Frequently Asked Questions About
Starting a New Mexico LLC

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

In order to form an LLC in the state of New Mexico, there are some minimum requirements you must meet. These are a completed Certificate of Formation, a business name and a fee you pay to the New Mexico Secretary of State. We recommend taking some additional steps before formally starting your LLC:

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

After you’ve created your New Mexico 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 Mexico, you register a business by completing and filing your Certificate of Formation online with the New Mexico Secretary of State via the Corporations and Business Services portal. You will need to gather information about your business, fill out the online form and file it with the Secretary of State along with your filing fee. This will formally create your LLC in New Mexico.

You can file your Certificate of Formation on the Secretary of State portal website. 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 Mexico state filing fee.

At the time of writing the fee charged by the New Mexico Secretary of State is $50. You can always check the latest New Mexico filing fees here. In many states, you can also 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 Certificate of Formation (or had Incfile do it for you), it can take 1-3 business days for the New Mexico Secretary of State to process and legally create your LLC. Because of this quick processing time, New Mexico does not have any expedited processing offerings.

The name of your New Mexico LLC needs to be unique, so you’ll need to ensure that another business is not already using it. You can do that via the New Mexico Secretary of State website, or by using our fast and simple Business Name Search tool.

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

• If you’re forming a new business and your business name is unique in New Mexico 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 Articles of Amendment with the Secretary of State.
• If you just want to do business under a different name, you may do so as there are no DBA, trade name, assumed name, or fictitious name regulations in place in New Mexico. As such we recommend talking to an attorney to discuss any legal implications you may be subjected to.

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 Mexico, this document is called your Certificate of Formation, and it performs the same functions as the Articles of Incorporation.

No, the State of New Mexico 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 Mexico, including LLCs, must have a Registered Agent at all times. Here at Incfile, we provide a free New Mexico Registered Agent service for the first year if you file through us.

If you wish to change your New Mexico Registered Agent you can do so by filing a Registered Agent Change with the Secretary of State. Here at Incfile, we provide a free New Mexico 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 Registered Agent Change on your behalf.

If you need to know the Registered Agent of a specific New Mexico business, you can perform a New Mexico Registered 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

New Mexico does not have a sales tax, but it does however have a gross receipts tax which is levied on anyone engaged in business in the state. A 5 percent gross receipts tax is imposed on certain retail sales, leases and rentals of most goods. You can find more NM gross receipts tax information here.

You will need to register with the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. You can find more information about how to complete this process online provided by the NM Taxation and Revenue Department.

The base rate for New Mexico gross receipts tax is 5 percent, and there may be additional gross receipts tax depending on your region, county or city. Once you know your overall gross receipts tax amount, calculate the value of all your taxable products and services. Then, multiply that by your gross receipts tax rate to understand how much you will need to pay.

Once your LLC’s registration with the NM Taxation and Revenue Department is complete and you have your Business Tax Identification Number, you will also receive information regarding how often you must file a gross receipts tax return and pay gross receipts taxes. Returns and payments may be due monthly, quarterly or annually.

Some businesses will need to pay a corporate franchise tax in New Mexico, however it does not apply to LLCs unless your LLC is treated as a C Corporation for tax purposes.

If you've formed a business in New Mexico and wish to continue to operate, then you'll likely need a business license of some kind in order to maintain compliance with the state. 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.