So I'm finally pulling the trigger on an LLC for my tiny woodworking side gig. Michigan's online filing system... is it as straightforward as it looks? Any gotchas with the registered agent or the annual statement? I'd rather learn from your mistakes than make my own for once.
LLC Filing
Anyone here filed an llc online in michigan recently?
Did mine in January. Took like 15 minutes and the Articles of Organization were approved the next day. The annual statement is the part nobody warns you about—it's due Feb 15 every year and it's like $25. Set a calendar reminder.
I filed in February annd had the same experience. The LARA site is clunky but functional. Just don't use your home address as the registered agent if you can avoid it.
Wait, why not? I used my home address. Is that a problem?
It's public record, that's all. If you're cool with your address being searchable, no issue. I just prefer not to have my house tied to my business name online
I used a registered agent service because I didn't want my address out there. Costs about $50 a year but worth it for the privacy.
Good to know. I don't really care about privacy, but I also don't want to mess up the filing. Did anyone here use an agent service just for the filing itself?
I paid one of those online services $199 to file for me. Biggest waste of money. It's literally the same form you fill out on the state site. Do it yourself.
Yeah, I second that. The only tricky part is the EIN, but you can get that free from the IRS in 10 minutes.
Wait, you can get an EIN online? I thought you had to fax a form. That's what my accountant told me.
You can do it online. The IRS site is ancient but it works. Got mine immediately.
Your accountant might be thinking of a different form or just old-school. Online EIN is the way.
Not to hijack but has snyone had trouble with the annual statement portal? I tried to file mine last week and it kept timing out.
It was doing that to me too. I switched browsers and it worked. Try Chrome instead of Safari.
Alright, I'm convinced. Filing myself this weekend. Thanks for the heads up on the annual statement and the EIN. You all saved me a couple hundred bucks.
Good luck. And dont forget the annual statement. Seriously. The late fee is annoying.