Frequently Asked Questions About
Starting a West Virginia LLC

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

In order to form an LLC in the state of West Virginia, 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 WV 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.
• 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 West Virginia business.
• Write an Operating Agreement that covers how you will run your LLC.

After you’ve formed your West Virginia 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 West Virginia, you register a business by completing and filing your Articles of Organization with the West Virginia 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 West Virginia.

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 West Virginia state filing fee.

At the time of writing the fee charged by the West Virginia Secretary of State is $100. You can always check the latest West Virginia filing fees here. You can also pay an additional $25, $250, or $500 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 can take 5-10 business days for the West Virginia Secretary of State to legally create your LLC. If you pay an additional $50, $250, or $500 expedited fee, your LLC can be formed in as little as 24 hours, 2 hours, or 1 hour, respectively.

The name of your West Virginia 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 West Virginia Secretary of State website, or by using our fast and simple Business Name Search tool.

There are a few ways to register your West Virginia LLC name.

• If you’re creating a new business and your business name is unique in West Virginia 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 an Amendment with the Secretary of State.
• If you just want to do business under a different name, file a Trade Name Registration with the West Virginia Secretary of State, or have Incfile 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 West Virginia, this document is called your Articles of Organization, and it performs the same functions as the Articles of Incorporation.

No, the State of West Virginia does not allow the formation of a Series LLC. 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 West Virginia, including LLCs, must have a Registered Agent at all times. Here at Incfile, we provide a free West Virginia Registered Agent service for the first year if you file through us.

If you wish to change your West Virginia Registered Agent you can do so by filing a Statement of Change with the Secretary of State. Here at Incfile, we provide a free West Virginia 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 West Virginia business, you can perform a West Virginia 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

West Virginia charges a 6 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. In West Virginia, all sales of goods and services are presumed subject to sales and use tax unless an exemption is clearly provided. You can find a list of exemptions here.

You will need to register your business with the West Virginia Tax Division. You can complete this process online.

The base rate for West Virginia sales tax is 6 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 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.

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

If you're planning to own and operate a business in West Virginia, you'll likely need a business license in order to remain compliant. 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.