Form a Virginia LLC Vs a Virginia Corporation - Which is Right For Me?

Most form a Virginia LLC over a Virginia corporationtax structure among a single level of taxation, C
for their new business. This is because the Va limitedcorporation or S corporation.
liability company was designed to provide all theNow, a business can obtain the benefits of corporation
advantages of a corporation but without thetaxation but still keep all the state law benefits and
disadvantages. However, the LLC is not right forsimplicity of the limited liability company.
everyone.VIRGINIA LLC CAN RESULT IN LESS ANNUAL
Both the limited liability company and the corporationFEES
offer the same level of liability protection. They areThe State of Virginia charges a small annual fee to
both business protection vehicles and provide a layermaintain the registration of a Va limited liability
of protection between you personally and yourcompany. This fee is currently $50. This fee is a set
business. This is a must have today given the growingfee regardless of who many membership units are
number of lawsuits.issued to Members.
VIRGINIA LLC IS A SIMPLER LEGAL ENTITYIn contrast, the minimum annual fee for a corporation is
However, when you form a Virginia LLC you get a$100 annually but this is a minimum. As a corporation
much simpler legal entity than a corporation. There areequity structure gets more complex and more shares
no requirement legal formalities under the statutes likeof stock are issued, the fee increases significantly and
there are with corporations so a Va limited liabilitycan be as much as $1700 a year.
company is easier to maintain.SUMMARY
VIRGINIA LLC IS MORE FLEXIBLEWhen you form a Virginia LLC , you get an extremely
The limited liability company also provides a muchversatile protection vehicle for your business which
more flexible business vehicle. Owners (calledcan start off simple but has the potential to
Members) are able to tailor the way the business isaccommodate even the most complex of business
run in accordance with their own rules and processes.needs as the business grows. Of course, there are
With a Virginia corporation, there is a set of statutorysome situations where a Virginia corporation may be
structures, processes and maintenance requirementsmore suitable. Examples include if the business owners
including a required Board of Directors for a typicalhave intentions to take the business public with an initial
corporation.public offering, to take on venture capital investors
VIRGINIA LLC HAS MORE TAX CHOICES(who usually require that their investments be in C
One of the main reasons the limited liability company incorporations), or in some industries, having a
Virginia is so popular is because in 1997, the Internalcorporation is more acceptable from a business
Revenue Service passed the Check the Boxrelationship perspective.
Regulations which allows a Virginia LLC to choose its