All good things must come to end, and no matter the reason for closing your business, there are important actions you must take to make dissolution official. You don’t want to be liable for taxes and unnecessary fees when you close your doors.
Notify the State of Dissolution
Many business owners assume when they close their doors they are no longer obligated to pay state taxes and fees. Nothing could be further from the truth. Once filed with the state, a Corporation or Limited Liability Company (LLC) remains liable for its obligations until officially dissolved by the state. The state must be notified that you are closing your business immediately.
In order to dissolve a Corporation or Limited Liability Company (LLC), Articles of Dissolution (or Certificate of Dissolution or Certificate of Cancellation) must be filed with the appropriate state agency. The process requires time and a lot of paperwork—MaxFilings can save you time and money by doing this for you.
Notify the Federal Government of Dissolution
One of the most important steps is filing a final federal tax return for the year you go out of business. If you have employees, you must file the final federal tax deposits and the final employment tax returns as well. Be sure to include a letter with your return that provides the name of the person keeping the payroll records and the address where those records will be stored.
You will also need to file returns to report business asset sales, disposal or exchange, and/or changing of your business form. You can visit the IRS website’s Where To File page for a list of addresses where to send your final returns.
In addition to the above requirements, below is a check list of actions you may need to also do depending on your type of business structure:
- Send final wage and withholding information to employees
- Report information from issued W-2s.
- Report capital losses or gains.
- Report partner’s or shareholder’s shares.
- File final employee benefit and/or pension plan.
- Send payment information to sub-contractors.
- Report information from issued 1099s.
The process of corporate dissolution can be complicated, requiring the completion and mailing of many forms to the state and IRS. Save time, money, and the tedious chore of document preparation by hiring a dissolution specialist at Maxfilings to do it for you. If you have questions, you’re welcome to contact us.
Email MaxFilings for a price quote to handle your dissolution. Please include your full name, contact information, business name, the state your business operated in, and any additional information or questions.
