That LLC you stopped using is costing you thousands 😱

Hi,

If you have an LLC you are not using anymore, it could likely be costing you up to tens of thousands, and most people have no idea it is happening.

Here is why: An LLC does not disappear when you stop using it. In the eyes of the state and the IRS, it stays alive until you formally close it, and while it sits there doing nothing, it keeps piling up obligations in your name:

• Annual fees – you still owe the yearly report fee or franchise tax whether your LLC earned a single dollar (or not).. in some states, this annual report runs several hundred dollars a year. Not to even mention registered agent fees, etc… 
• Tax returns – you still have to file! The IRS charges $255 per owner, per month, up to 12 months for filing late Multi-Member LLC returns. A two-owner LLC that lets a single year slide owes $6,120 on a business that made nothing!
• A messy forced closure – leave it long enough and the state may dissolve it for you, but that often leaves back taxes, failure-to-file penalties, and a damaged standing attached to the entity (and possibly, your name) 

So the real question is whether you still need it. You should be thinking seriously about dissolving if:

• The business has stopped operating and you are not planning to restart it
• You formed it for an idea that never got off the ground
• You closed one business and moved your work into a new entity
• A partnership split up and the old LLC is now just an empty shell
• You set up a second or third entity “just in case” and never used it

If any of those describe you, the entity may not be protecting you anymore. It is only creating cost and risk, and doing nothing is the most expensive option of all.

A proper dissolution puts a clean end to it. Once the state accepts the filing, the annual fees stop, the final returns get filed, the EIN is closed, and you are left with a clean record.

The best time to close an unused entity is before the next annual fee hits, not after another year of charges piles on. Reply to this email by Monday next week, and we’ll schedule a free 15 minute call to tell you exactly what it takes to close it cleanly and what it is costing you to leave it open.

Sincerely,

—

George Dimov, CPA

Licensed and Insured

(833) 829-1120 toll free

(212) 994-8081 Fax

www.dimovtax.com