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by thuanao 442 days ago
It does if you're actually incorporating (C or S corp). You'll need to at least file both federal and state returns. And in many cases you'll need to pay money even if your business earned $0.

An LLC setup as a passthrough can get away with filing personal returns, but that only works for small freelance operations. Once you've got payroll or investors it's constant paperwork hassle.
2 comments
tptacek 442 days ago
Having payroll is always a tax hassle, but I've been at passthrough-structured LLCs with employees and mid-high 7 figure revenue (at some point, you start filing as an S for your LLC).

But can we get back to the original thing here? Creating an LLC in the US is trivial and does not require accounting.

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trollbridge 442 days ago
Payroll is relatively simple for a basic LLC. You can use a service like Rippling or a local CPA to do it for you. Usually costs around $40 per month per employee.

S Corp filings are drop dead simple. The tax return may take a CPA’s help if your structure is complicated or you want to get the absolute best tax breaks possible.

Yes it could be simpler - jurisdictions like Estonia figured this out.

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