What do limited liability companies cost to setup and then to operate?
Limited liability companies bump your business or investing expenses in a couple of ways: First, the states in which you run the LLC require both an initial formation filing fee and then also an ongoing annual re-licensing fee. (You can think about these fees as the “insurance premiums” the LLC pays the state for limiting your risks.) Annual fees vary, but typically run from less than a $100 to more than a thousand dollars. Yikes. A second expense associated with a limited liability company is the extra financial and accounting costs you’ll shoulder. For example, a limited liability company will often be required to prepare and file a more complicated (and hence more expensive) tax return. A limited liability company may pay more for banking and insurance. Finally, you may need to go to more work to clearly identify and show the unique, separate identity of the LLC: new letterhead and business cards, signage, and so on.
