What an LLC owes, state by state.
An LLC is not a tax status. By default it is a pass-through: the company pays no federal entity-level income tax and the income lands on the members' returns. What happens next depends entirely on where the LLC is. Some states tax that income, some do not, and some tax the entity itself whether or not it made anything. Pick your state.
Four layers, and only two change with your state.
Federal treatment is constant: pass-through income, and self-employment tax on members who work in the business. The state layer is where the map matters, and it has two parts that behave very differently.
Pass-through by default
The LLC pays no federal entity-level income tax. Profit and loss flow to the members and are reported on their personal returns, in the proportions the operating agreement sets. That is true in every state, and it is the layer nobody changes by moving.
State income tax on the member
Several states have no personal income tax, so pass-through income arrives with no state layer on top of it. In the rest, the member reports it at that state's rates. This is the difference people are chasing when they compare states, and it is real.
Franchise and business taxes
Separate from income tax, some states tax the entity itself. It can apply only above a revenue threshold, or as a flat annual charge regardless of activity, and some states do not have one at all. An LLC with no income can still owe it.
Self-employment tax on top
Self-employment tax applies on top of income tax for members who work in the business, until an S-corporation election changes how that income is characterized. It is federal, so it follows you across state lines whatever the state layer looks like.
Two layers are federal and fixed. The other two are why people compare states.
Pick your state.
Each state page covers the state income tax an LLC's members face there, that state's sales tax position, any franchise or business tax on the entity itself, and the filings and deadlines that come with all three.
A clean handoff, in four steps.
There is no single LLC tax return. There is a federal one, a state one where the state taxes income, and whatever the entity itself owes on top of both. The order below is how they line up.
The federal return
The LLC files its federal pass-through return and the members pick the income up on theirs. Single-member and multi-member LLCs report differently, but both end at a personal return.
The state return
Where the state taxes personal income, the member's share is reported there too. In states with no income tax this step disappears, which is the whole reason people ask about it.
Sales tax where it applies
If you sell something your state taxes, sales tax registration is separate again, with its own filing schedule that has nothing to do with the income tax calendar.
The entity's own tax
Franchise or business tax where the state applies one, the S-corporation election if it fits, and every deadline attached to them tracked on one calendar rather than four.
The federal return is the predictable part. The state layer is what needs a calendar.
The rest of Tax & registrations.
Every one of these is built the same way: a national explainer above its state pages. They are the filings that sit closest to this one.
EIN application
The EIN application, state by state
All 51 states → HubEIN
Getting an EIN, state by state
All 51 states → HubLLC quarterly taxes
LLC quarterly taxes, state by state
All 51 states → HubPayroll tax registration
Payroll tax registration, state by state
All 51 states → HubS-Corp election
The S-Corp election, state by state
All 51 states → HubS-Corp election
The S-Corp election, state by state
All 51 states → HubSales tax registration
Sales tax registration, state by state
All 51 states → HubUnemployment insurance registration
Unemployment insurance registration, state by state
All 51 states →The full index lives on Tax & registrations.
The questions owners ask at tax time.
How is an LLC taxed by default?
As a pass-through. The LLC itself pays no federal entity-level income tax. Profit and loss flow to the members and are reported on their personal returns. The company still files, and the members still owe, but the income is taxed once rather than twice at federal level. Electing corporate or S-corporation treatment changes that, which is why the default is worth understanding first.
Do LLCs pay state income tax?
It depends where the LLC is and where the members are. Several states have no personal income tax at all, so pass-through income arrives with no state layer on it. Everywhere else, the member's share is reported on a state return at that state's rates. Your state page gives the position for the state the LLC is registered in.
What is a franchise tax?
A tax on the entity rather than on the income, applied by some states for the privilege of existing there. It can apply only above a revenue threshold, or as a flat annual amount on every LLC regardless of activity, and some states do not levy one at all. An LLC that made nothing all year can still owe it.
What is self-employment tax?
The federal tax that applies to a member's share of income when that member actually works in the business. It sits on top of income tax on the same income, which catches out owners who came from a salaried job where the equivalent was split with an employer. It applies in every state, and it applies until an S-corporation election changes the split.
Does an S-corp election reduce tax?
It changes how an active member's income is divided between wages and distributions, and self-employment tax applies to the wage part rather than to all of it. Whether that helps depends on what the business earns and what a reasonable wage looks like for the work. It is an election on top of the LLC, not a different entity, and the timing is worth planning.
Do I have to register for sales tax?
Only if your state taxes what you sell. Some states have no sales tax at all. The rest apply it to different combinations of goods and services, and services in particular are treated inconsistently from one state to the next. Registration is separate from income tax and has its own filing schedule, so it is worth settling early rather than at the first return.
Keep going, in order.
Tax & registrations
Every hub in tax & registrations, in one place.
Open the index → IndexAll 51 state guides
Every filing a business does, organised by jurisdiction.
Open the index → ServiceCompliance calendar
Every deadline that touches your entity, watched.
Track deadlines → ServiceTalk to a specialist
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