As a blogger or influencer, you should be treating your blog and Instagram handle as a business. Even if you aren’t generating income just yet, we still recommend filing for an LLC. Getting your LLC isn’t expensive and it’s super easy. Every state is different, but there’s generally one solid way to figure out where to file and how to get your LLC.
How To Get Your LLC
Finding where to file is easy. Just find your state’s secretary of state website by simply googling “YOUR STATE Secretary of State”. There’s generally a section within these websites dedicated to filing for your LLC. The only information you’ll need to fill this out is an EIN (Employee Identification Number) or Social Security Number, your business information, and your mailing address.
What Is An LLC? And What Are The Benefits?
What Does LLC Stand For?
LLC stands for Limited Liability Corporation. It’s a separate legal entity which means you can do business with it, start a business bank account, and so on.
What Are The Benefits Of Creating An LLC For A Blog Business?
Creating an LLC is just one of those things that you should be checking off your to-do list as a new business owner. There are several great benefits to creating an LLC for your business.
- Possible tax breaks through flow-through taxation
- Protection of your personal assets – if god forbid you were ever sued for your business, they can NOT go after your personal assets if you have an LLC and have been using your business to conduct your services
- Less likely to be audited during tax season
- Helps to keep everything organized at tax time
Each state is different and may charge an initial higher fee for the year to register, but renewing is usually less expensive. You’ll receive a reminder every year to renew (your state may have other options to pay a few years at a time). This is also a business expense that you should be recording to reduce your taxable income.
How To Get An LLC For Your Blog
Do not, we repeat, do not use websites like Legal Zoom to create an LLC. Your Secretary Of State’s website is all you need to create this and it’s the safe and cheapest way to do this.
To get your own LLC, just head to your Secretary Of State’s website. You can easily find this by Googling “your state” and “secretary of state”. To ensure you’re on a secured site, it should be a .gov website URL. Each state will be different in the process. But the SOS website will be the place you usually need to be to register. Simply find how to file for an LLC and fill out your business information, address, and the primary or principal owner (which is you!). Every state will be slightly different. For us here in Georgia, we pay $100 for the initial setup in year one. And then every renewal year after that is only $50. It’s something we pop on our calendar to make sure we remember to do each year just like our taxes or renewing our domain name.
We recommend talking with your accountant as we aren’t professionals and are only speaking off of our own experiences. If you’re looking for a great accountant who is well versed in the creative world, we highly recommend Amy Northard.
For more business and blogging tips, explore these posts here!
