Do I need an LLC as a freelancer or consultant?

What an LLC protects, and what it doesn't

State LLC statutes put the company's debts on the company. In Nevada, for example, unless the articles or a signed agreement say otherwise, "no member or manager of any limited-liability company formed under the laws of this State is individually liable for the debts or liabilities of the company" (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.371).

Two limits matter for client work:

• Your own work. If a client says your advice, design or code was wrong, that is a claim about what you did, not a company debt. The shield is for the company's debts, and it is not a promise that nobody can bring a claim against you for your own work. For licensed professionals, Nevada's chapter on professional entities says its provisions "do not modify any law applicable to the relationship between a person furnishing professional service and a person receiving such service, including liability arising out of such professional service" (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 89.060). Professional liability (errors-and-omissions) insurance is what covers this.
• Contracts you sign personally. If a client contract is with your company, sign it as the company. A guarantee or agreement you sign yourself can make you personally liable. The Nevada statute's own exception is "an agreement signed by the member or manager to be charged" (§ 86.371). Clauses that cap what you can owe a client, or make you pay a client's legal costs, live in the contract, not in the LLC. Read them before you sign.

Taxes: what changes and what doesn't

• By default, nothing changes for a one-owner LLC. The IRS treats an LLC with one member "as an entity disregarded as separate from its owner" for income tax unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation. Your client income still goes on your own return. For employment tax, the IRS says a one-member LLC "is still considered a separate entity," so ask a tax professional before you hire anyone (IRS: Limited liability company).
• Self-employment tax. If your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more, you file Schedule SE and pay self-employment tax. The rate is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. You can deduct the employer-equivalent portion when you figure adjusted gross income (IRS: Self-employment tax).
• Estimated taxes. The IRS says that if you are self-employed you "generally need to make estimated tax payments." The year is divided into four payment periods, each with its own due date, and individuals generally use Form 1040-ES to figure the payments. Because a default one-owner LLC is disregarded for income tax, this stays your own obligation. The thresholds and the rules for avoiding a penalty are on the IRS page (IRS: Estimated taxes).
• Form 1099-NEC from clients. A client that pays you as a non-employee reports those payments on Form 1099-NEC, the form the IRS describes as the one to "report nonemployee compensation" (IRS: About Form 1099-NEC). That form is the client's report of what they paid you. Your own books are what you file from, so keep a record of every client's payments.
• The S-corporation election. An LLC can ask to be taxed as an S corporation by filing Form 2553. An eligible entity that meets the tests in the instructions is then treated as a corporation from the election's effective date and doesn't need to file Form 8832 (IRS: Instructions for Form 2553). The election is generally due no more than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year it is to take effect. An S corporation must pay a shareholder who works in the business reasonable compensation before making non-wage distributions to them (IRS: S corporation compensation), which means running payroll for yourself. Whether it saves money depends on your numbers: a question for a tax professional, not this page.

The licenses that apply to freelancers and consultants

Two layers decide what you need, and neither is the LLC. The city decides whether your work needs a business license or a business tax. The state decides whether your field is a licensed profession, and if it is, your personal license is what lets you practice.

City business licenses. City codes often name "professions" outright. Three examples from codes on Corpus:

• Las Vegas. The code defines "business" as any "trade, occupation, calling, profession, vocation or activity" carried on "for the purpose of gain, benefit or advantage, either direct or indirect" (Las Vegas Municipal Code § 6.02.010). For fields regulated by a state board, the same section defines a "professional business" and says that, for licensing and fee purposes, it includes the business activities of a person who provides or offers such services "in association with, and by means of an independent contractor relationship with, another professional business providing those services." See the Las Vegas home-business guide.
• Anaheim. Title 3 has a separate license tax for professions. It reaches a person in a profession or vocation "licensed by the State, related to a licensed profession or vocation, and/or requiring a period of specialized training," and its list of examples names consultants. The annual tax is based on the number of people engaged or employed in the business (Anaheim Municipal Code § 3.12.010). See the Anaheim home-business guide.
• Atlanta. Its occupation tax article has a rule for "practitioners of professions": they choose either the gross-receipts-based tax or a flat fee per practitioner. The section adds that compliance with the article "shall not be a precondition to the practice of any profession, listed herein, or licensed by the state" (Atlanta City Code § 30-63). Who counts as a practitioner is defined in the article, so ask the city's office of revenue. See the Atlanta home-business guide.

In another city, search its code on Corpus for "profession", "occupation tax" or "business license", or start from the home-business guide for your city.

State professional licenses. An LLC can't stand in for your own license, and states handle the fit between an LLC and a licensed field in different ways:

• Nevada. A board that regulates a profession under titles 54, 55 or 56 of the Nevada Revised Statutes may grant a license to an LLC if it is authorized to grant one to a corporation. A board that does so must adopt regulations listing who in the company must qualify, or saying it will use other means to decide (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.555). Nevada also has a separate chapter for "professional entities." Each person organizing one must generally be authorized to perform the professional service, and the articles generally must include a certificate from the regulating board showing that each natural-person member is licensed. The name must include "Professional Limited-Liability Company" or a listed abbreviation such as PLLC (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 89.040). A professional entity may render the service "only through its officers, managers and employees who are licensed or otherwise authorized by law" (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 89.050). Fields named there include architecture, interior design, engineering, landscape architecture, medicine and psychology.
• California. The LLC act lets an LLC render services that require a Business and Professions Code license if that code authorizes an LLC to hold the license. It also says nothing in the LLC title permits an LLC "to render professional services, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 13401 and in Section 13401.3" (Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.04(b), (e)). Whether your field falls under those sections is a question for your licensing board.

If your field isn't regulated by a state board, the state layer may not apply to you. Your state's licensing department can tell you.

Sales tax

Consulting, design, writing and coding for clients are services, not goods you sell. Whether a state taxes them depends on the state. Nevada's sales tax is imposed on retailers' gross receipts "from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail" (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 372.105). Its text is about tangible personal property, so ask the state's tax department how it treats a particular deliverable. Other states are written differently. New Mexico's gross receipts tax is measured by money received "from performing services in New Mexico," and also by money received from selling services performed outside the state "the product of which is initially used in New Mexico" (NMSA 1978, § 7-9-3.5). If you work remotely for clients in other states, or sell products alongside your services, ask each state's tax department how it applies.

Next steps

After it's formed: You formed an LLC. Now what?

What an LLC costs, state by state

The state’s own charges: what it takes to file on the online path, the yearly report, and any tax every LLC owes. These are not Corpus’s prices, which are on the formation page. Each state’s page shows the fee schedule behind its numbers. Fees verified from 2026-09-30 on; each state page dates its own.

Other trades

Dog trainers, walkers and pet sitters · Etsy and online sellers · YouTubers and content creators · House cleaners · Small-engine and reel repair shops · Mobile car detailers · Lawn care and landscaping · Tutors · Photographers · General contractor or handyman · Property manager · Mobile bartender or event caterer · SaaS, AI agency, or IT consultant · Owner-operator truck driver · Mobile notary or loan signing agent · Tree service or landscaper · Med spa or esthetician · Personal trainer or fitness coach · Mobile mechanic or auto repair · Pressure washing or exterior cleaning · Commercial cleaning or janitorial

Do I need an LLC? All trades · Running it from home? Home business rules by city

Sources

• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.371, Liability of Member or Manager for Debts or Liabilities of Company (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/ac1e45f0-0eac-4228-ae14-b53055ce0545
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.555, Issuance of Occupational or Professional License to Limited-Liability Company by Board or Commission (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/74d670cf-2b70-4d78-9936-76d6c2a98ea6
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 89.040, Filing Requirements; Required Provisions of Articles; Name (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/a55f721e-31f6-4b33-a421-8841e139c149
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 89.050, Scope of Business; Professional Services by Officers and Employees (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/18f4b635-371d-4f06-8f50-6dc30ea82406
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 89.060, Professional Relationship Preserved (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/f27be55a-25ad-495e-aab9-2c22cd67430a
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 372.105, Imposition and Rate (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/6f33e003-ad15-4c21-aa37-e7207633a978
• Cal. Corporations Code § 17701.04 (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/1c1a94c9-8ee2-4264-9b5f-3f05078435af
• NMSA 1978, § 7-9-3.5, Definition; Gross Receipts (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/88ed801a-c201-4e4c-a8f0-18b456862f20
• Las Vegas Municipal Code § 6.02.010, Definitions (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/8af4d7ba-ab30-4bc8-80cf-a90a04bbc4ce
• Anaheim Municipal Code § 3.12.010, Professions, License Tax (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/727a0e23-c85f-478e-acc9-69ca07d2aa54
• Atlanta City Code § 30-63, Professional Occupation Tax (Corpus official text): https://corpuslaw.us/code/77a9db24-84c4-40a7-bdf8-ddb4c1e922a9
• IRS, Limited Liability Company (LLC), page last reviewed 10-Oct-2026: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/limited-liability-company-llc
• IRS, Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes), page last reviewed 30-Oct-2026: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes
• IRS, Instructions for Form 2553 (Rev. December 2020), page last updated 30-Apr-2026: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2553
• IRS, S Corporation Compensation and Medical Insurance Issues, page last reviewed 03-Mar-2026: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/s-corporation-compensation-and-medical-insurance-issues
• IRS, Estimated Taxes, page last reviewed 25-Sep-2026: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estimated-taxes
• IRS, About Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, page last reviewed 07-Jun-2026: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-nec
• State fees in the table above: Corpus's verified state fee dataset, each state linked to its own page and the state's fee schedule