The first 75 days after formation decide things that are expensive to undo: whether the entity is taxed as an S-corp this year or next, whether a New York LLC is published on time, whether New Jersey has the registration it expects, how the owner gets paid, and when the first estimated payment is due. None of it is hard. All of it has a date.
Work through it with the free 90-day checklist, or book a free 15-minute call and we’ll tell you which items apply to you.
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Most of these cannot be reversed with a phone call. The ones that can be fixed later usually cost more to fix than to get right now.
A single-member LLC is taxed as a sole proprietorship by default; a multi-member LLC as a partnership; a corporation as a C-corp. Form 2553 changes that, but it is due within 2 months and 15 days of the date the first tax year starts — the earliest of having shareholders, holding assets, or doing business. Miss it and the election generally takes effect next year unless late-election relief applies. New York needs its own election (Form CT-6); New Jersey follows the federal one.
New York LLCs must publish a notice of formation in two newspapers for six consecutive weeks within 120 days of formation, then file a Certificate of Publication with the Department of State. It is a formality with a real cost — the county of the office address sets the price — and the authority to carry on business in New York is suspended until it is done.
Forming a New Jersey entity is not the same as registering it for tax. Form NJ-REG registers the business with the Division of Revenue for income, sales and employer taxes, and an annual report is then due each year by the end of the anniversary month of formation. Missing reports eventually lead to administrative revocation.
An LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship or partnership that carries on business in the five boroughs can owe the 4% UBT on top of state and federal tax. There is a credit that removes it at lower income levels, and the answer changes if the entity is taxed as a corporation — New York City does not recognize the federal S election, so an S-corp pays the city’s corporate tax instead.
Nothing is withheld from an owner’s profit. Federal estimated payments fall on April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15; New York and New Jersey run their own schedules. The first one that falls after the business has income is the one most new owners miss, and the underpayment interest is charged from that date.
In a default LLC the owner takes draws and pays self-employment tax on the profit. In an S-corp the owner-employee must be paid reasonable compensation through payroll before taking distributions. The right answer depends on profit, payroll cost and state rules, and it has to be set up before the first payment, not reconstructed in April.
Rules and dates reflect federal, New York and New Jersey guidance as of November 2026 and can change. General information, not tax advice for your situation.
Day counts run from the formation date on your filing receipt. The S-corp clock may start earlier if the business had assets or activity before the paperwork went through.
Articles filed. Get the EIN, open the business bank account, and register for state tax (NJ-REG in New Jersey; sales tax and withholding in New York as needed). Decide the bookkeeping system before the first transaction.
Two months and 15 days from the start of the first tax year. File Form 2553 by then if the election fits — and Form CT-6 for New York. After this, the election generally waits a year.
Six weeks of newspaper notices must be complete and the Certificate of Publication filed. New Jersey entities have no equivalent step.
Federal, state and — for NYC businesses — city estimates on the first due date after the business has profit. If the entity is an S-corp, the first payroll run and payroll-tax deposits start here too.
Reconcile the books, confirm owner compensation and distributions, check the New York LLC filing fee and New Jersey annual report, and set the calendar for the first business return (March 15 for S-corps and partnerships).
Prices are starting points. Scope — and the fixed fee — is confirmed on the discovery call before any work begins.
One 45-minute working session on your entity, followed by a written recommendation on structure and elections for the first year.
Everything in the Review, plus the filings and the plan: the business is set up to run, not just advised on.
The Launch Package plus the first business return and the owner’s personal return, with check-ins each quarter so nothing is reconstructed in April.
“Starting at” prices are the minimum for a straightforward single-owner entity. Multiple owners, multiple states, payroll already running, or prior-year cleanup change the scope, and the fee is quoted in writing after the discovery call. Engagements are fixed-fee under a signed engagement letter.
No. The election trades self-employment tax for payroll cost, a separate business return and reasonable-compensation rules. Whether it pays depends on expected profit, the state and city the business operates in, and what payroll will cost. Below a certain profit level it is usually not worth it; above it, the saving can be meaningful. The discovery call is where that is decided — with numbers, not a rule of thumb.
Yes. Form 2553 is part of the Launch Package when the election fits, along with the New York CT-6 where it applies. If the federal window has already passed, late-election relief under Rev. Proc. 2013-30 is often available where the facts support it. More on S-corp and LLC strategy →
The review still applies. Some windows may have closed, but most have a catch-up route: a late S-corp election, a late New York publication, a first estimated payment made now rather than never. The call tells you what is still open and what it costs to fix what is not.
Yes. We coordinate directly with QuickBooks Online, Xero and other bookkeeping teams, and we run a formal program for bookkeeping firms that do not offer tax preparation. See the Bookkeeper Partnership Program →
Not yet. Everything on this page, in the checklist and on the free call is educational. Advice for your situation starts with a signed engagement letter, after a discovery call where we confirm the scope and the fee.
Free, with an Enrolled Agent. We’ll tell you which of the dates above apply to your entity and whether you need us at all.
Samuel Oduro is an Enrolled Agent, enrolled to practice before the IRS. This page is educational and is not tax, legal or financial advice for your situation.