Can one LLC legally operate multiple business types (car washing, food, design)?
So I've got this situation where I'm trying to figure out if I can run several different businesses under one LLC umbrella. Currently, I have Mountain Peak Services LLC, and I want to operate three completely different business ventures: 1. A mobile detailing service (basically a car wash on wheels) 2. A weekend food stand at local markets 3. My freelance graphic design work which I've been doing on the side They're obviously totally unrelated industries, but I'm wondering if I can just keep everything under this one LLC I already formed. The big questions I have are about banking - do I need separate business checking accounts for each "business" even though they're all technically the same LLC? And for tax purposes, how would this work? Would I file multiple Schedule Cs with the same LLC name but just use different business activity codes? Or is there some better approach? I'm trying to keep things simple administratively but also want to make sure I'm doing everything legally and properly for tax purposes. Any insight from someone who's done this before would be awesome!
20 comments


Victoria Stark
Yes, you can definitely operate multiple business lines under a single LLC. This is commonly called a "multi-member" LLC even though it's just you operating different businesses. From a legal standpoint, there's nothing preventing you from running these three distinct businesses under your Mountain Peak Services LLC. For banking, while you're not legally required to have separate accounts, I strongly recommend setting up separate business checking accounts for each business line. This makes accounting and tax preparation much easier, and you'll thank yourself when tax season arrives. Most banks will allow you to open multiple business accounts under the same LLC - just explain your situation. For taxes, yes, you would file separate Schedule Cs for each distinct business activity, even though they're all under the same LLC. Each Schedule C would list the same LLC name but different business codes. This allows you to properly track expenses, income, and potential losses for each business separately. The IRS is concerned with the business activities themselves, not just the legal entity structure.
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Benjamin Kim
•Thanks for the info, this is really helpful. Would there be any benefit to separating these into different LLCs instead? I'm mainly concerned about liability - if someone sued my food business, could they come after the assets from my graphic design work too?
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Victoria Stark
•That's an excellent question about liability. Since all businesses operate under one LLC, the liability protection doesn't separate between your business activities. If someone gets food poisoning from your food stand and successfully sues, they could potentially reach all assets within that LLC, including profits and equipment from your car washing and design businesses. If asset protection between businesses is important to you, creating separate LLCs would be worth considering. Some people form a "holding company" LLC that owns several "operating company" LLCs. The drawback is increased costs - you'll pay filing fees and possibly annual fees for each LLC, depending on your state. You'd also need separate bookkeeping systems and tax filings would be more complex.
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Samantha Howard
After struggling with almost the exact same situation (running a landscaping service, pet sitting, and online store all under one LLC), I found this amazing tool at https://taxr.ai that helped me sort everything out. I was completely confused about how to properly file taxes with multiple Schedule Cs and track all the separate expenses. The taxr.ai system analyzed my situation and created a clear organization system that showed exactly how to structure my Schedule Cs while keeping everything under my single LLC. It even helped identify which expenses could be shared across businesses and which needed to be allocated specifically to one business activity.
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Megan D'Acosta
•This sounds interesting, but does it actually help with the bookkeeping throughout the year or just when you're ready to file taxes? I'm awful at keeping records separated and that's my biggest concern.
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Sarah Ali
•I'm skeptical about these online tools. Did it actually save you money compared to just hiring an accountant who specializes in small businesses?
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Samantha Howard
•It actually helps with both year-round bookkeeping and tax preparation. The system sets up categories for tracking expenses specific to each business activity, which made my quarterly estimated tax payments much more accurate. It also generates reports showing profitability for each business line separately. I'd say it saved me about 60% compared to what my accountant quoted me. My accountant wanted $1200 to handle the multiple business setup, but the tool cost significantly less and I still understood everything that was happening rather than just handing it all over to someone else.
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Sarah Ali
I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai since I was initially skeptical. After dealing with the headache of trying to separate expenses between my podcast production service and my weekend woodworking business (both under one LLC), I decided to give it a try. Surprisingly helpful! The interface walked me through creating clear divisions between my businesses while maintaining the single LLC structure. The best feature was the customized chart of accounts it generated that made QuickBooks tracking way easier. Now I can see at a glance how each business activity is performing instead of having everything jumbled together.
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Ryan Vasquez
If you're having trouble reaching the IRS to ask about your multiple-business LLC situation (which I definitely was), try using https://claimyr.com - it seriously worked for me after spending DAYS trying to get through on my own. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had specific questions about reporting losses in one business area while the others were profitable under my LLC, and I couldn't find clear answers online. After using Claimyr, I got connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed that I could indeed file separate Schedule Cs with different business codes under the same LLC name, and explained exactly how to handle the situation where one business line was losing money.
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Avery Saint
•Wait, how does this actually work? They somehow get you to the front of the IRS phone queue? That sounds impossible considering how backed up the IRS phone lines are.
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Taylor Chen
•This sounds like a scam. Nobody can magically get you through to the IRS faster. They probably just keep you on hold and charge you for the privilege. I'll stick to waiting on hold myself for free, thanks.
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Ryan Vasquez
•It's not about getting to the "front of the line" - they use an automated system that continuously redials the IRS until it gets through, then calls you when a representative answers. You're essentially outsourcing the hold time to their system instead of sitting there yourself for hours. The service is legitimate - they don't answer your tax questions themselves or pretend to be the IRS. They just solve the connection problem so you can speak directly with an actual IRS representative without the frustration of constant busy signals and disconnections.
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Taylor Chen
I need to eat my words from my previous comment. After my accountant went on vacation right before I needed to file my quarterly taxes for my multi-business LLC, I was desperate and tried Claimyr. Within 20 minutes I was actually speaking with an IRS representative who walked me through exactly how to handle my situation with multiple business activities under one LLC. They confirmed I should file separate Schedule Cs for each business activity with the same LLC name on each form. The agent also explained that tracking expenses separately is crucial, and recommended keeping separate books even if I used just one bank account (though separate accounts would be cleaner). Saved me hours of frustration and got me real, official answers!
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Keith Davidson
I've been running three different businesses under my single LLC for about 3 years now (home renovation consulting, rental property management, and an Etsy shop). Here's what I've learned: 1) Legally it's 100% fine to have multiple businesses under one LLC in most states 2) For banking, I use one business account but with detailed categorization in QuickBooks 3) For taxes, I file three Schedule Cs, all with my LLC name but different business codes 4) I track mileage separately for each business activity 5) For shared expenses (like my home office), I allocate based on percentage of use for each business The biggest challenge has been keeping records straight for tax time, but good accounting software helps tremendously.
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Ezra Bates
•Do you ever worry about one business putting the others at risk? Like if something went wrong with the renovation consulting, could your Etsy shop assets be at risk?
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Keith Davidson
•Yes, that's definitely a legitimate concern. With a single LLC, all business activities share the same liability umbrella. I mitigate this by having comprehensive insurance policies for each business activity, especially the higher-risk renovation consulting. For most small businesses starting out, the administrative simplicity of one LLC often outweighs the risk, but as my businesses have grown, I'm actually in the process of separating the renovation consulting into its own LLC since that carries the highest liability exposure. I'm keeping the other two together since they're lower risk and have less revenue.
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Ana Erdoğan
Has anyone had experience with how this multiple-business LLC approach affects getting business loans? I'm running a landscaping service and a weekend food truck under one LLC and looking to expand the food truck side, but wondering if banks will be confused by the mixed business activities when I apply.
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Sophia Carson
•I went through this exact situation last year. The bank wanted to see separate P&Ls for each business activity. Since I had been tracking everything separately with different classes in QuickBooks, I was able to show them exactly how the food truck portion of my business was performing independently from my other business activity. They did ask why I hadn't separated the businesses into different LLCs, but ultimately approved the loan based on the food truck's performance alone. They basically ignored the data from my other business activity entirely for loan evaluation purposes.
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Ana Erdoğan
•That's really helpful to know! I've been keeping pretty good records with separate tracking in QuickBooks, so sounds like I should be able to generate the P&Ls they need. Did they require anything special in terms of how the loan would be secured or used specifically for the food truck business?
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McKenzie Shade
One thing I'd add to this great discussion - make sure you check with your state about any specific industry licensing requirements. When I was running my cleaning service and catering business under one LLC, I discovered that my state required separate food handler permits and commercial kitchen inspections that were tied to the LLC registration. Some states also have restrictions on certain business combinations under one entity. For example, in my state you can't operate both a food service business and certain types of personal services (like massage therapy) under the same LLC due to health department regulations. It might be worth calling your state's business licensing office just to double-check there aren't any weird restrictions for your specific combination of car detailing, food service, and design work. Better to find out now than after you've set everything up!
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