Can I deduct LLC business losses of $10k against my personal income after dissolving the company?
I'm thinking about closing down my LLC since it just isn't making financial sense anymore. Throughout the year, I've racked up about $13k in legitimate business expenses but haven't made any profit at all. Complete waste of time and money honestly. My question is - if I dissolve my LLC, can I still use those business losses to reduce the taxes I owe on my regular W-2 income? Would just providing my business bank statements to my tax guy be enough documentation for this? I'm wondering if I need to keep the LLC active to claim these deductions or if I can still benefit from these losses after shutting it down. Has anyone dealt with this before? The whole thing has been a headache and I just want to make sure I get whatever tax break I can from this failed venture.
24 comments


NebulaNova
Yes, you can still deduct business losses against your personal income even if you dissolve your LLC. This is because a single-member LLC is treated as a "disregarded entity" for tax purposes - the IRS sees you and your business as the same taxpayer. Your losses would be reported on Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) and flow to your personal 1040. These losses can offset your other income like W-2 wages, potentially reducing your overall tax liability. Just make sure those expenses were legitimate business expenses incurred while the LLC was active. Bank statements alone probably won't be sufficient documentation. Your CPA will likely want to see receipts, invoices, and a clear business purpose for each expense. The IRS can be particularly scrutinizing of business losses, so good documentation is essential.
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Keisha Williams
•Thanks for the info! Quick follow-up question - is there a limit to how much business loss I can claim against my personal income? Also, does it matter if the LLC was only active for part of the year before I dissolved it?
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NebulaNova
•There are indeed limitations on business losses. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced "excess business loss" limitations - for 2023, you generally can't deduct more than $289,000 ($578,000 if married filing jointly) in net business losses against non-business income. But with your $13k loss, you're well under this threshold. As for the partial year operation, that's perfectly fine. You can claim legitimate business expenses for however long your business was actively operating during the tax year. Just be sure to keep documentation showing when the business was active and when it was officially dissolved.
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Paolo Conti
I went through something similar last year with my consulting LLC that wasn't working out. I was stressing about all the documentation needed for my $8k in losses until I found https://taxr.ai - it actually helped me organize all my receipts and business expenses by scanning them and categorizing everything properly. The tool analyzes your business expenses and gives you a report showing which expenses qualify as deductions and helps identify any potential red flags. This made my conversation with my CPA much smoother since I had everything properly documented and organized before our meeting.
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Amina Diallo
•Does taxr.ai work for both active businesses and ones you're shutting down? I'm in a similar situation but worried about claiming deductions for a business I'm closing.
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Oliver Schulz
•How long did the whole process take you? I've got hundreds of small transactions spread across business cards and PayPal. Would be nightmare to organize manually.
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Paolo Conti
•It absolutely works for businesses you're shutting down. In fact, it was especially helpful for me during the dissolution process because it helped me separate legitimate business expenses from personal ones, which is exactly what the IRS looks at closely when you're claiming losses. The entire process took me about 2 hours for a year's worth of transactions. I uploaded my bank and credit card statements, then the system automatically categorized most transactions. I just had to review and confirm some of the categorizations. For transactions it wasn't sure about, I uploaded photos of receipts and it extracted the relevant information. Saved me days of manual work.
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Oliver Schulz
Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after our discussion here. I was skeptical at first but decided to give it a try with my failing photography business. The system actually caught several deductions I would have missed completely! It organized all my chaotic expenses into proper categories and flagged which ones might need additional documentation. My accountant was seriously impressed with how organized everything was, and we were able to properly deduct about $15k in business losses against my day job income. It identified some expenses that were borderline personal/business that I might have incorrectly claimed. Honestly saved me from a potential audit headache and maximized my legitimate deductions.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
If you're dissolving your LLC and need to talk to the IRS about any tax implications, good luck getting through to them! I spent WEEKS trying to get clarification on how to handle my business closure. After 17 attempts and being disconnected repeatedly, I found this service called https://claimyr.com that got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 30 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically navigate the IRS phone tree for you and wait through all the holds, then call you when they have an actual human on the line. I had specific questions about how to report my business dissolution that weren't covered in the standard forms, and getting direct answers from an IRS rep saved me from potentially misreporting.
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AstroAdventurer
•Wait, you're saying there's a way to actually talk to the IRS without wasting your entire day? How much does this service cost? Seems too good to be true honestly.
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Javier Mendoza
•This sounds like a scam. Why would I pay someone else to call the IRS when I can just do it myself? Plus, how do you know the "IRS agent" they connect you with is actually legitimate?
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Natasha Kuznetsova
•The service doesn't have a flat fee - they have different options depending on which government agency you need to reach. I thought it was worth every penny considering I had already wasted hours trying to get through myself. They don't actually talk to the IRS for you - they just navigate the phone system and wait on hold. When they reach a human agent, they connect you directly to that call. It's your phone number that shows up to the IRS, and you're the one who talks to the agent. They're essentially just handling the frustrating part of waiting on hold for hours.
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Javier Mendoza
I need to eat my words about Claimyr being a scam. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I needed to sort out an issue with reporting my closed business on my taxes. After numerous failed attempts to reach the IRS myself, I gave Claimyr a shot. It actually worked exactly as described. I received a call back in about 40 minutes, and suddenly I was talking to a real IRS representative. Got clear guidance on how to properly report my business losses after closing my LLC and what forms I needed. Saved me hours of frustration and possibly from making filing errors. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!
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Emma Wilson
One thing nobody has mentioned yet - make sure you're keeping your LLC open until at least after you file taxes! I dissolved mine too early last year and it created a paperwork nightmare. My accountant had to jump through extra hoops to prove the business was legitimate since it was already closed when we filed.
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Yara Sayegh
•Really? That's super helpful to know. I was planning to dissolve it this month but maybe I should wait until after tax season. Did you have any issues claiming your losses even though you had already dissolved the LLC?
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Emma Wilson
•I was still able to claim the losses, but it required extra documentation. Since the LLC was already dissolved, the IRS flagged my return for additional review. I had to provide articles of organization, dissolution paperwork, business licenses, and more detailed expense records than would normally be required. My accountant advised that it's generally better to keep the entity open until after you've filed taxes for that business year. That way there's no confusion about the legitimacy of the business when claiming deductions. Once taxes are filed, then dissolve it if you want.
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Malik Davis
Does anyone know if there's a time limit on how long you can carry forward business losses if you can't use them all in one year? My LLC had way more losses than my personal income could offset.
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Isabella Santos
•Business losses can be carried forward indefinitely now, but they're limited to 80% of taxable income in future years. The rules changed with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Before that, you could carry back 2 years and forward 20 years.
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Zoe Papadopoulos
Great question! I was in a similar situation last year with my consulting LLC. You can absolutely deduct those business losses against your personal income even after dissolving the LLC. Since single-member LLCs are disregarded entities for tax purposes, the losses flow through to your personal return on Schedule C. A few important things to keep in mind: - Make sure all $13k in expenses were legitimate business expenses incurred while the LLC was actively operating - Keep detailed records beyond just bank statements - receipts, invoices, and documentation of business purpose for each expense - Consider timing your dissolution after you file taxes to avoid potential IRS scrutiny (as Emma mentioned above) The losses can offset your W-2 income dollar-for-dollar up to the excess business loss limitation ($289k for 2023), so your $13k loss should fully reduce your taxable income. Definitely work with your tax professional to ensure everything is properly documented and reported.
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Mason Davis
•This is really comprehensive advice! One question - when you mention the excess business loss limitation of $289k, does that apply per business or total across all business activities? I'm asking because I had two different LLCs that both lost money this year, and I want to make sure I understand how the limitation works when combining losses from multiple entities.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
I dealt with this exact situation when I closed my failed e-commerce LLC two years ago. You can definitely deduct those business losses against your personal income - the key is making sure you have proper documentation for every expense. One thing I learned the hard way is that the IRS pays extra attention to business loss deductions from dissolved entities, so organization is crucial. Beyond bank statements, you'll want receipts, invoices, contracts, and anything that proves the business purpose of each expense. Also consider the timing of your dissolution carefully. If you dissolve before filing taxes, you might face additional scrutiny and documentation requirements. I'd recommend keeping the LLC active until after you file your return for this tax year. The good news is that legitimate business losses can significantly reduce your tax liability. My $11k in losses from my failed venture ended up saving me about $3k in taxes when applied against my W-2 income. Just make sure your tax professional reviews everything thoroughly - it's worth the extra cost to avoid potential issues down the road.
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Emma Garcia
•This is really helpful context, thanks! Your experience saving $3k in taxes definitely makes the documentation effort worthwhile. I'm curious - when you kept your LLC active until after filing, did you have to pay any additional state fees or filing requirements during that extended period? I'm trying to weigh the cost of keeping it open a few extra months versus the potential scrutiny from dissolving early.
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Miguel Ortiz
I've been through this exact scenario with my marketing consultancy LLC that I dissolved last year after accumulating about $12k in losses. The good news is you can absolutely deduct those business losses against your W-2 income even after dissolving the LLC. A few key points from my experience: **Documentation is critical** - Bank statements alone won't cut it. The IRS will want to see receipts, invoices, contracts, and clear business justification for each expense. I recommend categorizing everything by expense type (office supplies, software subscriptions, marketing costs, etc.) to make your CPA's job easier. **Timing matters** - Consider keeping your LLC active until after you file your tax return. I dissolved mine too early and it triggered additional IRS questions that delayed my refund by several months. The extra few months of minimal state fees were worth avoiding the headache. **The tax savings are real** - My $12k in losses reduced my taxable income dollar-for-dollar, saving me about $3,200 in federal taxes (I'm in the 26% bracket). Since you're well under the $289k excess business loss threshold, your full $13k should be deductible. Work with a qualified tax professional who has experience with business dissolutions - they'll know exactly what documentation the IRS expects and can help you avoid common pitfalls that trigger audits.
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Ellie Kim
•This is exactly the kind of detailed advice I was hoping to find! Your experience mirrors what I'm going through almost perfectly. The timing tip about keeping the LLC active until after filing is something I hadn't considered but makes total sense - a few extra months of state fees is definitely worth avoiding IRS scrutiny and potential delays. I'm curious about the categorization process you mentioned. Did you use any specific software or tools to organize all your expenses by type, or did you do it manually? With my scattered receipts and transactions across multiple accounts, I'm dreading the organization phase but know it's crucial for a smooth filing process. Also, when you worked with your tax professional, did they charge extra for handling the business dissolution documentation, or was it included in their standard business tax prep fee?
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