Confused about an LLC

[pianoperformer]

I registered an LLC in June of 2007. It was rather painless.

I worked on the business for a while, but then I went to college and got sidetracked. It never made any profit.

Now I want to start it up again, two years later, but I’m not sure what to do. I thought I heard from someone you have to renew it every year? Is that true?

I’m also clueless about the tax aspect of it. I’m legally a dependent right now, but I know that’ll be over this year since I’m turning 21. I have no idea if that influences the business or not, either.

Pretty much, I registered an LLC but now don’t really know what I’m supposed to do. I'm afraid of doing something wrong since I'm rather ignorant about tax laws.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Savage]

You probably shouldn't have registered an LLC if you don't know what you're doing. It's more complicated than a sole proprietorship, and there are important filing requirements that must be handled. If you didn't renew it every year, it was probably admistratively dissolved by the state. There should be a state website where you can do a search on the public records to look up your LLC and check its current status.

I'm not sure how to restart an LLC, but you can simply contact the Secretary of State for your state to inquire about that. They'll be able to tell you.

Try a Google search on "[name of your state] secretary of state" to find the appropriate state website.

[pianoperformer]

Steve,

Thanks a lot for the response.

Yeah I know it's complicated, but my state has a really simple process for registering that makes sure everythings included in filing. But I've not gotten anything since then regarding it, so i don't know exactly what to do.

I searched, and surprisingly it is still active. Is this abnormal?

So, now that I want to start it up again, what should I do to ensure I do everything I'm supposed to? I want to start something eventually, so I need to learn.

[Savage]

You might want to buy a book on LLCs. I read a couple books about LLCs before forming one. It's important to get a handle on the details before you move forward, so you know what you're getting into. It's too much to explain in a forum post.

The laws are different for each state, so you should get at least one book on LLCs for your particular state. Nolo Press has some good ones. You can probably find their books in a local bookstore. The books are pretty dry, but it's good to have at least one for handy reference.

Having a good accountant helps. My accountant helped me set up my Quickbooks accounts properly. I send him the files to do the tax returns as needed.