One thing no one's mentioned yet - don't forget about your business licenses and permits! Moving states means you'll need new ones specific to Colorado requirements. For a photography business, check if Colorado or your specific city/county requires: 1. General business license 2. Home occupation permit (if working from home) 3. Sales tax license (if you sell physical products like prints) 4. Professional licenses (some places require them for photographers) Even if you keep your NM LLC as a foreign entity, you'll still need Colorado-specific licenses to operate legally there.

Great question! I recently went through a similar move with my small marketing consultancy from Texas to Florida. Here are a few additional considerations that helped me make the decision: **Tax implications beyond just annual fees:** Look into Colorado's income tax rates vs. New Mexico's. Colorado has a flat 4.4% state income tax, while New Mexico has graduated rates up to 5.9%. Depending on your LLC's income level, this could influence your decision. **Banking relationships:** If you have established business credit lines or relationships with your current bank, ask them about transferring accounts vs. opening new ones. Some banks make it easier to update an existing LLC's address rather than closing and reopening everything. **Client contracts:** Review your existing photography contracts - some may have specific language about jurisdiction or governing state law. If you dissolve and recreate, you might need to execute new agreements with existing clients. **Timeline considerations:** The foreign LLC registration is typically faster (2-3 weeks) compared to dissolving one LLC and creating another (4-8 weeks total). If you need to maintain business operations without interruption, this might be the deciding factor. I ended up going the foreign registration route and it's worked well for me. The dual compliance is manageable, and keeping my established business identity was worth the extra annual fees.

I'm dealing with essentially the same situation but I'm confused about how income tax works. If my LLC is disregarded and I'm a foreign person not living in the US, do I still pay US income tax on the profits? I've heard about something called "effectively connected income" but I'm not sure if that applies to me.

This is such a complex area and I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here. I went through this exact same confusion last year with my foreign-owned single-member LLC. One thing I want to emphasize that hasn't been mentioned yet is the importance of keeping detailed records of ALL transactions between you and your LLC, even if they seem minor. The Form 5472 requires reporting of "reportable transactions" which includes things like loans to/from the LLC, guarantees, and even certain services provided. The threshold is surprisingly low - $25,000 per category per year. Also, regarding the income tax question that Isabella raised - this is where having access to proper guidance becomes crucial. The determination of whether your income is "effectively connected" with a US trade or business depends on many factors including the nature of your services, where they're performed, and whether you have any US tax treaty protections. I ended up working with a CPA who specializes in international tax, but even then we had to do a lot of research on the specific treaty provisions between the US and my home country. The good news is that once you understand your specific requirements, the annual compliance becomes much more manageable. The key is not to delay - those penalties for missing Form 5472 are real and they don't care about your confusion or good intentions.

Anyone have experience with using TurboTax for reporting a small 1099-MISC like this? I'm wondering if it's worth paying for the upgraded version just for one small form.

Just want to add that you should also check if the company issued any corrected versions of the 1099-MISC. Sometimes companies realize they made errors and send out corrected forms (1099-MISC-C) but people miss them or they get lost in the mail. Since you found the payment in your bank statements, you're all set to report it normally. But if you're still unsure about anything, the IRS has a pretty good FAQ section on their website about 1099-MISC reporting that covers most common scenarios like delayed payments and corrections. Way easier than trying to get them on the phone during tax season!

If your combined income for the year is under $73,000, you can use IRS Free File to e-file both your federal and state returns for free! I used it for my two-state situation last year and it worked great. The wizard asks where you lived during the year and guides you through the process for filing multiple state returns.

I notice there's some confusion in the comments above - the original poster mentioned working in Colorado first then Arizona, but one commenter referred to California instead of Arizona. Just wanted to clarify for anyone following along! For your specific situation (Colorado → Arizona), you'll file your federal 1040 to the IRS processing center for Arizona residents since that's your current state of residence. For state returns, you'll need to file a Colorado part-year resident return (not non-resident, since you lived there for part of the year) and an Arizona part-year resident return as well. The key difference between part-year resident and non-resident filing can affect your tax liability significantly, so make sure you're using the right forms for each state. Both Colorado and Arizona have specific rules about how to allocate income and deductions for part-year residents.

Check your health insurance if you had it! When my employer went under, I was able to find their EIN on some BlueCross documentation. It was in tiny print on a benefits statement.

Another option that worked for me in a similar situation - check if your former employer ever sent you any equipment receipts or reimbursement documents. I found my old company's EIN on a laptop return receipt they emailed me when I started working remotely. Also, if you ever filed any workers' compensation claims or had any HR-related paperwork (like background check authorizations or direct deposit forms), those often include the EIN. I know it's a long shot since the company disappeared, but if you have any old emails saved, it might be worth doing a search for "EIN" or the company's full legal name. One more thing - if you remember the company's address, you could try searching your state's business entity database online. Most states have searchable databases where you can look up registered businesses by address, and the EIN is sometimes included in the public records.