LLC for Beginners

What happens after you file your LLC (and what each step costs)

Filing is step one of seven. This is the list a beginner usually discovers one surprise at a time. Mainstay Filing, our pick, covers steps 1 to 4 and 6 in one price.

  1. File the formation document. The state fee: $35 to $500, set by the state.
  2. Name a registered agent. Required in most states. Mainstay Filing includes it in the $199; alone it is $149 a year for a company already formed.
  3. Get an EIN. The IRS charges nothing. With Mainstay Filing the application is part of formation; founders with no SSN or ITIN pay a one-time $99.
  4. Write an operating agreement. Mainstay Filing has no operating-agreement upcharge.
  5. Open a business bank account. The bank sets its own fees; bring the formation document and EIN. It will want a business mailing address that is not your registered agent’s.
  6. File the annual report. 6 states have none, 7 are every two years, the rest yearly; state fees start at $7. Mainstay Filing prepares and files it.
  7. Check federal beneficial-ownership reporting. The FinCEN rules have been changing; read FinCEN’s own page before relying on any summary, including this one.

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