LI5: How does an LLC work and how do I get one?

[downtoearth]

We paid a friend about $250 to help us, but you can do it online for like $50-$150.

DH and our friend figured most of it out. You also have some rules about staying in good standing - in our state that means an annual report filed for like $20/year and we have to report income to the IRS annually on a 1065 or something form.

We have not filed taxes as a new LLC yet, so I can’t help with the advantages of that yet, so I hope someone else can expand on that.

[winecat]

In CO we file online on the Secretary of State's website. It's really easy and takes just a few minutes. If it's like it is here, you definitely wouldn't need to pay anyone to create it for you. For how it works, I'd go to an accountant. I have an FEIN that I use for my LLC.

[jinkies]

When my H decided to start a business, we went to an accountant who specialized in small businesses. He helped guide us through the pros and cons of each potential structure. In the end, he steered us toward an s corp over an llc. I forget the reasons now. He then handled all the set up on our behalf.

For our case, we felt it was too complicated to diy the business structure, but if your business is small and pretty straight forward you can make use of online resources.

[luckyno7]

I don’t usually post here but I’ll 2nd what jinkies stated. When my H started his business he talked to a tax accountant that specializes in his field. He was able to walk him through the different types. We also are an S-Corp. in order to open an account at a bank you’ll need the papers from the Secretary of State website and your articles of incorporation. They can be very generic though. Good luck!

[beetea]

I'm in Texas and just filed through the Secretary of State website. It was super easy. (I do pay a CPA to do our taxes though!)

[andwhat]

My H has one for his business. It was a very easy process. He did talk to a professional to ensure it was the best route for him. The only thing he has to do is pay state taxes quarterly on the money he has made. We will be setting one up for our rental as well and hopefully in the future we can add other properties to it.

[andwhat]

Dec 29, 2017 8:38:57 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

Dec 29, 2017 8:34:50 GMT -5 andwhat said:

My H has one for his business. It was a very easy process. He did talk to a professional to ensure it was the best route for him. The only thing he has to do is pay state taxes quarterly on the money he has made. We will be setting one up for our rental as well and hopefully in the future we can add other properties to it.

How do you put the rental in it? Do you have to refi so that the LLC owns the property? 

From talking to my friend who did this with hers, no you do not have to. I am going to talk to an accountant first though because this will not happen if we have to refi since we are underwater. Google is not making this clear for me, so we will see.

[whatever]

Dec 29, 2017 8:46:19 GMT -5 andwhat said:

Dec 29, 2017 8:38:57 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

How do you put the rental in it? Do you have to refi so that the LLC owns the property? 

From talking to my friend who did this with hers, no you do not have to. I am going to talk to an accountant first though because this will not happen if we have to refi since we are underwater. Google is not making this clear for me, so we will see.

You should just be able to quit claim it.

[kadams767]

Dec 29, 2017 8:46:19 GMT -5 andwhat said:

Dec 29, 2017 8:38:57 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

How do you put the rental in it? Do you have to refi so that the LLC owns the property? 

From talking to my friend who did this with hers, no you do not have to. I am going to talk to an accountant first though because this will not happen if we have to refi since we are underwater. Google is not making this clear for me, so we will see.

This is perhaps a dumb question, but I saw you mention setting up the LLC in regard to the property tax issue.  How does that help?  I wasn't aware that the Schedule E deductions, where you would deduct rental property expenses and taxes, were part of the new limitations.  SaveSave

[andwhat]

Dec 29, 2017 10:36:32 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Dec 29, 2017 8:46:19 GMT -5 andwhat said:

From talking to my friend who did this with hers, no you do not have to. I am going to talk to an accountant first though because this will not happen if we have to refi since we are underwater. Google is not making this clear for me, so we will see.

This is perhaps a dumb question, but I saw you mention setting up the LLC in regard to the property tax issue.  How does that help?  I wasn't aware that the Schedule E deductions, where you would deduct rental property expenses and taxes, were part of the new limitations.  SaveSave

We will be over the 10K cap either way, but this will help, or at least that is what I am being told. Either way we need to do this because the 4 months we did not have a renter, our income was too high to claim that as a loss. If we had the property under an LLC, we would have been able to. I will admit I don't know all the ins-and-outs, but I am willing to do whatever will help our tax situation. It is what wealthier people do.

We are also looking at pushing some of H's business expenses from 2017 to 2018 so we have more to write off to offsets the cap.

[minionkevin]

Dec 29, 2017 10:36:32 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Dec 29, 2017 8:46:19 GMT -5 andwhat said:

From talking to my friend who did this with hers, no you do not have to. I am going to talk to an accountant first though because this will not happen if we have to refi since we are underwater. Google is not making this clear for me, so we will see.

This is perhaps a dumb question, but I saw you mention setting up the LLC in regard to the property tax issue.  How does that help?  I wasn't aware that the Schedule E deductions, where you would deduct rental property expenses and taxes, were part of the new limitations.  SaveSave

IIRC Schedule E losses are limited if you hold the property personally and your income is above a certain threshold. They are not limited, or limited less, if you have an LLC as the holding company for the property, allowing for full deduction of expenses, no matter your income.

Or what andwhat said. Sorry, was responding when she posted

[kadams767]

Dec 29, 2017 10:55:42 GMT -5 minionkevin said:

Dec 29, 2017 10:36:32 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

This is perhaps a dumb question, but I saw you mention setting up the LLC in regard to the property tax issue.  How does that help?  I wasn't aware that the Schedule E deductions, where you would deduct rental property expenses and taxes, were part of the new limitations.  SaveSave

IIRC Schedule E losses are limited if you hold the property personally and your income is above a certain threshold. They are not limited, or limited less, if you have an LLC as the holding company for the property, allowing for full deduction of expenses, no matter your income.

Or what andwhat said. Sorry, was responding when she posted

But this is just if you take a loss on the property?  SaveSave

[minionkevin]

I think that's where it's the most beneficial, in order to offset taxable income from other sources, ie. W-2 wages.

[LoveTrains]

Dec 29, 2017 10:55:42 GMT -5 minionkevin said:

Dec 29, 2017 10:36:32 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

This is perhaps a dumb question, but I saw you mention setting up the LLC in regard to the property tax issue.  How does that help?  I wasn't aware that the Schedule E deductions, where you would deduct rental property expenses and taxes, were part of the new limitations.  SaveSave

IIRC Schedule E losses are limited if you hold the property personally and your income is above a certain threshold. They are not limited, or limited less, if you have an LLC as the holding company for the property, allowing for full deduction of expenses, no matter your income.

Or what andwhat said. Sorry, was responding when she posted

I agree with this. I have a loss for tax purposes on paper on my rental, and I haven't been able to deduct them for years because the deduction is limited. Perhaps I should look into the LLC but I didn't think it would help in my situation.

Also the property taxes will be deducted on the schedule E against rental tax income and will not be part of the $10k personal limit for SALt deductions.

[thedutchgirl]

Dec 29, 2017 8:52:37 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

Dec 29, 2017 8:49:55 GMT -5 whatever said:

You should just be able to quit claim it.

Ok yeah that's what this article says too: www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-do-i-transfer-title-of-a-property-from-a-person-to-an-llc

Be a little careful doing this. Double check the terms of your mortgage, as some prohibit this transfer and include a clause to accelerate the loan (make it all due at once) if you transfer ownership.

[Birdie]

I would suggest speaking to an accountant about everything. DH tried to DIY it for a few years and finally met with an accountant last year after my urging. He'll now be filing as an S Corp (instead of LLC) and the accountant is refiling our 2016 taxes that will hopefully give us another $1k in the bank. DH thought it was easy enough to do himself, but he quickly realized there are tons of loopholes and nuances that will save you money if you go through a professional.

[NewOrleans]

1234FIF! what kind of business do you want to start up?

I would do a professional proofreading one. Or copy editing.

I would far prefer that they were just shells, though, as I don't actually want to do any work. Profit would be nice, I guess, but really, I just want to write a bunch of shit off.

[andwhat]

Dec 29, 2017 13:15:31 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

1234FIF! what kind of business do you want to start up?

I would do a professional proofreading one. Or copy editing.

I would far prefer that they were just shells, though, as I don't actually want to do any work. Profit would be nice, I guess, but really, I just want to write a bunch of shit off.

So many people are talking about doing this. I am trying to see how many different shells I can start.

[TamiTaylor]

This is probably a crazy dumb question, but is this something anyone can do? Do I have to be a small business owner or something already? What are the major benefits?

*full disclaimer and a @:
I am totally behind on understanding of the new tax plan, I haven't slept much since Sunday since my kid has HFM and my husband has the flu