Frequently Asked Questions About
Starting a Kansas LLC

There are a few different options when it comes to formally creating a business in Kansas. From a legal perspective, there are three main types of Kansas for-profit business entities: LLCs, S Corporations or C Corporations. For many entrepreneurs, we believe an LLC provides the right ratio of liability protection and ease of administration.

In order to form an LLC in the state of Kansas, there are some minimum requirements you must meet. These are a completed set of Articles of Organization, a business name and a fee you pay to the Kansas Secretary of State. We recommend taking some other steps before formally starting your LLC:

• Research your target market to make sure there’s a demand for the products and services you provide.
• Read industry guides to give you a starting point in your niche.
• Create a comprehensive business plan that defines the most important aspects of your Kansas business.
• Write an Operating Agreement that covers how you will run your LLC.

After you’ve created your Kansas LLC, you will also need to review your business license requirements, understand ongoing filing needs, set up a separate business bank account and get an accountant.

In Kansas, you register a business by completing and filing your Articles of Organization with the Kansas Secretary of State. You will need to gather information about your business, fill out the form and send it to the Secretary of State with your filing fee. This will formally create your LLC in Kansas.

You can file your Articles of Organization on the Secretary of State website or mail it in. Alternatively, Incfile can guide you through every step of the process by getting details from you and filing the form on your behalf — for free! There’s no additional charge for our basic LLC filing service, so all you need to do is pay the Kansas state filing fee.

At the time of writing the fee charged by the Kansas Department of State is $160 if you file online, or $165 if you file a paper form. You can always check the latest Kansas filing fees here. Some states allow you to pay an additional fee for expedited filing through Incfile, which will create your LLC faster. The amount of the expedited fee is dependent on how quickly you want your filing processed. Some LLC filing services do charge you extra to prepare and submit your filing documents, but at Incfile, we do this for free — so you only pay the state fee.

Once you’ve gathered all of your information together and filed your Articles of Organization (or had Incfile do it for you), it will be processed immediately with the Kansas Secretary of State if you've filed online, or 2-3 business days if you file a paper form. Because of the immediate online filing process, the state of Kansas doesn't offer expedited processing.

The name of your Kansas LLC needs to be unique, so you’ll need to check if it’s already being used by another business. You can do that via the Kansas Secretary of State website, or by using our fast and simple Business Name Search tool.

There are a few ways to register your Kansas LLC name.

• If you’re creating a new business and your business name is unique in Kansas and meets state naming rules, you simply include it in your Articles of Organization.
• If you want to change the legal name of your business, file a Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of State.
• If you just want to do business under a different name, in the state of Kansas DBA registration typically occurs on the local or county level, so check with your local municipality to see if you are able to register a DBA. Alternatively, we can do that on your behalf.

If you want to prevent people from using your business name across the U.S., you can file a trademark for the name. We can help.

In other states, the formal documents that you file to form a corporation or LLC might be known as Articles of Incorporation. In Kansas, this document is called your Articles of Organization, and it performs the same functions as the Articles of Incorporation.

Yes, the State of Wyoming allows the formation of Series LLC within the state. A Series LLC is a special type of LLC where you create one “overall” business and then have individual, series LLCs within it, each counted as separate legal entities. To form a Series LLC, simply fill out the Series LLC Articles of Organization form along with a Certificate of Designation for each series, and file them with the Secretary of State. The fee for a Series LLC formation is $165 plus $35 for each series established..

Yes, all legal business entities in Kansas, including LLCs, must have a Resident Agent at all times. Here at Incfile, we provide a free Kansas Resident Agent service for the first year if you file through us.

f you wish to change your Kansas Resident Agent you can do so by filing a Change of Resident Agent form with the Secretary of State. Here at Incfile, we provide a free Kansas Resident Agent service for the first year if you file through us. If you’ve been using a different Resident Agent and want to switch to us, we’ll file the change form on your behalf.

If you need to know the Resident Agent of a specific Kansas business, you can perform a Kansas Resident Agent search within the state's business database.

As an LLC, any business profits you earn will be reported on your personal 1040 filing and reported and taxed as “pass-through” income. You will typically need to pay:

• Self-employment or payroll tax on all business profits
• Federal income tax on profits after you meet your tax-free allowance
• Sales tax for selling taxable products and services

Kansas charges a 6.5 percent state sales and use tax on all retail sales, leases and rentals of most goods. You will also need to pay sales tax if you provide a taxable service. You can find a full list of taxability information guides for certain services here.

You will need to register as a sales tax vendor with the Kansas Department of Revenue. You can complete this process online.

The base rate for Kansas sales tax is 6.5 percent, and there may be additional sales tax depending on your region, county or city. Once you know your overall sales tax amount, calculate the value of all your taxable products and services. Then, multiply that by your sales tax rate to understand how much you will need to pay.

Once your LLC’s sales tax registration is complete, you will receive information regarding how often you must file a sales tax return and pay sales taxes. Returns and payments may be due monthly, quarterly or annually.

Prior to 2011, some businesses had to pay a corporate franchise tax for the privilege of doing business in Kansas. The franchise tax is no longer levied on businesses in Kansas.

The types of business licenses you need will vary depending on your type of business, industry, location and various other factors. We can research the types of business licenses you might need for you.