Returned at the counter
The mistakes are ordinary. That is what makes them expensive.
Almost nothing that goes wrong with a new LLC is unusual. The same handful of errors account for most of the rejected filings, the lost entities and the surprise bills - and every one of them is avoidable once you know it exists.
Entries
Five that come back again and again
Applying for the EIN before the entity exists
The IRS will issue an EIN to a business that the state has not yet approved. If the filing is then rejected, or the name changes, the number is attached to something that never came into existence.
Correction: wait for the state's approval. The EIN takes minutes and is free directly from the IRS.
Naming yourself as agent without thinking about the address
It is permitted in every state where you meet the address requirement, and it saves a recurring fee. What it also does is put a physical address into a public, permanently searchable record.
Correction: decide this before filing, not after. Changing it later means a filing, and the old record does not disappear from data aggregators.
Forming in a state you do not operate in
Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada get recommended to people who have no reason to be there. Operating from your own state generally means registering there as well - two sets of fees, two agents, two reports.
Correction: for a business that operates in one state, that is usually the state to form in. The exceptions are real but narrow.
Treating the annual report as optional
The filing that creates the entity is the memorable one. The report that keeps it alive arrives a year later, addressed to whatever details are on the record.
Correction: put the date in a calendar the day the entity is approved. This is the single cheapest thing on the list.
Running the business out of a personal account
An LLC's protection assumes the entity is treated as separate. Paying business costs from a personal account is the most common way that separation quietly stops being true.
Correction: open the account as soon as the EIN arrives. Neither filing route does this for you.
Covered in detail in What Can Go Wrong if You Form Your LLC without Professional Help?, What Legal Problems Can Come from Filing an LLC Incorrectly? and What Happens if You Make a Mistake Filing Your LLC Yourself?.
The figures
What the official sources say
| Where | What is charged | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Articles of Organization filing fee | $70.00 | ca.gov |
| Statement of Information fee | $20.00 | ca.gov | |
| Florida | New LLC total filing cost | $125.00 ($100 filing + $25 registered agent) | fl.gov |
| Annual report fee | $138.75 | fl.gov | |
| Michigan | Annual statement fee | $25.00 | michigan.gov |
| Late penalty on the annual statement | $50.00 if received after February 15 | michigan.gov | |
| New York | Articles of Organization filing fee | $200.00 | ny.gov |
| Biennial Statement fee | $9.00 | ny.gov | |
| Texas | Certificate of Formation filing fee | $300.00 | texas.gov |
| Assumed name certificate fee | $25.00 | state.tx.us | |
| Federal | An EIN is free directly from the IRS | $0 (free) | irs.gov |
Common questions
Start from the question you have
- What can go wrong if I form my LLC without professional help?
- What legal problems can come from filing an LLC incorrectly?
- What happens if I make a mistake filing my LLC myself?
- What mistakes do people make filing a California LLC themselves?
- What mistakes do people make filing a Florida LLC on Sunbiz themselves?
- What mistakes do people make filing a Michigan LLC themselves?
- What are the risks of filing my New York LLC myself?
- What mistakes do people make filing a Texas LLC themselves?