- What is an LLC (and do you need one?)What a limited liability company is, what it protects and what it doesn't, how it is taxed, and what it costs to keep one running.
- How to form an LLC, step by stepThe steps to form an LLC in any state, from picking the state and the name to filing, the EIN and the bank account, with the documents and state fees for six popular states.
- What is a registered agent?Every LLC needs a registered agent in its state. What the agent does, who can be one, what happens if you don't have one, and why it is often the cost that grows after year one.
- Your LLC's yearly obligationsAnnual reports, minimum state taxes and federal filings that keep your LLC in good standing, what happens if you miss them, and what each state charges.
- How to get an EIN (it's free)An EIN is your LLC's federal tax ID. The IRS issues it for free, often in minutes. Here is who needs one, how to apply and what to have ready.
- Foreign qualification: when your LLC must register in another stateAn LLC formed in one state may have to register in every other state where it does business. What counts as doing business, what it costs to register, and what happens if you don't.
- Anonymous LLC: which states keep owners' names off the public recordWhat each state puts on the public record when you form an LLC and every year after, which states don't ask for owners' names at all, and what an "anonymous" LLC can and can't hide.
- LLC compliance calendar: when your reports and taxes are dueWhen your LLC's annual report, state taxes and federal returns are due, how anniversary dates and fixed dates work, and the due date in every state.
- Form 5472 for a foreign-owned LLC: who files, how, and the $25,000 penaltyIf you aren't a US person and you own a US LLC alone, the IRS expects Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with no income. Who files, what goes on it, how to send it (no e-filing), the deadline and the penalty.
- Taxes and bookkeeping for a foreign-owned LLC: what to file and what it costsWhat a single-member US LLC owned by a non-US person files every year with the IRS and the state, what records to keep, and what doola, Firstbase or an accountant charge to do it for you.
- US business bank account for a non-resident LLC owner: what you need and where to applyWhat US law asks before a bank opens an account for your LLC, the documents to have ready, how FDIC insurance works with fintechs, and what Mercury, Relay, Wise and Payoneer charge and require if you live outside the US.
- Mercury vs Relay for a non-resident LLC ownerMercury and Relay are both free business accounts from fintechs with FDIC-insured partner banks. For an owner who lives outside the US, the difference is the address: what each one asks for, its plans, wires and the countries it can't serve.
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