Each Limited Liability Company (LLC) has a varying tax rate and taxation structure, but some general similarities tie all LLCs together. Depending on the state where your LLC is registered and how you’ve elected to be taxed, your tax rate and the LLC’s tax rate can be calculated easily.
How Do LLCs Pay Income Taxes?
LLCs do not pay income tax, but the owners of the LLC are taxed for their share of the income earned by the LLC. This means that the income tax an LLC pays depends on the individual tax rate of each member.
LLCs do not pay income tax, but the owners of the LLC are taxed for their share of the income earned by the LLC. This means that the income tax an LLC pays depends on the individual tax rate of each member.
For single-member LLCs, the LLC owner will pay federal income tax on all the income earned by the LLC. In this case, the LLC is treated just like a sole proprietorship. A sole proprietor accounts for income from their business as self-employment income, which is what you will do with a single-member LLC.
Multi-member LLCs pay taxes just like partnerships. Every year, LLC members report how much of the business income, expenses, and credit was dispersed to them. This is used to determine how much income is recorded on each member’s tax return where they will be responsible for federal income tax.
Just like with a single-member LLC, each member in a multi-member LLC will be responsible for some portion of the business income. All income must pass through the LLC and be accounted for when the members file annual tax returns.
LLCs can be taxed as a pass-through entity or as a corporation. This choice affects how LLC profits are reported for income tax purposes. The members of the LLC can decide to elect for their Limited Liability Company to be taxed as a corporation.
Corporate entities are sometimes subjected to double taxation because they pay income taxes on net profits before paying out dividends to LLC owners, who will then pay taxes on those dividends. However, this taxation structure can have tax advantages for individuals with high individual income tax rates because it will reduce the amount of taxable income on your tax returns.
Pass-through entities avoid double taxation and may allow LLC owners to claim more tax deductions on their tax returns. There are limitations to these deductions, especially for higher-income individuals.
By default, LLCs are considered disregarded entities for tax purposes. They are what’s called a pass-through entity, which means all income is passed through to LLC owners, who pay income tax for the money on their tax returns. Because all income is passed to the LLC members, the business itself does not have any income tax to pay.
The unique thing about LLCs is that you can elect to have your LLC taxed as a corporation instead of a disregarded entity. This means the corporation pays taxes on income instead of the LLC owners claiming income on their returns. Because LLCs are a unique tax case, it’s worth taking a closer look at how they are taxed before trying to start calculating your LLC tax rate
If your LLC operates by passing income through to the owners, your LLC tax rate will be directly related to your tax rate. By calculating your tax rate, you can understand your tax liability about your income tax rate. Keep in mind that LLCs that are registered in multiple states need to split income based on which state it was earned in. Your state taxes should reflect the portion of your income that came from your LLC in that state, while your federal tax return will reflect your total income from the LLC.
For LLCs that are taxed as an S corporation or C corporation, the tax rate will vary more by state and the income level of the LLC itself. Your tax rate will not affect the taxes paid by the LLC. Instead, you will calculate your LLC’s tax rate by the corporate income tax rates in the state.
As part of your annual obligations, you also need to look at the mandatory federal government and state taxes for your LLC as well as franchise tax requirements. The franchise tax is paid separately from other state and federal taxes.
If you have employees, your LLC will have to pay payroll taxes. These are dictated by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).[1] Members are not considered to be employees of an LLC and will instead pay self-employment taxes from the business income.
Although LLCs are registered on a state level, there are some mandatory federal tax payments paid annually by LLCs. These are accompanied by state taxes for the same programs, which usually provide credit to reduce your federal tax obligations and avoid double taxation. Because state payroll taxes vary wildly, you need to look up your state individually to calculate your rates based on state income tax.
Here are some of the mandatory federal payroll taxes that LLCs are required to pay:
| Taxes | Tax Rates | Who Pays The Tax | Deadline |
| Unemployment tax | 6%,[2] reduced by full payment of state unemployment taxes | LLCs who paid more than $1500 in wages throughout 1 year | Paid annually by the federal filing deadline, or quarterly if payments are over $500 per quarter |
| Social Security Tax (For LLC members) | 12.4% | LLC members on personal taxes, up to the first $147,000 earned | Pay-as-you-go, Form 941[3] filed by the last day of the month after each quarter |
| Social Security Tax (For LLC employees) | 6.2%[4] | LLC employer | Pay-as-you-go, Form 941 filed by the last day of the month after each quarter |
| Medicare Tax (For LLC members) | 2.9% + 0.9% on wages over $200,000 | LLC members on personal tax returns | Pay-as-you-go, Form 941 filed by the last day of the month after each quarter |
| Medicare Tax (For LLC employees) | 1.45% | LLC employer | Pay-as-you-go, Form 941 filed by the last day of the month after each quarter |
As an LLC, you are required to withhold taxes from your employees, if you have any, as part of your federal employment taxes. Social Security and Medicare taxes are both withheld by you as the employer. These taxes should be paid throughout the year, with quarterly filings to report the amount of tax withheld and paid for your employees.
If your LLC doesn’t have any employees, the main federal tax responsibility is self-employment tax for LLC members. Each LLC member is also responsible for Social Security and Medicare taxes, but these are paid through individual income taxes by small business owners.
LLC members pay self-employment taxes on all income that’s passed through from the LLC to them. This income is recorded as self-employment income on your personal income tax return, not as wages, dividends, or investment income.
You are fully responsible for self-employment taxes.[5] If you are expected to owe taxes of $1000 or more throughout the year, you will be paying estimated taxes every quarter. It’s better to play it safe with this expectation since failing to file quarterly can incur fees if you report income that would require quarterly filing in your annual return.
Self-employment taxes are applied to income earned from your LLC. Wages, dividends, and other income will be taxed at different rates.
In most US states, LLCs must collect sales tax on behalf of the state government. Sales tax is paid by your customers as part of a transaction they do with your business, but your LLC is responsible for passing this collected tax to the state government.
Not all states have sales tax laws. States that do have sales tax will charge different rates, usually between 5%-9%. Some local counties also have sales taxes that your LLC may need to collect on their behalf.
All sales tax laws have some exceptions, with some types of products or services being completely excluded from the need to collect sales taxes. Check with any state where your LLC is registered, and any local counties where you operate, to understand the sales tax obligations you face.
The annual deadline for filing tax returns in the US is April 15th. Since LLC members receive the income from the LLC as self-employment income, this will be included in personal tax filings.
Single-member LLCs will file taxes like a sole proprietorship, using a Schedule C form[6] on your annual tax return to report your self-employment income. Quarterly estimated payments are made using the 1040-ES form for estimated taxes. Deadlines for 1040-ES payments[7] are as follows:
For multi-member LLCs that are filing as a partnership, members must file Form 1065[8] (Schedule K-1) to report the income, deduction, and credit split from the business. The deadline for filing Form 1065 is March 15th, 1 month before the tax return filing deadline. Whatever income you receive as a member of the LLC, you must report it as self-employment income on your Schedule C form while filing your annual tax returns. Quarterly estimated tax payments should be made by the same deadlines as stated above.
If your LLC chooses to receive corporate tax treatment, tax responsibilities will shift from the LLC members to the LLC itself as a separate and distinct entity. An S corporation will file Form 1120-S,[9] while a C corporation and other corporations will file Form 1120. This form is for reference, not for tax purposes, and is not submitted with federal income taxes or with state business taxes.
Corporations are subject to either the normal annual filing deadline for the calendar year or their own specified fiscal year. For S corporations, the deadline for filing taxes will be on the 15th of the month 3 months after the end of the specified tax year. Other corporations have a deadline of the 15th of month 4 months after the end of their fiscal year. These custom deadlines only apply where the corporation has stated they plan to file taxes using their fiscal year rather than the calendar year.
For more information about filing deadlines, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a helpful filing deadlines calendar[10] for tax purposes.
LLCs are the only type of business that can choose how to be taxed. The default tax structure is to treat the LLC as a pass-through entity, allowing all income to be taxed as self-employment income for the LLC owners. However, members can elect to have the LLC taxed as a corporation, giving owners the ability to choose the best tax structure for them.
Since LLC income is normally taxed as self-employment income, business owners can also claim their share of business expenses to reduce their tax burden. Look into the tax deductions available in your state and how much of your business expense can be deducted.
Taxes are complex, especially LLC taxes. As a small business owner, investor, or sole proprietor, you need to understand the tax responsibilities that come along with your LLC ownership. Consult a tax professional, lawyer, or another tax advisor to get the right information for your specific business situation and the tax rules that apply to you.
Knowing your tax requirements and the current tax rates that apply to your business helps you plan for your LLC’s finances ahead of time. Being prepared is the best way to make sure you stay in good standing by paying all your taxes on time and in full every year. Learn which taxes your LLC is responsible for and the deadlines for those taxes.
An LLC is a pass-through business entity for federal income tax purposes. That means it does not have to pay federal income tax. Instead, its profits and losses go straight through to the owners.
All of the profits and losses of the LLC “pass-through” the business to the LLC owners (called members), who report this information on their tax returns. The LLC itself doesn’t pay federal income taxes, although some states impose an annual tax on LLCs.
