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Starting a Tennessee LLC
A Tennessee Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a legal structure used to protect your personal assets (home, car, bank account) in the event your business is sued.
An LLC can be used to operate a business, or an LLC can be used to hold assets (such as real estate, vehicles, boats, or aircraft).
Forming an LLC in Tennessee is simple.
First, search your Tennessee LLC name in the state database to make sure it’s available.
Designate your Tennessee Registered Agent, and file your Tennessee Articles of Organization.
The state filing fee is $300. Check out LLC cost in Tennessee to learn about all the fees for starting an LLC.
After your Tennessee LLC is approved:
- Complete your Tennessee LLC Operating Agreement,
- Get a Tennessee EIN Number.
Every year, your LLC must:
- File your Tennessee LLC Annual Report,
- and pay Tennessee LLC Taxes.
Need to save time? Hire a company to form your LLC:
Northwest ($39 + state fee) or LegalZoom ($149 + state fee)
(check out Northwest vs LegalZoom)
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.
TENNESSEE LLC GUIDE
Follow the lessons below to form your Tennessee LLC.
Hi Matt,
I am wondering how does it benefit to have an llc own the property rather than individual besides protected asset? As well how are property taxes handled?
Hi Matt,
I live in Ohio where there are no annual reporting requirements or costs. I bought a rental property in TN. So, does it make any difference whether I use my existing Ohio LLC (and file in TN as foreign), or start another domestic LLC in TN?
Thanks!
Jeff
Hi Jeff, what does your current Ohio LLC do or own? Are you okay with that being “mixed in” with the real estate activities? Said another way, if you use your Ohio LLC and foreign qualify in Tennessee, the same LLC is engaged in multiple business activities (assuming it engages in business activities in Ohio). You may not want to “clump” your liability like that. On the other hand, if you form a new LLC in Tennessee, you wouldn’t “clump” your liability (the real estate activity would be separate from the activity that the Ohio LLC engages in).
Regardless of whether you foreign qualify the Ohio LLC in Tennessee or form a new LLC in Tennessee, in both setups, you’ll need a Tennessee Registered Agent and you’ll need to file a Tennessee LLC Annual Report. Hope that helps.
Great! Thanks for the clarification. My Ohio LLC currently has almost nothing in it, and so yes, I am fine lumping the highly leveraged TN property in it.
You’re welcome Jeff. So circling back around, you can register your Ohio LLC as a foreign LLC in Tennessee or you can form a new Tennessee LLC. Currently, I can’t really think of any advantages or disadvantages to either method.
I have seen this done before but I would like to form an LLC in my state (TN) but have multiple funeral homes under it from around the U.S. Would i need to get an attorney?
Hi Mike, speaking with an attorney (or a few) is a good idea as there are a number of ways you can structure an entity (or entities) in this scenario.
Hi Matt,
I am wanting to file a single-member LLC. I will be making food products to be sold locally to friends, fair kiosks, and online which will reach diverse customers from different parts of the US and Canada.
Background: I am a military spouse. My driver license is registered in Washington State. I currently live in Tennessee because it is where my spouse was ordered to go. We might be living in TN for 2.5 to 3 years depending on where we are ordered to go next.
Question:
1. Do I file in Tennessee where I currently live or in Washington where my driver license is registered?
2. How will filing in TN or WA affect taxes?
Thanks in advance,
Elena
Hi Elena, where do you currently file state taxes? Do you plan keeping the Washington driver’s license? Do you think you’ll head back to Washington after your time in Tennessee?
Mr. Matt,
I’m trying to get more information on obtaining an LLC in the state of Tennessee. I live in Florida but I have rental properties in the state of Tennessee. What I’m trying to protect are my rental properties. Would an LLC be a good idea for me? How do I protect my rental homes? Currently my properties are being manage by a property company, can they advice me? Is there a benefit for me to get an LLC if I’m trying to protect my rentals? I file my rental properties on my personal taxes every year, how would that change? Could you recommend someone in Tennessee?
Thanks for the information.
Hi Erick, we don’t have any recommendations specific to Tennessee, however, in regards to taxes, we recommend using the “knights of the roundtable” strategy mentioned here: how to find an accountant for my LLC. Forming an LLC will likely not effect how much you pay in taxes, but it’ll offer personal asset and liability protection. You would need to have the LLC exist in the state where the properties are located, since that’s where you’re doing business. You’ll need to title the properties in the LLC after the LLC(s) are formed. You could form 1 TN LLC to hold all properties, multiple TN LLCs for each property, or you could form a parent LLC (say in Wyoming – for charging order protection) and then have the WY LLC own the TN LLC(s). There are a lot of ways to go about it. Hope that helps paint an overview.
Greetings Matt, thank you for all the great info on here,
Do we have to register with the department of revenue after opening the Tennessee LLC & obtaining EIN even though we’re not in retail & won’t be collecting any sales tax ?
Thank you!
Hey Mike, you’re very welcome. You’ll need to check with your accountant on this. Taxes and registrations vary so widely by location and the type of business. Thanks for understanding.