Ask HN: forming online-based LLC while not having stable physical location?

IANAL but the state that you choose to organize in won't have much bearing on how much income tax you owe. You will owe tax based upon the state(s) that are your legal residence.

You'd be better off getting an LLC and just using a registered agent in a different state, where it's cheaper to do so. Wyoming has no corporate taxes of any kind and its the first state in the nation to create the LLC. You could do it through Legalzoom for less than $200

Delaware. It's the friendliest state to "foreign" companies (companies registered in the state but headquartered/operated out-of-state).

You have a nexus with any state in which (1) you are registered or (2) are physically located (employees, offices, facilities, leased real property etc, but not including contract workers or leased equipment). You have to pay income taxes, social security, etc, in those states.

Any law textbook on LLCs.

IMPORTANT: An LLC alone will not shelter you from legal liability. The "piercing the veil" doctrine disregards the LLC and allows someone to go after the owner if the LLC is not sufficiently separated from your personal assets and control. For a sole proprietorship, the control part is already met, so you have to make damn well sure that you keep the LLC assets separate from your personal assets. Log and track EVERYTHING.

First suggestion, network to find a lawyer you like and trust. They'll help you far more than any HN advice will.

Going against that suggestion, my next suggestion is don't register in California, as you'll pay the $900 LLC tax each year just to exist. The $900 varies based on how much the corporation earns each year, but that's the minimum.

That said, you don't have to live in the state where you incorporate, but it does make things easier, as you have to have some place with a physical, non-P.O.Box-like address to send corporate documentation to. If you are not located in the state of incorporation, you'll need to have a registered agent. This agent will receive your corporation documents and forward to them for you. Most agents charge about $200 for the service -/+.

Since you move frequently, having a registered agent will probably work just fine for you, as your corporate mailing address wouldn't change unless you change agents.

You file taxes in the corporation's state, then apply the profits to your own taxes, as a pass-through. Note that, if you set up the corporation with pass-through taxes, you'll pay taxes on the corporation's profits, even if you don't pay yourself the money (as in, if you end up with $20k in a savings account at the end of the year, you'll pay taxes on that $20k, even if you aren't paid the $20k).

Hire an accountant, too. And a bookkeeper who can show you the books at any point (say, using a site like http://netbooks.com/ ).

I've used http://mycorporation.com/ a couples times in the past for incorporations, one S corp, one LLC. They've since been bought out by intuit.com, so I don't know how they are now, but I was good with the service I received.

i am also specifically interested in the vermont virtual corporation. anyone have any specific experiences?