If you are reading this article, you must have your Mississippi limited liability company (LLC) up and running, and so congratulations are in order. You are set to take on the world and make profits beyond imagination! This is surely a cause for excitement, you would agree. But it calls for more work on your part as well. A lot of additional duties now rest on your shoulder. But chin up, it’s nothing you can’t handle.
However, just as you have duties with regards to your LLC, so also does the state. The state has a duty to keep an updated record of a good number of businesses, so that they can reach out if need be for legal communications or vital taxes, with your cooperation, of course. In Mississippi, the annual report of an LLC is made of two parts, the franchise tax, and the public information report. Every LLC located in Mississippi is obligated to submit these documents every year to the Mississippi comptroller. This is to ensure that their data is always updated with the state, so the state can keep a record of any changes in the company over the past year. This could be changed like a change in the company’s address or a change in the official members of the company. What then is a Mississippi annual report, you might ask, and does one go about the filing process?
In this article, the answers to this question will be divulged. Stick around.
What Is a Mississippi Annual Report?
A Mississippi annual report can be said to be like a general examination of your LLC, yearly. It is much like a census, in the sense that it collects the essential contact and obligatory organizational facts and figures about each business in Mississippi.
Whether you own a foreign or domestic LLC, the annual report is not something that you should take lightly. This is the medium by which every state keeps records and stays up to date with your LLC. Every state has its own requirements, but mostly you will be required to submit the name of your LLC, your LLC’s ID number, the office address of your LLC, details of your registered agent, name, and address of your manager and staff, etc. This way you can be contacted, if need be for vital information or in the case of unforeseen circumstances, and so that interested customers or brands can easily locate you. The Mississippi law emphasizes that every LLC running in Mississippi is obligated to file a report annually through the state’s online filing system. This report can be put in anytime from the 1st of January until the 15th of April of each year. The filing of an annual report must be done online. Failure to put in an annual report in Mississippi could result in serious penalties, including losing your right to carry out businesses within Mississippi, and even the possible dissolution of your LLC, and then you would have to pay a reinstatement fee of $50 to get re-established. So, if you are thinking of flying under the radar or going unnoticed, do away with that thought.
What then is the cost of filing a Mississippi annual report, you might ask?
Cost Of Filing An Annual Report in Mississippi
The cost of filing an LLC annual report varies with each state. In some states, filing an annual report is free especially if you run a domestic limited liability company (LLC). But if you run a foreign LLC, it is not free. In the state of Mississippi, the filing of an annual report varies depending on the type of limited liability company you own. Profit organizations both domestic and foreign must have to pay the sum of $23.5 to file their annual report, and nonprofit organizations have to pay the sum of $25 to put in their annual report. While for those running a domestic LLC, the fee for submitting their annual report is free, for those who run a foreign Llc, filing their annual report requires a fee of $250. So, be sure to include this when drafting a budget for your company.
How To File A Mississippi Annual Report
Having understood what an annual report is and its importance, let now consider the process and requirements involved in filing one and how to go about it.
When filing an annual report in the state of Mississippi, there are certain must-haves that you will be required to provide.
You would need
- Provide your LLC business ID. This ID can be found on your certificate of formation or by looking up your LLC.
- Provide a federal tax ID.
- Provide your principal address, phone number, and email address of your business.
- Provide the name and address of your registered agent.
- Provide the names and addresses of your manager or members.
- Provide the NAICS code for your business. If you are not conversant with this code, you can perform a quick search on the database of the secretary of state’s website by clicking here, to find yours.
- To state if your LLC has a functioning agreement or not.
Take note of these requirements, they are a necessity. When you have the above-listed must-haves handy, the entire process of annual reporting shouldn’t take much time and you would be done. The filing process is done online through the state’s filing system, and so if you don’t already have an account, you will need to create one before you proceed. After creation, log into your account, go to the button titled “file an annual report” and click. Then, you would be redirected to a couple of pages where the above-listed details would be required. Input them accordingly. Afterward, submit your annual report for processing by the state’s secretary. This should be done almost immediately if there are no mishaps along the way. Then you are good to go, free as a bird to run your limited liability company for the year. If you’re having trouble using the online system, there are also sets of instructions and guidelines set out by the state you can follow to use the online system effectively.
Noteworthy too is the fact that this process is a necessity, and as stated earlier, certain legal actions can be taken to penalize defaulters, and so the state does send reminders to the email addresses listed by various LLC owners in their certificate of formation, one to three months before the due date of the annual report. Therefore, playing the smart card is not advisable.
Can I outsource it?
Many LLC owners sometimes have a lot on their plate, so much so that placing the additional responsibility of annual reporting on their shoulders might make them tremble. In this scenario, you can outsource the responsibility of annual reporting to companies offering LLC services. Companies who offer these services manage and handle your LLC’s entire annual reporting process for a year. They can also assist in the formation of your business, especially during the early stages, giving it a solid foundation, by drafting a functioning agreement, handling the responsibilities of your registered agent, and other duties for a reasonable fee. Make sure to choose an LLC service that has a good reputation for delivering on-time services and for keeping essential information classified. This way you will be sure that the duties associated with your company’s annual reporting are in good hands.
So there it is, all the information you need to know with regards to filing a Mississippi annual report. Following these guidelines when filing the annual report for your LLC will ensure that your company functions smoothly and remains in good legal standing with the state.
