Frequently Asked Questions About
Starting a New Jersey LLC

There are several different options when it comes to forming a business in New Jersey. From a legal perspective, there are three main types of New Jersey 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 New Jersey, there are some minimum requirements you must meet. These include a completed Certificate of Formation, a business name and a fee you pay to the NJ Department of Treasury, Division of Revenue. We also 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 New Jersey business.
• Write an Operating Agreement that covers how you will run your LLC.

After you’ve created your New Jersey 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 New Jersey, you register a business by completing and filing your Certificate of Formation with the New Jersey Department of Treasury, Division of Revenue. You will need to gather information about your business, fill out the form online and submit it to the Department of Treasury along with your filing fee. This will formally create your LLC in New Jersey.

It is requested that you file your Certificate of Formation on the Department of Treasury website over mailing 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 New Jersey state filing fee.

At the time of writing the fee charged by the New Jersey Department of Treasury, Division of Revenue is $130. You can always check the latest New Jersey filing fees here. In many states, you can also pay an additional expedited filing fee through Incfile, which may 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 Certificate of Formation (or had Incfile do it for you), it can take up to a week for the New Jersey Department of Treasury, Division of Revenue to legally create your LLC. If you pay an additional expedited fee, your LLC it may be possible to form your LLC faster.

The name of your New Jersey LLC needs to be unique, so you’ll need to make sure it’s not already being used by another business. You can do that via the New Jersey Department of Treasury website, or by using our fast and simple Business Name Search tool.

There are a few ways to register your New Jersey LLC name. 

• If you’re creating a new business and your business name is unique in New Jersey and meets state naming rules, you simply include it in your Certificate of Formation.
• If you want to change the legal name of your business, file a business amendment online with the Department of Treasure, Division of Revenue.
• If you just want to do business under a different name, file a form for registering an alternate name with the New Jersey Department of Treasure,Division of Revenue, or have 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 New Jersey, this document is called your Certificate of Formation, and it performs the same functions as the Articles of Incorporation.

Yes, after you've filed your Certificate of Formation, the state of New Jersey requires new businesses to complete a registration with the NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services by filing an NJ-REG form. This form may be filed online if you wish.

No, although many states are following Delaware and allowing the creation of a Series LLC, the State of New Jersey does not have a Series LLC offering. 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.

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

If you wish to change your New Jersey Registered Agent you can do so by filing a Statement of Change with the Department of Treasury, Division of Revenue. Here at Incfile, we provide a free New Jersey Registered Agent service for the first year if you file through us. If you’ve been using a different Registered Agent and want to switch to us, we’ll file the Statement of Change on your behalf.

If you need to know the Registered Agent of a specific New Jersey business, you can perform a New Jersey Registered Agent search within the state's business record service.

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

New Jersey charges a 6.625 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 taxable services here.

You will need to register with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. Once you've completed your registration, you'll receive a Certificate of Authority for Sales Tax which you must display at your place of business.

The base rate for New Jersey sales tax is 6.625 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 completed, you will receive a letter with instructions on how often you must file a sales tax return and pay sales taxes. Returns and payments may be due monthly, quarterly or annually.

No. In some states, businesses must pay a tax simply for the privilege of doing business within the state. This is not the case in New Jersey, however businesses are subject to Corporation Business Tax.

The Corporation Business Tax (CBT) in New Jersey is similar to that of a franchise tax in other states. It is imposed solely on corporations for the privilege of operating within the state, so as an LLC you needn't worry about CBT unless you've elected to be viewed as a corporation for tax purposes. You can read more about the New Jersey CBT here.

If your goal is to operate a business within New Jersey, chances are you'll need some type of business license to do so. 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.