Having An Llc For Art!

Not sure that stock photography counts as art, but I have had an LLC for the past 14 years or so and all my photography income goes through the LLC and I can deduct the expenses from creating the imagery before the profits are distributed to the partners. I've had no issues at all although I need to employ someone to create the LLC tax return each year (about $450)

Why is an LLC necessary for an art business? I have an LLC for some real estate holdings and definitely feel I need the liability protection there, but not certain what I am protecting myself from in my art business. Maybe I'm naive, I hope someone can explain.

LLC stands for Limited Liability Corporation.

Where's the liability you need protection from?

The LLC has benefits other than personal asset and liability protection -- things like credibility (Eden Fine Arts LLC or Pine Creative LLC vs. John and Debbie Paintings), business credit card separate from personal credit, leasing advantages, easier for partner/child to take over the entire package....

I am a software publisher in Connecticut with an LLC for my game development.

I did it erroneously because of a demand by Sony. Turns out the platform I am using works with Sony and has no such demands.

I just put in my annual report with CT to keep the LLC because software can cause problems. That might be a liability. The yearly cost came down from $90 to $80.

I also have an LLC for my bookkeeping business. I am going to dump that next year if I do not practice as a bookkeeper this year. That is up in the air. It is a fallback income option.

First of all, are we talking about a single member LLC or multi-member LLC? There is a huge difference!

Assuming we are talking about an single member LLC, what is best for you depends greatly on what state you are in. Especially the liability aspects of an single member LLC vs Sole proprietor varies from state to state. In Florida for instance, it doesn't make much of a difference. If you are a one person show, you will be responsible no matter what and your protection from liabilities is minimal. You will be personally responsible if it comes down to that. In most cases, the state will not allow you to hide behind a single member LLC if there is nobody else responsible for your business but you (I was a small business advisor for a county in South Florida. I specialized in women and minority owned businesses)

As far as taxes goes, you have options with an LLC and it all depends on your personal circumstances

There are two things I would do:

A) Don't listen to anybody here, including me. Nobody here knows your personal situation and nobody here knows the latest fine print of the laws of the State you live in. The more you listen here, the more confusing it will get! (apologies to my fellow forum goers)

B) Consult a local CPA or tax accountant. They are the only ones who can give you tailor made advice

Rudy,

Interesting. I did not know CPAs were the people to ask. Mine in CT was the one who said I needed it for the bookkeeping business.

To others theoretically, if there is a liability some of your assets are shielded. Rudy seems to know more about the value of that than I do.

In CT it is easy to get LLC.

David, In my experience, CPA's are usually better equipped for practical, and personal, advice about this sort of thing than lawyers

Rudy,

With the bookkeeping, an error can become a problem. It is not common for anyone to be sued but bookkeepers at some point should be insured. Prior to that having an LLC matters. That was according to the CPA.

The software publisher LLC was Sony's idea. I am sticking to it. Ironically my path includes Sony but without the LLC if I wished.

I have never heard of a software programmer getting sued for his company's flawed product. Still, the money involved could be major. It might not fall directly on me if there was a problem. The platform I am using has the responsibility but I'd be daft to leave my assets at risk.

I see my accountant today. Thanks. I will ask him. I am filing this afternoon.