The paperwork is filed, the state says your LLC exists, and nothing about your money has changed yet. That gap is where most new owners lose track. One founder on Hacker News described how it goes:
things were going well and the bank account kept going up, so I kinda just piled the sales receipts on top of each other for close to a year.
When the company grew, the bank wanted properly reconciled financial statements before it would renew the company's loans, and catching up meant, in their words, "what at that point was probably 100 hours of busywork." This guide covers what to do after forming an LLC so you never need that cleanup: the money setup for your first 30 days, in the order it matters, with the 2026 rules checked against the IRS, FinCEN, and SBA.
What to do after forming an LLC: the short answer
After forming an LLC, get an EIN, open a business bank account, and set up a bookkeeping system before your first sale. Then register for any state sales tax you'll collect, collect a W-9 from every contractor, and plan quarterly estimated tax payments. Those steps keep the LLC's money separate from yours, which is the point of having an LLC.
The 30-day checklist at a glance
| When | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Get an EIN (free, on IRS.gov) | Banks and payment processors ask for it |
| Week 1 | Open a business bank account and card | Keeps business money separate, which protects the LLC |
| Week 1 | Pay yourself back for formation costs | Start-up costs are deductible, but only if you can show them |
| Week 2 | Set up your books and a receipt habit | You can't file taxes or get a loan without them |
| Week 3 | Register for state sales tax if you sell taxable goods or services | Collecting without a permit, or not collecting at all, both create problems |
| Week 3 | Get a W-9 from every contractor | You'll need it for 1099s in January |
| Week 4 | Plan estimated taxes and how you'll pay yourself | No employer withholds tax for you anymore |
| Ongoing | Put state and IRS deadlines on a calendar | Annual reports, sales tax returns, and quarterly payments repeat |
Why separating your money matters more than anything else on this list
An LLC only protects you if you treat it as a separate business. Owners on forums put it bluntly:
If you form an LLC but then buy all your supplies and hosting with your personal credit card, in the eyes of the law you are a sole proprietorship.
But the LLC needs to have more than a paper existence. You need to have a separate bank account
The precise version is a little different, and it's worth knowing. Mixing funds doesn't change how the IRS taxes you. It gives a court a reason to treat the LLC as your alter ego and hold you personally responsible for its debts, which lawyers call piercing the corporate veil. One answer on Money Stack Exchange draws the line well:
The IRS doesn't care about your bank accounts, it cares about your income (the R stands for Revenue). In order to protect yourself from piercing the corporate veil of the LLC, you have to ensure to treat [it] as a completely separate legal (not tax) entity from yourself, and that includes having separate bank accounts.
littleadv on Money Stack Exchange
The SBA makes the same point in plainer words: "Business banking offers limited personal liability protection by keeping your business funds separate from your personal funds" (SBA).
Week 1: Get your EIN and open a business bank account
Get an EIN directly from the IRS, for free. An Employer Identification Number is your business's tax ID. The IRS issues it online, immediately once approved, and it costs nothing. The IRS's own page warns: "Beware of websites that charge for an EIN" (IRS). The online application keeps set hours (Eastern time): 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 6 p.m. to midnight on Sunday.
Strictly speaking, a single-member LLC with no employees and no excise tax liability doesn't need an EIN for federal income tax (IRS). Get one anyway: banks ask for it, and you'll need it the day you hire.
Open a business checking account, and get a business card on it. The SBA says banks typically ask for your EIN, your formation documents, any ownership agreement, and a business license (SBA). Then make one rule and keep it: every dollar the business earns lands in that account, and every business expense comes out of it or the business card.
It helps with more than taxes. One owner noticed a change in how they made decisions once the accounts were split:
it felt more like a switch was flipped in my head
Spending from the business account became a question of whether it would grow the business, not whether it could be avoided.
Pay yourself back for what you spent to get started. Filing fees, a registered agent, a laptop bought before the account existed: record them, then reimburse yourself from the new account.
You pay for the setup costs out of pocket, and then once the LLC is formed, you reimburse yourself (just like with an expense report).
Andrew Savikas on Money Stack Exchange
Keep the receipts. The IRS lets you elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up costs and up to $5,000 of organizational costs, reduced once those costs pass $50,000, with the rest amortized (IRS Publication 583).
Week 2: Set up your books before the first sale
Bookkeeping is just a running record of every dollar in and out, sorted into categories your tax return uses. It's far easier to start clean than to rebuild a year from bank statements, which is the job the founder above put at about 100 hours.
- Pick one system and connect the business bank account and card to it. Accounting software, a bookkeeper, or a service that does it for you all work. What doesn't work is a spreadsheet you plan to fill in at tax time.
- Set up a short list of categories that match your business: materials, fuel, subcontractors, software, insurance, rent. Fewer, clearer categories beat a long list nobody uses.
- Capture receipts when they happen. A photo the same day beats a shoebox in March. IRS Publication 583 lists what to keep: records of gross receipts, purchases, expenses, and assets, along with the supporting documents behind them (IRS Publication 583).
- Reconcile every month. Match your books to the bank statement so the two agree. It's the step most owners skip and the one a lender or buyer will check first.
- Record money you put in and take out as the owner's, not as income or expenses, so your profit is right.
How long to keep records. The IRS's basic rule is 3 years from filing. Keep them 6 years if you left out income worth more than 25% of the gross income on your return, 7 years if you claim a bad debt or worthless securities loss, and employment tax records for at least 4 years (IRS). Electronic records count, and they don't fade.
Week 3: Register for the taxes you'll collect
Sales tax is a state matter. If you sell goods, or services your state taxes, you generally need a permit from your state's revenue department before you collect a cent. Each state decides what's taxable, how often you file, and when selling into another state creates an obligation there. The SBA's advice is the honest one: "Tax laws vary by location and business structure, so you'll need to check with state and local governments to know your business' tax obligations," and it keeps a directory of state revenue departments (SBA). Once registered, keep the tax you collect apart from your revenue in your books. It was never yours.
Get a W-9 from every contractor before you pay them. For payments made in 2026, you file a Form 1099-NEC for anyone (not incorporated, with some exceptions) you paid $2,000 or more for services during the year, and it's due January 31 (IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). That threshold was $600 for decades and is now indexed to inflation. Older guides still say $600, so check the current year's instructions before you file.
Hiring someone? Employees bring payroll tax deposits, state withholding, and unemployment insurance registration. That's a guide of its own. Set it up before the first paycheck, not after.
Week 4: Plan for estimated taxes and how you'll pay yourself
Nobody withholds tax for you anymore. A single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship by default: the profit goes on Schedule C of your personal return (IRS). An LLC with two or more members is taxed as a partnership by default (IRS), which passes the profit through to each member's return. On top of income tax, you owe self-employment tax of 15.3% (12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare) once net earnings reach $400, and you can deduct the employer-equivalent half of it (IRS).
Estimated taxes are due four times a year. Individuals, including sole proprietors and LLC owners, generally must pay estimated tax if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when they file (IRS). The 2026 dates from Form 1040-ES:
| Income earned | Payment due |
|---|---|
| January 1 to March 31, 2026 | April 15, 2026 |
| April 1 to May 31, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| June 1 to August 31, 2026 | September 15, 2026 |
| September 1 to December 31, 2026 | January 15, 2027 |
A common belief is that your first year self-employed is exempt. It isn't, as one long-time self-employed commenter warned:
I've never heard anything about an exception for one's first self-employed year, so be careful with this.
What the IRS does offer are safe harbors. You avoid the underpayment penalty if you pay at least 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's, whichever is smaller (110% of last year's if your AGI was over $150,000, or $75,000 married filing separately). You also don't need estimated payments at all if you had no tax liability for a full prior year as a U.S. citizen or resident (IRS, Form 1040-ES). Tax withheld from a paycheck during the year, from a job you're leaving or a second job, counts toward those payments too.
The practical habit: every time a customer pays you, move part of it into a separate tax savings account. Ask your CPA what share to set aside, based on your expected profit.
Paying yourself. By default you take an owner's draw: a transfer from the business account to your personal one. Draws aren't a deductible expense and aren't taxed separately; you're taxed on the LLC's profit whether or not you take it out. Putting yourself on payroll only comes in if the LLC elects to be taxed as an S corporation, using Form 2553 no more than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year it should take effect (IRS). Whether that saves you money depends on your profit, so it's a conversation for your CPA, not a week-four task.
What you can skip: the BOI report
Some LLC checklists still list a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report with FinCEN as a step, or cite only the temporary 2025 rule. Here is where it stands now. FinCEN's current guidance: "U.S. companies are exempt from the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements and therefore, are no longer required to file BOI reports" (FinCEN). The exemption came in an interim final rule in March 2025 and was made final in August 2026. Only foreign companies registered to do business in the U.S. still report. New York's own disclosure law, in effect since January 1, 2026, also covers only LLCs formed outside the United States (New York Department of State). If a website is charging you to file a BOI report for a U.S. LLC, you don't need it.
Put the recurring deadlines on a calendar now
The first 30 days are setup. After that, the risk is forgetting dates that repeat:
| Deadline | When | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly estimated tax | April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15 | IRS Form 1040-ES |
| Form 1099-NEC to contractors and the IRS | January 31 | IRS 1099-NEC instructions |
| Sales tax returns | Monthly, quarterly, or yearly, set by your state | Your state revenue department |
| LLC annual or biennial report and fee | Set by your state | Your secretary of state |
| Monthly reconciliation | Every month | Your own books |
Where Ruth fits
The weekly parts of this list, sorting transactions, keeping receipts, closing the month, are what Ruth does. Ruth is Clef's AI bookkeeper, and she works by text. Take a photo of a receipt and text it to her, and she files it and matches it to the payment. She sorts transactions as they come in, closes each month matched to your bank statement, and prepares your sales tax return for you or your CPA to file. You can start by just texting her what you spend and earn. Connecting your bank is optional and read-only, and she never files taxes on her own. If you'd rather start your LLC with the books handled than rebuild them later, see how Ruth works.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and depend on your state, so your CPA or attorney can apply them to your business.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first after forming an LLC?
Get a free EIN from the IRS, then open a business bank account with it and run every business dollar through that account. Those two steps keep your LLC's money separate from yours, which is what protects the liability shield and makes your books and taxes possible.
Does a single-member LLC need an EIN?
Not always for federal income tax. The IRS says a single-member LLC with no employees and no excise tax liability does not need one. In practice most banks ask for an EIN to open a business account, and it is free and issued online in minutes, so most owners get one in week one.
Do I still need to file a BOI report for my new LLC?
No, if your LLC was formed in the United States. FinCEN exempted U.S. companies from beneficial ownership reporting in March 2025 and finalized that rule in August 2026. Only foreign companies registered to do business in the U.S. still report.
Do I have to pay estimated taxes in my LLC's first year?
Usually, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year. There is no blanket first-year exception. You can avoid the penalty if you had no tax liability for the prior year, or if you pay at least 100% of last year's tax (110% if your AGI was over $150,000) through withholding and estimated payments.
Do I pay taxes twice if I have an LLC?
Not by default. The IRS treats a single-member LLC as disregarded, so its profit goes on your own return, and an LLC with two or more members is taxed as a partnership, which passes profit through to the members. Double taxation only applies if the LLC elects to be taxed as a C corporation.
How does the owner of a single-member LLC get paid?
By default you take an owner's draw: you transfer money from the business account to your personal account. A single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship, so you pay income and self-employment tax on the profit, not on the draws. Payroll for yourself only comes in if the LLC elects S corporation tax treatment.