Tennessee LLC
Advantages and Disadvantages



Tennessee LLC Advantages and Disadvantages

Tennessee LLC:

An Tennessee LLC offers business entrepreneurs the form of corporate organization that provides perhaps the most flexibility to you. An LLC formation, like the alternative corporate forms of organization like a limited partnership or a Subchapter S Corporation, are generally prime candidates for a business juststarting. The state of Tennesse gives public support to an Tennesse LLC.

Should I form a Tennessee LLC?

An Tennessee LLC satisfies a necessary condition of your business planning developement in that it meets the requirement that you establish a legal form of organization in order to gain the statutory benefits and protection available in Tennessee to your LLC. Your Tennessee LLC establishes a legal presence within the state, which you can use either as a platform for in-state operations or by registering your Tennessee LLC via your agent's physical address in order to meet the purely statutory requirement for tax and filing purposes absent an in state operation.

Tennessee LLC: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of Limited Liability Company

  • Limited Liability: Owners of a LLC have the limited liability protection of a corporation.


  • Flexible Profit Distribution: Limited liability companies can select varying forms of distribution of profits. Unlike a common partnership where the split is 50-50, LLC have much more flexibility.


  • No Minutes: Corporations are required to keep formal minutes, have meetings, and record resolutions. The LLC business structure requires no corporate minutes or resolutions and is easier to operate.


  • Flow Through Taxation: All your business losses, profits, and expenses flow through the company to the individual members. You avoid the double taxation of paying corporate tax and individual tax. Usually, this will be a tax advantage, but circumstances can favor a corporate tax structure.


Disadvantages of Limited Liability Company

  • Limited Life: Corporations can live forever, whereas a LLC is dissolved when a member dies or undergoes bankruptcy.


  • Going Public: Business owners with plans to take their company public, or issuing employee shares in the future, may be best served by choosing a corporate business structure.


  • Added Complexity: Running a sole-proprietorship or partnership will have less paperwork and complexity. A LLC may federally be classified as a sole-proprietorship, partnership, or corporation for tax purposes. Classification can be selected or a default may apply.


By Tennesse and other state law in order to proceed with forming a llc, you need to prepare a written abstract detailing your llc purpose, the names of your initial Tennesse LLC members, the name and address of your Tennessee registered agent, the details of which will be introduced into the body of your LLC operating agreement and related Tennessee LLC formation documents assembled for application to the state of Tennessee.

Tennessee's 2009 Business Tax Climate Ranks 17th

Tennessee ranks 17th in the Nation's State Business Tax Climate Index. The Index compares the states in five areas of taxation that impact business: corporate taxes; individual income taxes; sales taxes; unemployment insurance taxes; and taxes on property, including residential and commercial property. Neighboring states ranked as follows: Kentucky (34th), Virginia (15th), North Carolina (39th), Georgia (27th), Alabama (21st), Mississippi (19th), Arkansas (35th) and Missouri (16th).

Tennessee's Individual Income Tax System

Tennessee's personal income tax system consists of a flat 6% rate on exclusively dividend and interest income. No other personal income is subject to state taxation. Tennessee's 2006 individual income tax collections were $32 per person, which ranked 43rd among states levying personal income taxes.

Tennessee's Corporate Income Tax System

Tennessee's corporate tax structure consists of a flat rate of 6.5% on all corporate income. Among states levying corporate income taxes, Tennessee's rate ranks 29th highest nationally. In 2007, state-level corporate tax collections (excluding local taxes) were $183 per capita, which ranked 18th highest nationally.

Tennessee Levies Sales Tax above National Median; Cigarette Tax among Lowest in Nation

Tennessee levies a 7% general sales or use tax on consumers, above the national median of 6%.State and local governments combined collected $1,360 per capita in general sales taxes in 2005, which ranks 5th highest nationally. Tennessee's gasoline tax stands at 21.4 cents per gallon, ranking 34th highest nationally. Tennessee's cigarette tax stands at 62 cents per pack of twenty and ranks 38th highest nationally. The sales tax was adopted in 1947, the gasoline tax in 1923 and the cigarette tax in 1925.

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