Form an LLC in New York Today Confidently, At No Cost
We've reviewed the top business formation services, and Tailor Brands stands out as among the best choices. With its portfolio of over 500k businesses formed, your LLC is sure to be in the right hands.You can launch your New York LLC with reliable support and tools—completely free!
Free Formation Service. No Hidden Fees
Form your LLC in New York and other states completely free, without any service charges.
Enjoy a free business coaching program to grow your LLC in New York, even with the free plan.
Simplify tax filing, bookkeeping, and operational needs with Tailor Brands’ comprehensive 20+ business services.
Things to Know Before Starting an LLC in New York
There are many rules and regulations that you need to run an LLC in New York. You should understand these requirements perfectly before you make the decision to start an LLC in New York.
Let’s discuss some of the important requirements briefly.
- If you have an LLC registered in another state and want to expand to New York, you’ll need to register a foreign LLC. Otherwise, you can simply register a domestic LLC in New York.
- Most LLCs need to pay an annual fee in order to operate in New York and maintain their status. This fee depends on the business income and can range anywhere from $25 to $4,500.
- While there is no need to file an annual report for an LLC in New York, the annual fee should be paid on time. The official rule is that you can pay within 60 days after your LLCs tax year ends using Form IT-204-LL.
- If you hire employees for your LLC in New York, you need to pay employer taxes. Some LLCs in New York may also need to pay state unemployment insurance (UI) taxes through Form NYS-100.
Forming an LLC in New York can offer you many benefits, but you must be aware of the compliance requirements to stay in good standing with the state. Tailor Brands can help with both forming an LLC in New York and ongoing compliance requirements.
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How to Form an LLC in New York
The process for starting an LLC in New York is similar to that in other states but it does have a couple of extra requirements.
Here is the step-by-step process you need to follow to form an LLC in New York.
Select a Business Name
Before you even begin the process of starting an LLC in New York, you must choose a unique and relevant business name. Your name should be relevant to your business, simple, and memorable enough for your potential customers to remember.
When choosing an LLC name, ensure that you follow the New York LLC naming conventions, including adding words like “LLC” to it. Also, search the state databases to make sure that no other business is using your chosen name within the state.
Reserve a Business Name and Domain
If you anticipate delays in registering your business name and LLC, you can reserve the name for up to 60 days by paying a nominal fee to the state. This will ensure that while forming an LLC in New York, no other business can snatch up your chosen LLC name.
Also, secure a name for your business website from domain services like Bluehost, GoDaddy, and others. If the desired domain for your LLC in New York is unavailable, you may need to change your name to secure a matching domain.
Appoint a New York Registered Agent
Every LLC in New York should have a local registered agent with a permanent address within the state. The registered agent can be an individual or a company, or you could choose to act as a registered agent for your business in New York.
The registered agent needs to be physically present to receive all legal correspondence on your LLC’s behalf during business hours. That’s why it’s better to outsource this service to reliable business formation companies like Tailor Brands.
Choose a Type of LLC
You can form a single-member or a multi-member LLC in New York, depending on how many owners are forming the business. You also need to choose between a domestic LLC and a foreign LLC when forming an LLC in New York.
If you’re starting a new businezss that you intend to operate within the state, you need to form a domestic LLC in New York. If you have an LLC registered in another state and want to expand your operations to New York, you need to register a foreign LLC.
Create an LLC Operating Agreement
You can complete this after registering your business, but we recommend doing this earlier since it’s one of the important business legal documents. This ensures that you have a clear vision of your future business and how you want things to run.
An LLC operating agreement lists all the rules of governance, decision-making, and succession planning for an LLC in New York and other states. This is a must-have document if you want to run your business smoothly, without internal conflict.
File Your New York Articles of Organization
To officially register your business in New York, you need to file your LLC Articles of Organization with the New York Secretary of State. You will also need to submit the required documents and fill out the application for forming an LLC in New York.
You can submit your completed application online, via mail or fax, or in person. The fastest and easiest way to do this is by submitting an online application. Tailor Brands simplifies the process by reviewing your application and filing it on your behalf.
Publish a Notice in 2 Local Newspapers
Some states, like New York, require new businesses to announce their launch by publishing the news in local newspapers. To form an LLC in New York, you need to publish a notice in any two newspapers for six consecutive weeks.
Choose a newspaper designated by the county clerk’s office and include either a copy of the Articles of Organization or a formal notice announcing your new LLC. Ensure that your LLC name and other information exactly match the state records.
Get a Federal Employer Identification Number
Every business needs an EIN that acts like the business’s identity in the eyes of the government. IRS (Internal Revenue Service) uses a Tax ID or Employer Identification Number to identify and track an LLC in New York for tax and other purposes.
A business also needs an EIN for opening a business bank account, hiring and paying employees, securing funds from investors, etc. That’s why obtaining an EIN or Tax ID is an important step in the process of forming an LLC in New York.
Open a Business Bank Account
As you would probably know, it’s absolutely essential that you keep your personal and business finances separate, especially if you want to enjoy the liability protection offered by LLCs that protect your personal assets from business debts and liabilities.
Opening a separate business bank account for your LLC in New York helps streamline managing business finances, accounting, and bookkeeping. Check out the various options available in the state or an online bank that meets your needs.
Acquire Business Licenses and Permits
Even after you’ve officially registered your Limited Liability Company in New York, you still can’t start operations until you acquire all the necessary licenses and permits for your business. This will depend on your type of business and location.
You may need federal, state, and local business licenses and permits. Find out your business-specific requirements and get all the permits you need to run an LLC in New York. This will ensure that your business complies with local rules.
Choose Your Tax Structure
Apart from liability protection, New York LLCs also offer the flexibility of choosing how they want to be taxed. An LLC in New York can choose to be taxed as a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, S-Corp, or C-Corporation, offering a lot of flexibility.
Depending on the no. of LLC owners and your preferences, you can choose how you want to be taxed. Most LLCs, however, opt for pass-through taxation, which avoids double taxation and allows business income to pass directly to owners for tax purposes.
File for a DBA (Optional)
When you form an LLC in New York, you need to follow the naming convention of the state for registering your business name. This may require adding words like “LLC” or “Limited Liability Company” to your business name, making it long.
If you want to run your business under a shorter, more marketable name, you can file for a DBA (doing business as). This allows you to register a fictitious name or assumed name that you can use for day-to-day business operations and marketing.
Get a Website (Optional)
Every business needs a website to provide information about the business to prospective customers. And you’ll also need a domain name that matches your chosen business name or DBA, whichever you prefer to market your business.
Therefore, it’s prudent to register a domain name and start building a website during the process of registering your LLC in New York. Our trusted partner, GoDaddy, offers complete web design and marketing services that you can use for this.
Stay Compliant
Once you form an LLC in New York, your business legal requirements don’t end there. You need to ensure that your LLC in New York stays compliant with the state’s laws and regulations, and remains in good standing with the state.
Unlike most states, New York does not require an annual report. It does, however, charge an annual fee starting from $25. Apart from this, you’ll also need to pay federal and state taxes, and employer taxes, and meet other compliance guidelines.
Why Should You Outsource LLC Formation Services?
Starting an LLC in New York and running it smoothly is no mean feat. Most entrepreneurs need help with the complicated and time-consuming process of forming an LLC in New York. Here’s why you should outsource the process to a pro.
Streamlined Process
Hiring a professional to do the job ensures that the process will go smoothly without any hiccups.
Forming an LLC requires a lot of paperwork and dealing with government departments. When you outsource, all you need to do is fill out a form and provide the required documents.
Zero Errors
A single mistake on your application or documentation can get your application rejected.
When you outsource the services to a professional, they’ll review your application and ensure there are no errors. They do this for multiple businesses and have tons of experience.
Faster Filing
The amount of paperwork required for starting a new business can be overwhelming for most.
Taking care of all the paperwork can take a lot of your time. By outsourcing, you can leave the review and filing process to a professional who will get it done much faster than you would.
Benefits of Starting an LLC
LLC is a popular choice among new entrepreneurs as it offers the best features of other business entities and is easy to form and manage. It is less complicated than a Corporation and more formal than a Sole Proprietorship.
Here are some key benefits of LLCs that you should consider when choosing a business entity.
Liability Protection
The first and foremost advantage of starting an LLC in New York is personal liability protection for LLC members. Even though it’s not as formal a structure as a C-Corp, it does offer similar protection for owners of the business.
If an LLC fails to pay its debts, the LLC members are not held personally liable. This means that their personal assets cannot be seized to pay off business debts. This is the primary reason why many new business owners choose an LLC.
Flexible Tax Structure
As mentioned earlier, an LLC in New York can choose to be taxed as a Corporation or opt for the pass-through taxation structure of less formal business entities. This gives the business owners more control over how they want the business to be taxed.
By default, a single-member LLC in New York will be taxed like a Sole Proprietorship. Multi-member LLCs, however, can choose to be taxed as a Corporation or S-Corporation, the latter being the most popular choice among business owners nationwide.
Affordable
An LLC in New York and other states offers similar liability protection as a Corporation but is much cheaper to form and run. This benefit is clearly visible when you compare the filing fees and other costs for an LLC and a Corporation.
Similarly, the operational costs for running a Corporation are also much higher than those for running an LLC in New York. This makes it one of the best choices for entrepreneurs who want an easy-to-run business entity that is also affordable.
Less Paperwork
If you compare the formation process for starting an LLC in New York vs starting a Corporation, you’ll see that the latter requires more paperwork. Given the more formal structure of a Corporation, this is not really a surprise.
Corporations also have more stringent annual reporting requirements, which further increases the paperwork involved in running the business. An LLC in New York, on the other hand, is not even required to file an annual report in many states.
Ease of Management
Corporations need to hold board meetings, keep records of those meetings in the form of minutes of meetings, and have a lot of ongoing requirements. The strategic decision-making process is also complex and requires formal procedures.
Running an LLC in New York, in comparison, is much easier. As long as you have a comprehensive LLC operating agreement, you’ll have no issues in running your business, making day-to-day decisions, and avoiding any conflict among members.
Ownership Flexibility
Other business entities like Partnerships or S-Corps have many limitations on who can own the business. Certain entities, S-Corp for example, do not allow non-residents to own a business or be a shareholder in a company in the United States.
LLCs do not impose such strict requirements on who can be the members. Members of an LLC in New York can be individuals as well as organizations. It does have certain restrictions on the type of organizations, but not as strict as other business entities.
Ability to Hold Assets
As mentioned earlier, it’s important to keep personal and business assets separate. If you want to acquire certain assets for your LLC in New York, you should be able to do so in the name of the business and not under your personal name.
If you are a Sole Proprietor, that may not be possible. However, with LLCs, you get the flexibility to hold business assets. An LLC in New York is a business entity separate from the owners and is allowed to hold assets, purchase property, etc.
Ability to Enter into Contracts
As a business entity that’s separate from the owners, an LLC in New York is also allowed to enter into business contracts with other individuals or entities. This could involve contracts with vendors and suppliers, investor agreements, etc.
This means that if a business fails to meet the terms of a contract or is sued by other parties, the owners will not be held liable. This also makes it easier to secure business funding as investors prefer entering into contracts with a business.
Tailor Brands New York LLC Formation Services: Free + Paid Plans
Tailor Brands is a prominent name in business formation services for over 10 years now, helping thousands of entrepreneurs launch their ventures. It offers a free LLC formation plan alongside paid plans packed with additional features to support growing businesses.
Here’s a breakdown of each plan:
Lite Plan
The Lite Plan is Tailor Brand’s lowest tier plan and it’s perfect for basic LLC formation. Here’s what it includes:
- LLC formation: Tailor Brands prepares and files your Article of Organization for free to ensure your LLC in New York meets state requirements.
- Business coaching program: Tailor Brands offers business development tips to help you grow your LLC in New York effectively without stress.
With this plan, you can form your LLC in New York and learn essential strategies for managing your business for free. The only cost involved is the state filing fee. While the Lite plan is free, you can upgrade to paid plans for added benefits.
Price: $0 + state filing fees
Essential Plan
In addition to basic LLC formation, the Essential Plan provides additional features for ongoing compliance and smoother operations. Here are its highlights:
- Amazon gift card: The Essential plan comes with a $30 Amazon gift card you can use to buy essential supplies or services for your LLC in New York.
- Expedited processing: Tailor Brand prioritizes your LLC in New York application and processes it within two days to avoid unnecessary delays.
- Annual compliance alerts: Tailor Brands sends timely reminders about tax filing deadlines so your LLC in New York remains compliant with state laws.
- Operating agreement service: This plan includes professional assistance in drafting an operating agreement to help you structure your LLC in New York.
Price: $199/year + state filing fees
Elite Plan
The Elite Plan is the top-tier offering, packed with business branding and online marketing tools, including:
- Free domain name for one year: For the first year of running your LLC in New York, you’ll receive a free domain to boost your online presence.
- Business card design tools: You have access to customizable templates to create digital and physical business cards for your LLC in New York.
- Branding features: You can create a professional image for your LLC in New York with Tailor Brands’ eight free logos and customizable branding materials.
- DIY website and online store: This plan includes intuitive tools to create and manage a professional website or online store for your LLC in New York.
- Social media marketing tools: You can create engaging social media posts for your LLC in New York with Tailor Brands’ social media post maker.
- Amazon gift card: As an added bonus, this plan includes a $50 Amazon gift card for business-related purchases to help kickstart your LLC in New York.
Price: $249/year + state filing fees
Additional Services
Tailor Brands offers a range of extra services to simplify business management. Here are some of the available services:
- EIN application assistance: Tailor Brands guides you through the EIN application process to enable your LLC in New York meet IRS requirements.
- Tax filing support: Tailor Brands simplifies the process of preparing and filing taxes. It provides expert guidance for reporting and maximizing deductions.
- Trademark registration: Obtain a registered trademark for your LLC in New York with Tailor Brands’ trademark service. No need for third-party legal services.
- BOI reporting compliance: Report Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI). With Tailor Brands, you can meet all deadlines and filing requirements to stay compliant with federal laws.
- Licenses and permits assistance: Receive expert guidance on the licenses and permits your LLC in New York needs based on location and industry.
- Bookkeeping and accounting tools: Simplify financial management, track income/expenses, and generate invoices with Tailor Brands’ bookkeeping tools.
- Business insurance guidance: Tailor Brands helps you compare insurance options and select the best coverage that can protect your LLC in New York.
Price: Contact sales
Why Choose Tailor Brands to Form an LLC in New York
Tailor Brands is a reliable LLC formation services provider for a reason—the company helped 500K+ businesses get started. They know the ins and outs of the process and provide unmatched service that is completely free.
Free Service, No Hidden Charges
While other companies charge hundreds of dollars for the same service, Tailor Brands offers it completely free.
They have no hidden charges or hefty service charges. You simply need to pay the state filing fees and they’ll take care of everything for free.
Access to Professionals/Experts
When you choose Tailor Brands, you get access to professionals and experts in various fields, with years of experience.
You can get additional services like tax filing support, business insurance service, and help with your business banking needs.
Hassle-Free Experience
Why bother with all the hassle of complex paperwork and dealing with state departments when you can outsource?
Tailor Brands will review and file all the required paperwork to get your business up and running, so you get a stress-free experience.
FAQ
To start an LLC in New York, you need to pay a state filing fee of $200 to the New York Department of State. The state offers multiple payment options, including money orders, checks, cash, and card payments.
You need to submit your application for filing Articles of Organization, along with the fee. You can do this online, in person, or via mail or fax.
Please note that apart from the one-time formation costs for filing an LLC in New York, you’ll need to consider the annual costs related to running an LLC in New York as well. You’ll need to pay taxes, annual filing fee, etc. So, account for that when calculating the costs for starting an LLC in New York.
Yes, LLCs need to pay different types of taxes in New York, including federal and state income taxes. An LLC in New York also needs to pay an annual filing fee, starting from $25, even though they’re not required to file an annual report.
Apart from federal income taxes and New York state taxes, a multi-member LLC in New York also needs to pay employer taxes if it has employees.
Here are some of the key benefits of forming a New York Limited Liability Company:
- Liability Protection: An LLC offers limited liability protection to LLC members and protects their personal assets from being used to pay off business debts.
- Flexible Tax Structure: An LLC in New York and other states in the US can opt to be treated as various entity types for tax purposes, including a corporation or an S-Corporation.
- Affordable: It is much cheaper to form and run an LLC in New York than to run a New York S-Corporation.
- Less Paperwork: LLCs require less paperwork than is required to form and run a C-Corporation.
- Ease of Management: Compared to other corporate entities, an LLC in New York is easy to manage, especially if you lay down all the rules of governance for your business in your operating agreement.
- Ownership Flexibility: LLCs have fewer limitations on who can be the business owner than most other business entities.
- Ability to Hold Assets: Any LLC in New York can hold assets, buy property or equipment, etc.
Ability to Enter into Contracts: An LLC in New York is a separate legal entity and can enter into contracts as a business.
Here’s the step-by-step process for forming an LLC in New York.
- Select a Business Name: Choose a unique name for your business that’s relevant and memorable. Also, follow the naming conventions set forth by the state of New York.
- Reserve a Business Name and Domain: Reserve your business name for up to 60 days if you anticipate delays in finishing the registration process for your LLC in New York. Also, check if a matching domain name is available and register it.
- Appoint a New York Registered Agent: Hire an individual or agency to act as your registered agent and accept all legal correspondence on behalf of your LLC in New York. The registered agent must have a local address where they’re available during regular hours.
- Choose a Type of LLC: Identify whether you need to form a domestic LLC in New York or a foreign LLC. Also, decide if you want to form a single-member LLC or a multi-member LLC in New York.
- Create an LLC Operating Agreement: Draft a detailed operating agreement that lays down the rules of how you want to run your LLC in New York. There should be clear guidelines for dispute resolution, decision-making, and succession planning.
- File Your New York Articles of Organization: Register your business with the state by filing your New York Articles of Organization and receiving a certificate of formation from the New York state Department of State.
- Publish a Notice in 2 Local Newspapers: Publish a copy of your articles or a formal notice announcing the launch of your new LLC in 2 local newspapers, approved by the office of the local county clerk.
- Get an EIN: Obtain an EIN, which will help you open a business bank account, pay salaries to employees, and pay your taxes to the New York tax department.
- Open a Business Bank Account: Open a business bank account to keep your business finances separate.
- Acquire Business Licenses and Permits: Get all the licenses you need to run your LLC in New York.
- Choose Your Tax Structure: Choose how you want your LLC in New York to be taxed after researching the benefits offered by various options.
- Stay Compliant: Pay your taxes on time, pay the annual fees, and meet any other ongoing compliance requirements for your LLC in New York to stay in good standing with the state.
If you file via mail, it may take several weeks and even months (during COVID times). Online filings get processed much faster. Choose Tailor Brands’ online filing service to expedite the process and get your LLC in New York up and running in no time.
Form an LLC in New York for Free with Tailor Brands
Starting an LLC in New York can be a challenge, but Tailor Brands makes it seem like a breeze with its hassle-free LLC formation services.
Let Tailor Brands take care of all the paperwork while you focus on more important things like growing your LLC in New York.
$0 + State Filing Fees