Spent basically all weekend searching whether it's better to register my tiny LLC in my home state or the other one where I'm opening the storefront. Every blog says something different. One says home state is cheaper and simpler; another says the other state saves you on taxes and has better business courts. Some say the opposite. I'm not looking for a law degree here, just trying to not screw this up in month one. Has anyone actually done this with a physical location in state B but living in state A? What ended up being the real deciding factor for you? I'm leaning toward just filing in the state where the storefront is and eating the extra fees, but I'm worried I'm missing something.
Moving
I researched both states and the advice online was contradictory
Where you physically operate matters way more than where you live. If the storefront is in state B, register in state B. Home-state filing to "save money" is how people end up paying a registered agent in two states and filing two annual reports.
Most of those blogs are affiliate garbage. They get paid per click on the registration services.
I did the opposite of what burner said and it was fine, so. Registered at home (cheaper), filed a foreign qualification where the shop is. Total pain in the neck but the annual fees at home were way lower. Depends entirely on the two states. Which are they? That's kind of the whole question.
This x1000. "State A vs state B" means nothing without the actual states. Tax structures vary so much.
Foreign qualification gets you the worst of both. You pay home fees AND filing fees in the operating state, plus two annual reports. Cheaper on paper, more paperwork in practice. Unless the fee gap is huge, skip it.
See, I'd say the fee gap alone justifies it. Mine was like 3x. Different strokes.
Nobody at city hall is going to congratulate you for being clever about registration. They care about your business license and tax permit in the city where the storefront is. Get those first, worry about the LLC paperwork second.
A CPA in the operating state will answer this in 15 minutes and save you a week of blog reading. Spend the $100. The internet cannot tell you your own tax ssituation, we're strangers with opinions.
Just pick one and move on, you can always restructure later. Analysis paralysis costs more than the filing fee.
"Restructure later" means dissolving and refiling, which is its own mess. But yeah, the paralysis thing is real.
lol everyone here is confidently giving opposite advice, which is exactly the problem the OP was describing. beautiful