Opening a limited liability company in Florida is a good choice for many small businesses and entrepreneurs. If you are considering starting your own LLC there, one of the biggest benefits is limited liability protection. Besides that, there are several other benefits like tax flexibility and flexible management structure. Let’s dig deeper and find out more about the possibilities.
Limited Liability Protection
Having limited liability protection means that you, as a business owner, can’t be personally responsible for a possible loss or debt your business could suffer. More specifically, that means your personal property, like your bank account, your car or a house will be legally protected.
Some other types of businesses may not offer limited liability protection. Corporations do, but for small businesses, they usually bring difficult taxation options. With that in mind, you can take it as a great advantage when starting an LLC in Florida.
Pass-Through Taxation
Same to partnerships or proprietorships, an LLC will be subject to pass-through taxation. This law considers that the LLC’s net income will go through to the business owner’s tax return. Further on, when profits and losses are calculated, individual members (if an LLC has more members or owners) are responsible for paying tax on their share of income.
This type of taxation is made to reduce the problems with double taxation that some corporations face. In this case, the pass-through taxation is going to allow LLC members to pay only the taxes on the income once at the individual level, and in that way avoid double taxation.
LLCs Are Easy to Form
In Florida, LLCs are very easy to create and maintain, and they don’t require a lot of money or paperwork. Compared to C corporations, limited liability companies don’t require the roles of formal officers, or the creation of bylaws or resolutions, and aren’t obliged to hold annual meetings.
This simplicity in formation makes LLCs very straightforward. The only thing you’ll need to do is to file Articles of Organization with the Florida Secretary of State and pay the filing fee.
Naming Your LLC
When registering your LLC, you should use a unique name for your business. When that name is registered, no one else in the state of Florida will be allowed to use it for their business while your company is active.
There are a few rules and guidelines to follow, otherwise, the registration is quite easy:
- You must include the “LLC” in the name of your company, for example “LLC Florida”
- No famous abbreviations or phrases
- Words like Bank, Attorney, or University will need additional paperwork
Less Administration
Usually, running a company is complicated and time-consuming because of the various administrative procedures. When it comes to that, LLCs are much easier to manage and don’t require a lot of administrative work.
Still, to stay on top of the game, and grow your business in Florida, visit the Business Anywhere platform to get support, advice, and information on how to form a company, and what exactly you need in order to register. You may enter a whole new world of opportunities by opening a virtual mailbox, which will allow you to own and run a business in Florida, even if you physically aren’t there.
No Restrictions on Subsidiaries
LLCs in Florida can easily have subsidiaries, and there are no restrictions on them. You can, for example, form a subsidiary company under your LLC’s ownership as a separate legal entity, and open more options for growing your business.
Management and Ownership Flexibility
The structure of an LLC is flexible, allowing members to manage the company themselves or appoint one manager who will handle daily operations. This is a great option to take more control over the management of the business.
There are actually very few restrictions when it comes to structuring and managing an LLC in Florida:
- An LLC can be a single or multi-member company
- A multi-member LLC can be member-managed
- Or, it can be manager-managed, when members appoint one person to that position
At last, the ownership of an LLC can be simply transferred by members’ interest, which makes it easy to bring in new members or even sell the business.
Professionalism and Credibility
A limited liability company is considered to be a formal business with credibility. It is certainly better recognized than a partnership or sole proprietorship and will allow you to create a professional image of your business.
Adding LLC to the name of your company will only attract your customers, business partners, and investors, and let them know you are credible.
Are There Any Risks?
Of course, there are. There are many benefits to starting an LLC in Florida, but you should surely be aware of the risks.
You should do thorough research and make completely sure that you have gone through all the legal requirements, rules, and laws before you make a business decision such as starting your own company. Get to know all tax and compliance requirements, and how the liability works in detail. With an LLC, you must have a detailed operating agreement stating how the business is managed, etc.
If all this still sounds very good to you, before you form your LLC, make sure to consult a trusted and qualified accountant or attorney who can help you understand if this is truly the best option for your business goals, and how to make a first step.
