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foreign are you wondering how to start an LLC in Washington today you will learn the most common ways to start your business including the correct forms you'll need registering your LLC critical naming requirements and all other vital tips and tricks then as a bonus later in the video I will reveal a trustworthy registered agent who will help set up your LLC for free so make sure to stick with me until the end the state of Washington like other states has several specific LLC requirements there are three main ways you can start an LLC in Washington first is the DIY or do-it-yourself process where you mostly depend on Washington State's website the second way is hiring a professional service that practically offers more efficiency and Security in creating your LLC while the third is hiring an attorney we will skip the attorney hiring portion because that's expensive and most business owners won't need that service first let's take a look at the steps required for starting an LLC Step 1 choose a name for your LLC under Washington law an LLC name must contain the words limited liability company or limited liability company or the abbreviation LLC or el.l.c your llc's name must be distinguishable from the names of other business entities already on file with the Washington Secretary of State names may be checked for availability at the Washington Secretary of State business name database you may reserve a name for 180 days by filing a name reservation with the Washington Secretary of State the reservation must be filed by mail Step 2 appoint a registered agent every Washington LLC must have an agent for the service of process in the state this individual or business entity agrees to accept legal papers on the llc's behalf if it is sued the registered agent may be a Washington resident Corporation or LLC authorized to do business in Washington the registered agent must have a physical street address in Washington step 3 file articles of organization a Washington LLC is created by filing a certificate of formation with the secretary of state the certificate must include the llc's name whether the llc's period of duration is Perpetual or limited the effective date of formation upon the filing of the certificate or a later date the name signature and address of the llc's registered agent the llc's principal office address and the signature of executor the Washington State filing cost for LLCs is two hundred dollars for both domestic LLCs and foreign llc's step 4 prepare an operating agreement an operating agreement is a good idea to have in place with the other members if your LLC has more than one member although a limited liability company operating agreement is not necessary for Washington your operating agreement should clarify how your company or business will handle big picture issues such as allocating earnings and losses and dissolving the company your operating agreement should also cover the transfer of membership interest profits or losses and distributions initial Investments decision-making Powers voting rights and management and lastly dissolving the business step 5 of file annual reports every Washington LLC and foreign LLC authorized to do business in the state must file an annual report also known as an annual renewal with the secretary of state the initial annual report must be filed within 120 days of the date you filed to create your LLC subsequent annual reports are due on dates determined by the Secretary of State the secretary of state will send a renewal notice to the llc's registered agent approximately 45 days before the annual report is due the initial and annual reports may be filed online or by postal mail the fee for filing initial and annual reports is 60 dollars step 6 obtain an EIN an EIN or employer identification number is a federal tax ID issued by the IRS your EIN is used by them to readily identify your firm and tax filings all Washington firms pay a business privilege tax and the state requires you to have an EIN to file you may also be required to provide your EIN when opening a bank account or applying for municipal permits or licenses obtaining an EIN is a slightly longer process compared to their previous steps I'm sure you know anything to do with the IRS is confusing first you must have complete knowledge of your LLC such as your company information managing member information business address business information company details and even critical information regarding vehicular assets and federal excise taxes this is another reason why getting a professional registered agent is way more convenient as they can do this for you as part of their service now let's talk about the second option to form an LLC and that is hiring a professional formation service professional formation services do all the steps you should be doing on your own from filing necessary forms to acting as your registered agent you usually have to allocate a specific budget for this option as I already mentioned earlier Inc file is one of the best companies out there to help you form your LLC you can click on the link in the description to get access to this deal Inc file is one of a kind as it offers a free package with services such as preparing and filing your articles of organization well you still have to pay 237 dollars for the state fees which you would have to do anyway if you chose the DIY option but looking at the bigger picture all other companies will still charge their service fee on top of State filing fees Inc file does not collect this fee this plan already includes a free registered agent for your first year of subscription and 119 annually moving forward if you decide to continue the service after the first year Inc file's next packages are the gold and platinum packages which both have package fees already on top of the 237 dollar State fee each package has its own set of services which are all worthy of the subscription you are paying for the gold package offers you the benefits of filing reports and taxes for your LLC every year USA LLCs are required to file a state annual report this report is essentially an information update of your file so that the state knows who is now in charge and how to contact your company USA LLCs are also required to file state tax returns to make matters even more complicated your annual report and business privilege tax share a document and are due at the same time each year with the ink files gold package you won't have to scribble notes of these reports because Inc file will handle the whole process for you your platinum package also has these services in the bag with the unique edition of expedited filing getting a domain name and a business email which essentially increases your llc's credibility Inc file also has an exclusive partnership with Bank of America so you can easily open an eligible checking account for your business yes it is a must for your LLC to have a business account remember an LLC has limited liability for it is a separate entity from its members you may forfeit your liability protections if you combine your personal and business money and this is where t
Thanks for your comment Ron Pee, have a nice day.
- Katharine Trueheart, Staff Member
how to form an LLC in Washington Washington is an excellent place to form a new LLC with low income taxes and great access to funding it ranks sixth in the country for economic climate every state has slightly different requirements for forming an LLC follow along closely to learn the required steps for creating your own limited liability company in the state of Washington there are two ways to form an LLC in Washington 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 Washington on your own you can also find these steps in more detail on our website linked in the description below one 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 for 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 Washington requires that you nominate a registered agent for your LLC who is your 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 Washington 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 to file the necessary reports failure to properly maintain your LLC can result in fines and dissolution so this assistance is valuable free file the certificate of formation to register your Washington LLC you will need to file the certificate of formation with the state of Washington this can be done online by mail or in person you should decide whether your LLC will be member managed or manager managed member managed means all members of the LLC manage the company this is good for small organizations where everyone is involved in the day-to-day operations the second option is manager managed where individuals are appointed to manage the LLC this is appropriate for larger organizations where not everyone is involved in the day-to-day affairs of the business 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 raced 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 comm 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 the IRS tracks your business for tax purposes an EIN is also necessary to open a business banking account and legally hire employees eons are free of charge and can be obtained from the IRS online or through the mail and with that you'll have formed a Washington LLC on your own option to hire professional service the second way to create a Washington 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 services privacy a 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 why 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've seen the different requirements in ways you can form an LLC in Washington 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 Washington 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 emilfonk your participation is very much appreciated
- Katharine Trueheart
About the author
I've studied k-theory at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee and I am an expert in information theory. I usually feel depressed. My previous job was fashion model I held this position for 2 years, I love talking about coloring and beach-combing. Huge fan of Michelangelo I practice snorkeling and collect cereal box prizes.
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