How do I properly close my LLC with no income or expenses at all?

You're in a pretty straightforward situation since you never had any activity with your LLC. Here's what you need to do: Even with zero activity, you should still file a "final" tax return with the IRS. For an LLC with no activity, this would typically be Form 1065 (for multi-member LLCs) or Schedule C with your personal tax return (for single-member LLCs). Check the box indicating this is your final return. You'll also need to formally dissolve your LLC with your state. This process varies by state, but typically involves filing Articles of Dissolution and paying a fee. If you don't formally dissolve with your state, you might continue getting charged annual fees or franchise taxes. Don't forget to cancel your EIN by sending a letter to the IRS stating you're closing your business, including your legal name, EIN, business address and the reason for closing. Lastly, if you registered for any state taxes (sales tax, employment taxes, etc.), make sure to cancel those registrations too.

After spending hours trying to figure out what forms to file for my dead-in-the-water LLC last year, I ended up using https://taxr.ai and it saved me so much hassle! I uploaded my LLC documents and EIN letter, and it immediately identified what I needed to file for a business with no activity. The tool confirmed I needed to file a "final" return even with zero transactions and walked me through every form I needed. It also generated a customized checklist for dissolving my LLC with my specific state requirements, which was super helpful since every state has different processes. What really impressed me was that it flagged a potential issue with my state's franchise tax that I hadn't even considered. Turns out I still owed that even with no activity!

I need to apologize for my skepticism about taxr.ai in my earlier comment. I decided to try it anyway for my zero-activity LLC closure, and I'm genuinely impressed. The system walked me through everything step by step, and it was WAY more thorough than I expected. It identified that I needed to file both federal forms and state-specific dissolution paperwork. It even generated a customized letter to send to the IRS about canceling my EIN. The state-specific guidance was especially helpful - I had no idea I needed to publish a notice in a local newspaper in my state before formally dissolving! What really convinced me was when it found that I had a registered agent service that was still auto-renewing each year - something I'd completely forgotten about that would have continued charging me after dissolution if I hadn't properly canceled it.

If you're like me and spent hours on hold with the IRS trying to confirm what you need to file for a zero-activity LLC, you might want to try https://claimyr.com instead. After waiting on hold for literally 3+ hours multiple times trying to get someone at the IRS to answer my questions about business closure requirements, I found this service that actually got me through to a real IRS agent in about 15 minutes. Here's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was able to confirm directly with the IRS that yes, I did need to file a final return even with zero activity, and they walked me through exactly what forms I needed for my specific situation. Getting this straight from the source gave me peace of mind that I was doing everything correctly.

I'm back to eat my words about Claimyr! After dismissing it as a scam in my earlier comment, I was desperate enough to try it when I needed to confirm some details about business dissolution requirements for my LLC. To my complete shock, it actually worked exactly as advertised. The system called me back when it reached an IRS representative after about 2 hours (which is still way faster than my previous attempts). The IRS agent I spoke with was incredibly helpful and confirmed that with my specific situation (an LLC that elected S-Corp status but never operated), I did indeed need to file a final 1120-S marked as my final return, even with zeros across the board. The agent also told me about a specific form I needed for revoking my S-Corp election that none of my research had uncovered. That single piece of information made the service worth every penny and potentially saved me from future headaches.

I just went through this exact situation last year! Beyond the federal tax stuff everyone's talking about, don't forget about your state obligations. In my state (Florida), I still had to: 1. File articles of dissolution with the state ($25 fee) 2. File a final state tax return (even with zeros) 3. Cancel my business license with the county 4. Send formal notifications to creditors (even though I had none, it was still technically required) The most annoying part was that even though I never did any business, I still had to pay the full annual report fee for the year I dissolved ($138.75) before they would process my dissolution. So be prepared that closing might still cost you something depending on your state.

I'm confused about the EIN cancellation part. The IRS website says: "Canceling an EIN closing your account with the IRS. Once an EIN has been assigned to a business entity, it becomes the permanent Federal taxpayer identification number for that entity. Regardless of whether the EIN is ever used to file Federal tax returns, the EIN is never reused or reassigned to another business entity." So do we actually need to "cancel" the EIN, or just stop using it? Has anyone received confirmation from the IRS about what "closing your account" actually means in practice?

I went through this exact same situation with my LLC that I started in 2022 but never operated. Here's what I learned from my experience: Even though you had zero activity, you still need to file final tax returns. Since you mentioned getting an EIN, the IRS considers your LLC "active" from their perspective until you properly close it out. For a single-member LLC, you'd typically file Schedule C with your personal return and mark it as final. If you elected any special tax treatment (like S-Corp), you'd need to file the corresponding form instead. The key steps I had to complete were: 1. File final federal tax return (even with all zeros) 2. File final state tax return if your state requires it 3. Formally dissolve with your state (this varies widely by state) 4. Send a letter to the IRS notifying them of business closure 5. Close any business bank accounts and cancel business licenses Don't skip the state dissolution step - I almost made that mistake! Even though you never operated, most states will continue charging annual fees or franchise taxes until you formally dissolve. In my state, I had to pay a $50 dissolution fee plus one final annual report fee. The whole process took me about 2 months to complete fully, mainly due to waiting for state processing times. But it's definitely worth doing properly to avoid any future headaches with the IRS or your state.

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now! Started my LLC in late 2022, got the EIN, then life happened and I never actually did anything with it. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful. One thing I'm still unclear on though - if I had zero income and zero expenses for both 2023 and 2024, do I need to file "final" returns for both years, or can I just file one final return for 2024 that covers the closure? I never filed anything for 2023 since there was no activity, but now I'm wondering if that was a mistake. Also, has anyone dealt with closing an LLC that was registered in one state but you've since moved to a different state? I'm not sure if I need to handle the dissolution in my original state of registration or if my current state of residence matters at all. The state-specific requirements seem to vary so much - some of you mentioned newspaper publications, others just mentioned filing articles of dissolution. It's making me realize I really need to research my specific state's requirements carefully.

I went through this exact situation with my LLC that I formed in 2023 but never operated. Here's what I learned from working with a tax professional: First, yes you absolutely need to file a final tax return even with zero activity. The IRS considers your LLC "active" from the moment you got your EIN until you properly close it. For a single-member LLC, you'll file Schedule C with your personal tax return and check the box indicating it's a final return. The tricky part is that you may also owe penalties for not filing returns in previous years, even with no activity. I had to file late returns for 2023 (paying small penalties) before I could file my 2024 final return. The penalties were around $200 per year for late filing, but it was worth it to get everything properly closed. Don't forget the state side - this was the most expensive part for me. Even though I never operated, I still owed annual fees and had to pay a dissolution fee. In my state (California), this ended up costing me about $800 in back fees before they'd let me dissolve. My advice: start the process immediately. The longer you wait, the more annual fees and potential penalties accumulate. I wish I'd done this two years ago when I first abandoned the business idea. Also, consider getting a tax pro to help - it's worth the cost to make sure you don't miss anything important.