you as well but just very helpful again going back to the learning center if you're curious they have state filing prices so this is where you can kind of see how florida stacks up so florida's 125 you can see that alaska's 250. the most expensive state i believe is massachusetts yeah 520 so just kind of you know helpful in that way but there's a lot of great resources in this learning guide here research tools if you're looking for a business name generator all sorts of things the s corp tax calculator if you are interested in saving on taxes is also really interesting so going back to this if you do get the silver package the one thing you need to know is it has a free registered agent service for a year uh because i want you to know what the hidden fees are if you go to here on to the learning center go to about registered agents this is really going to explain this in better detail to you so this if you go

Thanks Detra your participation is very much appreciated
- Darryl Basden

About the author

Darryl Basden

I've studied jewish law at University of Jamestown in Jamestown and I am an expert in spectroscopy. I usually feel uncomfortable. My previous job was sportswriter (journalist) I held this position for 8 years, I love talking about recipe creation and crocheting. Huge fan of Wham I practice gymnastics: artistic and collect books and periodicals.