This guide is for someone forming a first LLC in the next 90 days. A side business that is becoming a real one, a new consultant, a contractor who has been paid under a personal name long enough. It walks through the filing, the numbers that follow it, and the money setup most people skip. Two things before we start. Federal dates and rules here were verified against the sources at the end, and state rules differ, so confirm your own state’s fees and dates before you file. This is education, not legal advice. We are not a law firm. Operating agreements and liability questions belong with an attorney.
Before you file
Three decisions come first, and none of them is a form.
Structure. A single-member LLC is taxed as a sole proprietorship by default, which means the business income lands on Schedule C of your personal return. An LLC with two or more members is taxed as a partnership by default. An S corporation election changes how the owner is paid and taxed, and it only makes sense above a certain level of profit. This is worth a conversation before the filing, not after.
Name. Check availability with your state’s business filing office (usually the Secretary of State) before you print anything or buy a domain. A name that is already taken is the most common reason a filing is rejected.
Registered agent. Every state requires a registered agent with a street address in that state. That can be you, if you have an in-state street address you are willing to list publicly, or a registered-agent service.
Step 1. File the Articles of Organization
The filing goes to your state’s business filing office, usually online. Each state sets its own fee, and they range widely, so check the current fee schedule the day you file. Government fees are separate from anything a firm charges to help you, and a good firm passes them through at cost.
Step 2. Get the EIN directly from the IRS
The Employer Identification Number is the business’s federal tax ID. You need it to open a business bank account, to run payroll, and for most state registrations. Apply directly through IRS.gov. The IRS issues the number itself, and you do not need a paid service to get one. Wait until the Articles are approved so the LLC name on the EIN matches the state record exactly.
Step 3. Register with the state and the city
Not every LLC needs every registration, which is where new owners get lost.
- State tax accounts. If you will sell taxable goods or services, you likely need a sales and use tax account in the state where you sell. If you will have employees, you need a withholding account. Most states open both online through the revenue department’s website. A consultant with no employees and no taxable sales may need neither.
- City or county. Many cities and counties require a local business license, including for home-based businesses. Check with the jurisdiction where the business is physically located before you open.
- Federal beneficial ownership reporting. Many websites still say a new LLC must file a beneficial ownership report with FinCEN. Under the FinCEN final rule effective August 14, 2026, companies formed in the United States do not file one. Only certain foreign companies registered to do business here still do.
Step 4. Open the business bank account
Do this before the first dollar comes in. One checking account and one card in the LLC’s name, with the EIN and the approved Articles in hand. Every business dollar goes through that account, and every personal dollar stays out of it. Mixing the two is the single most common cleanup we do, and it weakens the separation the LLC was formed to create. Five signs your books need a cleanup explains what mixed accounts do to the books over a year.
Step 5. Set up the bookkeeping before the first sale
A bookkeeping system set up on day one takes an hour. The same system rebuilt in February from a year of bank statements takes a project. QuickBooks Online is our standard. The setup that matters is a chart of accounts that fits your business type, the bank feed connected to the business account, and a monthly habit of reconciling. You own the subscription and the data.
Step 6. Put the calendar in place
The LLC comes with recurring dates. Put them where you will see them.
- Yearly state report. Most states require an annual or periodic report with a fee, and a company that misses it can lose its good standing or be dissolved. Find your state’s due date and fee the week the Articles are approved.
- Estimated taxes. Nobody withholds tax from an LLC owner’s draws. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax after withholding and credits, you generally need to make quarterly estimated payments. For 2026 the final payment is due Friday, January 15, 2027. Most states with an income tax have their own estimate rules, so check yours too. The fourth-quarter guide explains the federal side.
- Self-employment tax. Owners taxed as sole proprietors or partners pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare at 15.3 percent on net earnings from self-employment, in addition to income tax. Build it into what you set aside.
- S corporation election. If the numbers support an election effective January 1, 2027 for a calendar-year business, Form 2553 is due by March 15, 2027. Decide with a projection, not a rule of thumb.
- Contractors. If you pay individuals for services, collect a Form W-9 before the first payment so January’s 1099 filing is routine.
The first 90 days, in money terms
Week one. Articles approved, EIN issued, bank account open, bookkeeping file created. Pick the day each month you will reconcile.
Weeks two to four. Move every subscription, tool and vendor to the business account. Set up invoicing from the bookkeeping system so sales land in the right place. Decide on an owner’s draw rhythm instead of pulling money whenever it is there.
Month two. Open a second account for taxes and move a fixed share of every deposit into it. The right share depends on your profit and your household, which is a projection question, but the habit matters more than the exact number at this stage. Review the first full month of reports.
Month three. Reconcile three months in a row. Book the first planning conversation, because by now there is enough data to decide whether the default structure still fits.
Where we stop
We help you understand how structures are taxed and we support the filing, the EIN, the state registrations and the financial setup that follows. We do not draft operating agreements, advise on liability or tell you whether an LLC protects you in a given situation. Those questions belong with your attorney, and we will say so plainly whenever one comes up.
What to do next
If you are within 90 days of starting, Business Formation covers the filing support and the financial foundation in one engagement, with your state’s fee passed through at cost. And if you are still deciding between a sole proprietorship, an LLC and an S corporation, book a consultation. That decision is a conversation, not a form.
Federal dates in this article were verified against the sources listed below and are re-verified each January. State fees and dates differ, so confirm current figures with your state’s filing office before you file.