Annual Filing Requirements for Maine LLC

Learn about the Maine LLC’s initial filing, continuous reporting, and tax filing obligations.

If you wish to form and operate a Maine limited liability corporation (LLC), you’ll need to prepare and submit a number of paperwork with the state. This article discusses Maine LLCs’ most essential continuing reporting and state tax filing needs.

The Annual Report

The state of Maine requires you to produce an annual report for your limited liability company. You may submit the report by mail or online at the Secretary of State’s website. To access the online form, you’ll need your LLC’s state charter number. The report requires just a few pieces of information, such as a short description of your company’s character and the name and street address of at least one LLC member.

Every year, the annual report must be submitted by June 1. A Maine LLC’s annual report filing cost is $85. (Out-of-state LLCs are charged a greater price.)

State Corporation Tax

Most LLCs are pass-through tax corporations when it comes to income taxes. In other words, the burden for paying federal income taxes is passed via the LLC to the individual LLC members. LLCs do not pay income taxes by default; only its members do. Some states charge LLCs a separate tax or fee for the privilege of conducting business in their jurisdiction. Maine, on the other hand, is not one of those states.

However, in certain situations, the owners of an LLC elect to have their firm taxed as if it were a corporation. This decision is made by submitting IRS Form 2553 to the IRS. (The form is available on the IRS website.) When an LLC elects to be taxed as a corporation rather than as a pass-through entity, the firm must submit a separate tax return. Maine, like almost every other state, has a corporate income tax. In Maine, the tax is typically determined using a set of marginal rates. This tax must be paid if your LLC is taxed as a corporation. Maine Revenue Services receives the state company tax return (Form 1120ME) (MRS). Check out Nolo’s article, 50-State Guide to Business Income Tax, or the MRS website for further information.

Employer Taxes in the State

Do you have workers in your LLC? If this is the case, you must pay employer taxes. Some of these taxes are paid to the federal government (the IRS) and are not addressed in this section. (However, it is important to understand that federal employer tax duties begin with getting a federal employer identification number (EIN).) However, Maine employers must additionally pay state taxes. The MRS website contains instructions for registering your LLC and paying these taxes. The procedure starts with the submission of an application for tax registration. This application is available online. After that, beginning in 2015, you must utilize Form 941ME for income tax withholding and Form ME UC-1 for unemployment contributions.

Taxes on Sales and Use

If your LLC sells items to clients in Maine, you must collect and remit sales tax. This implies you’ll need to register with Maine Revenue Services for this reason. To begin, you must submit an application for tax registration, which may be done online. (This is the same form that is needed to register for other state business taxes, such as employer taxes.) Then, every year, you must submit a state sales tax return (Form L), which you may also complete online at the MRS website.

Other States Registration

If you want to do business in states other than Maine, your LLC may need to be registered in any or all of those states. The exact states concerned will determine if you are needed to register: each state has its own regulations for what defines conducting business and whether registration is required. For registration reasons, having a physical presence (a business location) in a state, recruiting personnel in a state, or soliciting business in a state (through telephone, print advertisements, mail, or the Internet) are sometimes considered conducting business. Obtaining a certificate of authority or comparable document is normally required for registration.