Every year, LLC company owners are required by Florida State law to file for their LLC Annual report.
In this case, filing an LLC Annual report is essential for compliance and maintaining a good record with the government. Likewise, another reason for this is to avoid the dissolution of your LLC company.
With that said, this article will guide you through the steps of filing your Annual report in Florida.
When to File Your LLC’s Annual report?
The Annual report should be filed every year from the time you filed your LLC initial report. The Annual report must be submitted between the 1st of January and the 1st of May of every year. To avoid forgetting your Annual report filing, you must always include it on your calendar of activities.
For example, you can create a reminder on your phone or calendar to help you remember around one to two months before the due date to avoid missing the filing.
On the other hand, if it’s your first year to file for LLC Annual reports, it’s due the following year after the approval of your LLC application.
For example, suppose your company was established and certified on September 9, 2020. In that case, your first LLC Annual report is considered due for submission between January 1 and May 1, 2021.
Similarly, if you want to double-check the date when the state approved your LLC, it’s best to check your LLC’s Certificate of Formation.
The Division of Corporation State of Florida provides about 4 courtesy reminders about your Annual report to you through the address on your Articles of Organization. The first reminder would be sent in the middle of January and the other reminders would be sent about 3 to 4 weeks from then.
What Are the Requirements You Need to Prepare?
Before you file, make sure that you have these documents or information prepared. Preparing these documents beforehand can help prevent any delays during the process.
- State-issued LLC entity number
- Date of organization
- Florida Business EIN (entity identification number)
- Other important details about your company, such as:
- Your registered agent
- Its registered office address
- Officers/directors or partners updated contact information
- Insurance policy information including your proof of insurance, the insurance company’s name, the insurer’s name, and the policy date.
- Your signature and title if you are the one filing the report.
- 138.75 USD filing fee.
What Will Happen If I Don’t File My Company’s LLC Annual report?
Not filing your company’s LLC Annual report in Florida will result in the administrative dissolution of your company by the State of Florida. However, you’ll be penalized with a one-time non-negotiable fee of $400 penalty for late submission of your annual report after the 1st of May. This penalty would be paid in addition to the 138.75 USD filing fee for the annual report, making a total of 538.75 USD. If you fail to make this payment within approximately 4 months after the deadline, your LLC will be dissolved administratively.
In a case of administrative dissolution, you’ll need to file for a reinstatement of your LLC and pay a filing fee of 100USD only as well as the filing fee for the annual report (138.75USD). With this, you would not be required to pay the 400USD penalty for late submission of your LLC annual report.
Where to File the LLC Annual report?
Fortunately, filing your company’s LLC Annual report is now easier. You can only file your LLC Annual report online with the Division of Corporation in the State of Florida. Note that the state does not also allow the submission of hardcopy through the mail or in person.
How to File Your LLC Annual report: A Step-by-Step Guide
To help you file your company’s LLC Annual report online, this article has outlined the steps of the process. Check them out below.
Step 1: Go to the SunBiz: Division of Corporation, Annual Report
Step 2: Input your LLC Entity number and submit, you can also search for your LLC through the name search database of the Florida Division of Corporation
Step 3: Review the information of your LLC and make the changes you’d like to make as appropriate like the LLC members, registered agent, etc.
You can also take the help of professional services such as ZenBusiness or Legalzoom to help you as your registered agent.
Step 4: Choose if your LLC is manager (MGR) or member-managed (AMBR)
Step 5: After this, you’ll be taken back to the beginning to review the information you have given. You can go back to make edits or you can proceed to the payment section
Step 6: Once you’re done, you need to click “Continue” to make the payment. Choose a convenient payment option and then submit the payment.
Your Annual report will be submitted after you have successfully made the payment and have made the final confirmation. You will see a message congratulating you on filing your annual LLC report in Florida after paying. You can download a copy of your annual report and keep it for your business record.
What Is the Difference Between an LLC Annual report and LLC Partner Tax?
Most company owners mistake the LLC Annual report and LLC Partner Tax as being the same. Due to this misconception, they either miss filing one or the other. If you have multi-member LLCs, which means you have two or more owners, you must file for LLC Partner Tax.
Other Transactions You Can Do Under the Annual reports and Change Services
Aside from filing your company’s LLC Annual report, here are the other business documents that can be generated through the Annual reports and Change Services:
- Changing of registered agent/office
- Reinstating a business entity
- Closing a business
There are two possible reasons you might want to change your LLC’s assigned registered agent. First, you are dissatisfied with your existing agent and would like to change services. Second, you are your own agent and would like to get the services of a registered agent.
Regardless of the reason, you’ll need a registered agent for your company. This is because an LLC licensed agent plays a vital role in every company. In this case, your registered agent is the official representative of your company.
For example, suppose the state needs to contact your company for some legal matters. In that case, there should be an authorized representative where they can send legal documents.
- Reinstating a business entity
One reason for filing a reinstatement is that your LLC faced dissolution due to non-filing of the Annual report or paying taxes.
Of course, aside from these, some of the other tasks you can perform in the Annual reports and Change Services:
- File an amendment
- Business name search
- Change tax/Employer registration record
Conclusion
Finally, you now know how to file your company’s LLC Annual report in Florida. Making sure you comply with this requirement is essential to avoid penalties or the dissolution of your company.
In this case, to avoid forgetting your Annual reporting, it’s best to organize your calendar. It’s recommended to set a reminder two months before your date of filing.
After all, as a business owner, it’s your responsibility to abide by the government’s ordinance to avoid penalties for your company.