LLC ADVANTAGES
A limited liability company (LLC) has many advantages as a form of business entity:
-
Pass-through taxation - under the default tax classification, profits taxed at the member level, not at the LLC level (i.e., no double taxation).
-
Limited liability - the owners of the LLC, called "members," are protected from liability for acts and debts of the LLC.
-
With "check-the-box" taxation, an LLC can elect to be taxed as a sole proprietor, partnership, S-corp or corporation, providing much flexibility.
-
Can be set up with just one natural person involved or, in some states, one owner which may be an entity itself.
-
No requirement of an annual general meeting for shareholders.
-
No loss of power to a board of directors (although an operating agreement may provide for centralization of management power in a board or similar body).
-
LLCs are enduring legal business entities, with lives that extend beyond the illness or even death of their owners, thus avoiding problematic business termination or sole proprietor death.
-
Much less administrative paperwork and recordkeeping.
-
Membership interests of LLCs can be assigned, and the economic benefits of those interests can be separated and assigned, providing the assignee with the economic benefits of distributions of profits/losses (like a partnership), without transferring the title to the membership interest.