By Jennifer Reuting, author of Limited Liability Companies for Dummies™
I'm a military spouse also employed by the U.S. government, and I've been looking into establishing an LLC to sell my oil paintings and photographs online. We move every 2-3 years, and potentially could live overseas. I'd like to start the LLC now in order to give it time to grow in a part-time status until I retire in 5-7 years and am then able to devote my full time to it. With the bulk of the sales coming from the internet, that could include both national and international sales, what state(s) do I need to register in? Would I have to foreign file in the main states I do online sales in?
Some states can offer much better conditions for Limited Liability Companies than others. Most web-based companies will file in tax haven states like Nevada or Wyoming. You may only need to register in states you are actually conducting business out of. Most states see a brick and mortar business or you having employees in their state, as doing business in their state.
Here is a link to an article I recently wrote where I go over the benefits of Nevada vs Wyoming for incorporating.