(But in many cases, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks.) Cost: An LLC usually costs more to form and maintain than a sole proprietorship or general partnership. States charge an initial formation fee. Many states also impose ongoing fees, such as annual report and/or franchise tax fees.
Raising Capital Is More Difficult to Through an LLC
LLC agreements are more difficult and complex to prepare than their corporate counterparts. Additionally, you can hit upon sticky and highly complex tax issues in the LLC context that just don't exist or arise in the corporate context.
The general rule is that members of an LLC enjoy limited liability and cannot be sued personally for activities or debts of the LLC. In other words, the “corporate veil” of the LLC legal structure protects its members from personal liability.
Advantages of a Corporation
Corporations offer more flexibility when it comes to their excess profits. Whereas all income in an LLC flows through to the members, an S corporation is allowed to pass income and losses to its shareholders, who report taxes on an individual tax return at ordinary levels.
Fear not, the IRS recognizes your LLC as a living, breathing entity regardless of the amount of activity, gains or losses it experiences. It's absolutely acceptable for your company to ebb and flow through trepidation, solid footing and full- fledged confidence, then back to trepidation on a quarterly or annual basis.
Suing an LLC with no assets is possible, but often unproductive financially. LLCs shield owners' personal assets, so winning may not yield payment. If you're wondering whether having no assets protects you from lawsuits against your LLC, it's important to understand the limitations.
Intentional acts: LLC protection does not shield owners from personal liability for illegal, reckless, or intentional acts. For example, if an owner knowingly violates laws or causes harm, personal assets can still be at risk.
The general rule in all states, including California, is that creditors can't take the money or property of an LLC to pay off the personal debts or liabilities of the LLC's owners. Like corporations, the money or property held by an LLC belongs to the LLC, not the members individually.
Simply put, yes, you can have an LLC with no income, but that still has expenses. An LLC with no income but deductible expenses can offset future income through a net operating loss deduction. However, the IRS will still regard this as business activity, so it must be reported yearly.
LLC disadvantages
The action is called “piercing the corporate veil,” and you can be at risk if, for example, you don't clearly separate business transactions from personal transactions or if you run the business fraudulently in ways that cause losses for others.
One of the cool things you can do with an LLC is use it to manage side gigs or generate passive income. Many side hustlers create LLCs for projects like freelancing, consulting, real estate investing, or e-commerce.
LLCs can be a good choice for medium- or higher-risk businesses, owners with significant personal assets they want protected, and owners who want to pay a lower tax rate than they would with a corporation.
It's completely possible for a single-member LLC to have employees. In fact, many LLCs run their business with employees. Even if you don't want to hire full-time employees there are still lots of other options, such as independent contractors.
LLCs are considered “pass-through entities,” which means the LLC itself does not pay federal income taxes on business income. Instead, income “passes through” to individual members of the LLC, who pay federal income tax earned from the LLC via their own individual tax returns.
The main reason people form LLCs is to avoid personal liability for the debts of a business they own or are involved in. By forming an LLC, only the LLC is liable for the debts and liabilities incurred by the business—not the owners or managers.
Limited Liability.
In short, the limited liability protections help safeguard your personal assets from claims brought by third parties against the LLC. Importantly, the LLC remains 100% liable for all claims brought against the LLC and all the LLC's business assets are at risk with such claims.
This separation provides what is called limited liability protection. As a general rule, if the LLC can't pay its debts, the LLC's creditors can go after the LLC's bank account and other assets.
Not Paying Yourself At All
Bear in mind that even if you decide not to pay yourself, you'll still be required to pay income tax. After all, as the owner of the LLC, the profits will pass straight through your personal income tax return.
“There's no hard and fast rule,” says Keren de Zwart, a business attorney who runs Not Your Father's Lawyer out of Irvine, California, “but if your business is netting at least $60K in profits, that's usually a good time to formalize into an LLC or corporation because the tax benefits can really start to be utilized ...
Every LLC that is doing business or organized in California must pay an annual tax of $800. This yearly tax will be due, even if you are not conducting business, until you cancel your LLC. You have until the 15th day of the 4th month from the date you file with the SOS to pay your first-year annual tax.
Each member has a capital account. To get paid, LLC members take a draw from their capital account. Payment is usually made by a business check.