Do you have to file a separate federal or state tax return for an LLC?
It depends on how you have elected your LLC to be taxed. An LLC
does not have its own tax return per se; it is taxed as either a
sole proprietor, a partnership, or a corporation.
If you have not made any election on how you want the LLC to be
taxed, there are default rules:
A Single-Member LLC (one owner): by default, is taxed as a sole
proprietorship. In this case, the LLC would not have its own tax
return -- its income and expenses would be reported on Schedule C
of the owner's individual tax return (Form 1040).
A Multi-Member LLC (more than one owner): by default, is taxed
as a partnership. If this is the case, the LLC will file Form 1065
Partnership tax return.
If the LLC does not want to fall into one of these two default
classifications, they can also elect to be taxed as a corporation
by filing Form 8832 "Entity Classification Election" with the IRS.
If the LLC does this, they will file a corporate income tax return,
Form 1120.
The LLC can also elect to be taxed as a Subchapter-S Corporation
by filing Form 2553 "Election by a Small Business Corporation" with
the IRS. If the LLC does this, they will file an S-Corporation tax
return, Form 1120-S.
Most states do not require you to make an election on how you
will be taxed, they simply say that they will follow whatever
election that you make with the IRS. So, the first step is to
determine which form you are required to file with the IRS and then
you should do the same with the State.
If you have not already done so, it would probably be wise for
you to sit down with an Attorney or Accountant who can explain the
pros and cons of each of these choices. Each tax structure has
subtle differences and one may be preferable for you over the
others.