If you’re considering starting an LLC in Hawaii, then you need to know how much it will cost you to do so with the business registration division. That’s what this article is all about.
Below, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Hawaii LLC cost – including every filing fee that you need to pay to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to turn your business entity into a limited liability company.
So, without further delay, let’s start reviewing the most important Hawaii LLC fees to be aware of as a business owner.
LLC is short for a limited liability company. It’s a type of business entity, just like a sole proprietorship and corporation. It’s also called a business structure.
Becoming a limited liability company can be a good idea for several reasons. Mostly, your personal assets will be protected from seizure in the event that Hawaii LLCs struggle financially one day.
In addition to this, your Hawaii business will receive favorable tax situations, so LLC owners may save money when it comes time to pay taxes. You’ll even get some benefits when you hire employees and with various legal documents that give you greater flexibility with your business entities.
Read More: Best LLC Formation Services In Hawaii 2024
Now that we know what an LLC is and why your Hawaii business may want to become one, let’s look at the high LLC costs that you should be aware of, whether you’re starting a single-member LLC, a domestic LLC, or a foreign LLC in Hawaii.
The baseline Hawaii LLC cost is $50. This is the amount you pay to submit your paperwork to the business registration division and the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
If you want the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to process your articles of organization and operating agreements faster, then you can pay an additional $25 to expedite the process.
You will also need to pay a Hawaii LLC filing fee every year when you submit your annual report. The Hawaii annual report fee is $12.50 when you send in the Hawaii business documents online or $15 when you submit them to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs by mail or in person.
The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs also requires your business to have a valid Hawaii registered agent on file. This person will accept important documents on your company’s behalf to keep you in good standing with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
You can be your own registered agent and pay no fee whatsoever. Or you can hire a registered agent service and pay their fee. Most registered agent services charge between $99 and $300 per year.
The Business Registration Division doesn’t charge anything extra if you want to register a foreign LLC in Hawaii. Your LLC cost will still be $50, with the option of paying an extra $25 if you want your operating agreement and articles of organization to be processed faster by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Another Hawaii LLC cost to keep in mind is the price of business licenses. Every Hawaii LLC will need to pay $20 for a general license. But your company may have an additional filing fee for other licenses depending on the industry that it’s in.
It’s also worth keeping in mind how much you would pay in things like general excise tax, unemployment insurance tax, and federal taxes when running a Hawaii LLC.
This section will clarify that so you can prepare your business bank account to pay unemployment insurance tax and everything else when the time comes.
The state income tax in Hawaii ranges from 1.4% – 11%. The amount you pay after you form an LLC will depend on how much you’re earning. It may be worth getting some professional tax advice while setting up your operating procedures and business website for these reasons.
The state of Hawaii has set a 4% sales tax rate. This is money you will need to charge for every transaction after your Hawaii LLC formation process is complete.
As the owner of a Hawaii LLC, you will be responsible for paying a 15.3% federal self-employment tax rate on your income. You can seek legal or tax advice from places like Hawaii Business Express if you want to learn more about how this works in combination with your general excise tax and state filing fees for the calendar quarter.
As an employer, you will need to withhold 7.65% of your employee’s wages after you form an LLC.
There are other LLC costs and service fees that you may or may not encounter when you form an LLC in Hawaii. Here are the biggest ones to know while submitting operating agreements, annual reports, articles of organization, and other legal documents.
If you want to reserve a business name before you complete your email and fax filings, then it will cost $10. You can also pay an expedited filing fee of $25 to get the business name for your Hawaii LLC reserved faster.
You can also register a DBA name for your company and mailing address. This carries a state filing fee of $50. Also, you will need to file online to renew the DBA name every five years and pay an additional $50 to do so.
When you form an LLC by filing Hawaii articles of organization and an operating agreement, you will likely want to start a website. The cost of this can vary based on the competitiveness of your domain name and the services you use to build the site.
If you need certified document copies after the LLC formation process, it will cost $10 plus $1 per page. So if you needed ten pages of certified document copies, you would pay a filing fee of $20.
You may also need a certificate of good standing for things like opening a bank account for business income or getting business insurance.
The certificate of good standing costs $5 to receive, but you can pay an expedited filing fee of $10 if you need the documents quickly for something like a business insurance plan.
The cost to file articles of the organization during the LLC formation process is $50.
You may or may not need an attorney for this process. Many businesses don’t. Your fees will vary based on the attorneys you hire if you end up needing one.
Finally, you will need an employer identification number after going from a sole proprietorship to an LLC. But this is entirely free to do online, so there’s no need to factor it into your Hawaii LLC cost.
Now that we’ve covered the cost of things like an operating agreement and registered agent service in Hawaii, let’s look at some instructions for getting your business up and running. Here are six steps to help.
The first thing you need is a name for your new LLC. Make sure to follow all naming rules in Hawaii to avoid having issues with your operating agreement.
The next step is choosing a registered agent. Again, you can either be your own registered agent or hire registered agent services to do the job for you. Either way, the person will need to be available during normal business hours to receive important documents.
Read More: Best Hawaii Registered Agent 2024
Now you’re ready to file your organizational paperwork with the state. An LLC formation service can do this for you if you’re looking for some assistance.
Once you’ve filed your paperwork, you’ll get a certificate back from the state that tells you whether it was accepted or if further action is needed. If you use an LLC formation service, you should always get the approval you want without further steps.
At this point, you’re ready to prepare your operating agreement. This is the paperwork that will tell the state how you plan on running your business once it’s active.
Finally, all that’s left to do now is to register your EIN. You can do this entirely for free online in as little as 10 minutes, so this step shouldn’t take very long at all.
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ZenBusiness is another highly-reviewed service that can help you create your LLC in Hawaii. They’ll even do this for free if you pay for one of their registered agent packages. The company also offers ongoing business and tax advice and can help with things like accounting and growth.
Zen Business also offers after-hours customer service, which may make it the right option for business owners that tend to do work after normal business hours.
Northwest is a great company with a reasonable registered agent fee that can guide you through the entire process of starting an LLC in Hawaii. They can also be your registered agent if you need one.
The company regularly receives strong reviews from customers thanks to its solid online resources and customer service. It’s a great option that most business owners will be happy with having chosen.
Starting an LLC in the state of Hawaii can be a great way to run your business. You’ll protect your assets, enjoy some favorable taxation rules, and remain in good standing with the state to avoid fines and penalties.
We hope that our pricing guide has helped you make a more informed decision about whether this business structure is right for you – whether you choose to use a formation company’s assistance or not.
It costs a baseline fee of $50 to launch your new Hawaii LLC, but you may encounter extra charges throughout the process depending on your needs.
Yes, you can complete the process of starting Hawaii LLC entirely on your own. You don’t need to pay someone to do it for you if you don’t want to.
The main benefits of starting a Hawaii LLC are protection for your personal assets and a more favorable tax situation. But you also get some nice benefits related to flexibility around profit-sharing and management.
