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An LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a popular business structure offering liability protection and tax flexibility. Learn how to form one and why it’s a smart choice for entrepreneurs.

Your LLC's effective date is its birthday — and unlike a real birthday, you often get to choose it. Filing in October but requesting a January 1st effective date can save you a year of taxes and a costly annual report, sometimes over $800. This guide covers how it works and what to check before you file.

Nothing about an LLC is free, and the cost doesn't end at formation. Every state charges a one-time filing fee, and most charge a recurring annual or biennial fee to keep your LLC in good standing — with real consequences if you miss it. Here's what to budget for, state by state.

Every decision covered elsewhere in this section — your LLC's name, its effective date, its management structure, your registered agent — comes together on one form. This guide walks through a sample form from the fictional state of Delmarva, plus the field-by-field guidance state instructions leave out, the cover letter, and what to expect on filing day.