If you are forming an LLC, then you may want to know about LLC Georgia Secretary of State. A Georgia LLC can be formed by filing with the Secretary of State, or SOS. There is a $100 filing fee. The filing must include the articles of incorporation.

Subsequent to incorporating in Georgia, the party filing must publish a Notice of Intent to Incorporate in a newspaper, be it general or legal focused, in the county that the LLC is located. In addition to a Notice of Intent, you must file an Initial Annual Return within 90 days of incorporating the LLC, along with a $30 filing fee. An Annual Report is due yearly by April 1.

The state of Georgia charges $100 each for both an articles of incorporation filing and an organization filing. If you file the Articles of Incorporation online, the Georgia Secretary of State office will generally take 5-12 business days to process. You can also file these papers via mail, with a processing time of 5-12 business days from the time of receipt. To expedite, you can pay $100 for a 24 hour turnaround and same day service costs $200.

Reserving a Name

In Georgia, there is no name reservation requirement. To see if your chosen business name can be used, you can use the free business name search that is available online.

Notice of Intent

The law requires that when you file a notice of intent to incorporate your business that you forward a publication fee of $40 to the newspaper no later than the business day after filing the articles of incorporation with the SOS.

All corporations are required to publish a notice of intent to incorporate in the official legal ledger of the county where the registered corporation will be located or in a newspaper that has general circulation in that county. The newspaper must have 60 percent of subscribers read the paper with a paid subscription.

Moreover, a Georgia corporation must file its initial return within 90 days of its incorporation. The cost for such a filing is $30. Corporations formed between October 2 and December 31 of a given year file the initial return from January 1 to April 1 of the following year. For corporations, a Georgia annual return will cost $30 every April 1st. The filing window for these returns are anytime between January 1st and April 1st of a given year.

Similarly, for Georgia LLCs, an initial report must be submitted between January 1st and April 1st of the following year that the LLC was formed. It has a $30 filing fee. After that year, the LLC annual report has a submission deadline of April 1st and has a $30 fee.

Business Taxes in Georgia

  • The Georgia corporate tax rate is 6%.
  • In general, the Georgia sales tax rate is 7.02%.
  • The state levies a 4% sales tax plus the local tax averages at 3.02% , for a total of 7.02%.

Forming an LLC in Georgia

1. Choosing your LLC’s Name :

  • An LLC name must contain one of the following: "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," "L.L.C.," "Limited Company," "LC," or "L.C." The name, including additions like LLC, is limited to 80 characters, including spaces and punctuation.
  • The name must be recognizably different from other names on the SOS file. You can check for name availability in the SOS business name database.

2. Filing the Articles of Organization

  • The articles must list the LLC's name and preferably include the managers’ names and addresses.
  • The SOS requires a $100 filing fee, which can be submitted online or via mail.
  • Provided that there are no issues with your filing, the State will provide approval for your LLC called a Certificate of Organization.

3. Appointing a Registered Agent

For service of process, every LLC in the state of Georgia must appoint an agent that can receive service of process in Georgia. A registered agent can be an individual or business that agrees to receive legal requests on behalf of the LLC. This is relevant in the event that the LLC is sued. A registered agent is required to have a physical street address located in Georgia.

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