How To Get An Llc If You Have A Registerred Business

Yes, you tin accept multiple businesses under one LLC. You can run two or more businesses under ane LLC by either:

running all the concern activities under one LLC proper name, or
registering DBAs ("doing business equally"), also known equally Fictitious Names.

Whether that LLC has any DBAs (Fictitious Names) is upwards to you. Significant, you don't have to file a DBA to run multiple businesses under one LLC, but you certainly can file a DBA (or multiple DBAs) if you lot'd like.

You'll want to look at the pros and cons of one LLC versus multiple LLCs. It would also be advisable to speak with an chaser about the details of your situation and what yous're trying to accomplish.

Running multiple businesses under one LLC

Pros:

easy to test business models, products, offerings, etc.
initially simpler (but not if things grow)
lower costs (1 articles of organization and 1 LLC annual report)

Cons:

liability risk could exist larger (all liability under ane "roof")
non-dissever finances and books could be disruptive

Amid our readers, we commonly see people fall into two groups.

• The first is those who have picayune money, perceive their take a chance to be loftier, and are testing out business organization models and how to make coin. They'll often have multiple business activities under 1 LLC.

• The 2d is a more experienced business concern person. They've established profitability or are confident in what they're doing. They decided to "exercise information technology right" from the get-go, form two LLCs, and keep the liability separate.

While there are more than pros listed above than cons, nosotros oftentimes run across more experienced business owners choose to separate their liability exposure and set upwardly a dissimilar LLC for each business.

Am I required to register a DBA for my LLC?

No, you don't have to register a DBA/Doing Business Every bit for your LLC.

Annotation: Depending on your state, a DBA may be chosen a Fictitious Name, Trade Name, or Assumed Name. They all mean the same thing though; recall of it as a "nickname" for your LLC.

(related article: practise I demand a DBA for my LLC?)

If you want to have one LLC that has multiple businesses under it, sometimes people prefer to register a DBA for each type of business activeness. Alternatively, the LLC could but do business under its true LLC name.

Again, the choice is upwards to you though. Y'all're non required to register a DBA for your LLC's business activities, but you tin can if yous'd like to.

Is it ameliorate to accept 2 LLCs instead?

Many people prefer to limit the liability, and therefore would choose two LLCs instead of one.

If you lot have one LLC doing multiple different activities, the liability exposure could be increased.

For example, if your LLC sells products online and also has a small shop in town, if you lot're sued considering of an outcome that happens with an online client, that could jeopardize your physical store location.

Example of one LLC with multiple DBAs

Under this setup, at that place is but one LLC that runs several businesses (each under a different name).

Example: John'southward Fresh Produce LLC runs a meat deli store chosen "John's Cafeteria Store" and a vegetable shop called "John's Fresh Veggies". Note that at that place is just one LLC that does business under two different names.

Example of multiple LLCs running separate businesses

Nether this setup, multiple LLCs run separate businesses.

Instance: Dan's Bike Shop LLC runs a bike shop while"Mike's Motorcycle Shop LLC runs a motorbike store. Note that the 2 LLCs are entirely separate and unrelated entities that run their own corresponding businesses.

How does this affect my taxes?

For most people, whether yous have one LLC or two LLCs, the corporeality you pay in taxes should be relatively the same. How you file your taxes may vary though.

1 LLC:

One LLC with one line of activity or multiple lines of activeness volition be reporting all income and losses together.

• For a Unmarried-Member LLC (taxed as a Sole Proprietorship) that means income/losses are unremarkably reported on a Schedule C, as a office of your personal 1040 tax return.

• For a Multi-Member LLC (taxed as a Partnership) that ways income/losses are reported on a 1065 Partnership Render and then each LLC Member volition become a K-i for their share of income/loss.

(related article: how is my LLC taxed?)

Multiple LLCs:

If you take multiple LLCs, the amount you pay in taxes will be more than or less the same, only how those taxes are filed will vary from the to a higher place instance.

• Multiple Unmarried-Fellow member LLCs (taxed as Sole Proprietorships) will report their income/loss on multiple Schedule Cs, however, the combined amount of Schedule C income/loss just "flows" to your personal 1040 tax return.

• Multiple Multi-Fellow member LLCs (taxed as Partnerships) will report their income/loss on multiple 1065 Partnership Returns and the LLC Members will exist issued K-1s (ane from each LLC). Withal, all the Thou-1 income/loss will "flow" to the Member'due south personal 1040 tax return.

Split up bank accounts

If you determine to grade multiple LLCs, you'll non but desire to keep all business concern activity separated, you'll too desire to open split LLC bank accounts.

Additionally, you lot'll desire to keep a divide fix of books. That can be washed via a spreadsheet or online software, such as QuickBooks Online.

We hope this article has been helpful in painting an overview of whether multiple business should be ran nether ane LLC or multiple LLCs.

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz has been the leading expert on LLC education for the by decade. He founded LLC Academy in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to offset an LLC that other companies weren't offering. He'south cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.

Matt holds a Bachelor's Caste in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive inquiry and analysis to catechumen state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to course their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.