Comment by d4mi3n | Hacker News Reader

Comment by d4mi3n | Hacker News Reader

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Additional stuff I needed to do after forming an LLC. Note that I incorporated in Delaware and operate in California, which added some additional requirements I would not have had if I incorporated in the same state I operated in:

1. Acquire a certificate of good standing for my LLC from the Delaware Secretary of State.

2. Register with the California Secretary of State as a foreign LLC (out of state LLC), which required the aforementioned letter of good standing.

3. Acquire a business license from the city my LLC operates in.

4. Pay a franchise fee to the California Franchise Tax board.

5. Figure out what other fees I'm on the hook for. I wasn't able to figure this out on my own and am currently working with an accountant and lawyer I found after incorporated to help me do this correctly.

There's probably going to be a few other odds and ends. I operate out of my home and only employ myself, which saves on a lot of other paperwork and logistics I'd need to sort out otherwise.

I had the Delaware registration / California operating setup. The wind down is just as many steps. Cancelling sales / use tax registrations, the SoS registration, making your FTB tax is all paid and then cancelled in both states. Making sure both state and federal returns are marked final and don't close your bank account until you've paid them all.

wow you all should read the laws, specifically the consequences

not registering your out of state entity basically has no consequences, its a lower consequence than failing to return a book to the library and has the same level of resources set aside to enforce it

reach the same conclusion yourself as this is obviously not condoning anything, but anyone can run circles around you with the same runway and resource prioritization by ignoring these states

you might end up paying the same registration fees eventually just later, and depending on the state you get retroactive limited liability in the courts.

Remember tell things:

1) municipalities are in competition with each other to attract business

2) asking them if a certain level of compliance is necessary is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. It’s like asking the oil changer if they noticed anything else. Learn the consequences yourself and you’ll be able to make objective decisions.

i wish there was a service that would just tell me what fees i needed to pay. this was a big pain in the butt and most of the value i paid for for professional help.

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