How to Dissolve an LLC in Washington State | LLC Closing Guide

To dissolve a limited liability company one has to take up a set of required steps. In Washington State, if you and the members of the LLC want to discontinue business, then it is necessary to dissolve their business legally to avoid any administrative and legal consequences. To dissolve an LLC in Washington State, you are required to submit a complete Article of Dissolution to the Secretary of State. Before submitting the Article of Dissolution, one must follow the operating agreement.

If you have a Washington State LLC (domestic or foreign) you must have an operating agreement. The first step towards the dissolution of Washington State LLC is to follow the operating agreement. There are some points to be noted before proceeding with the official paperwork. At first, make sure all the members of the LLC are agreed to dissolve the business. Once all the members are ready, their consent should be recorded via voting. After casting their vote in favor of the dissolution, the legal process must be started. Here are the steps to address for dissolving Washington State LLC.

How to Dissolve an LLC in Washington State

Dissolution of Washington LLC requires three broad procedural steps. Having a Washington LLC Operating agreement, close all the tax accounts, and finally submit the Articles of Dissolution form to the Washington Secretary of State.

Step 1: Follow Your Washington State LLC Operating Agreement

When you have started an LLC as a business entity, then there is an operating agreement that is formed. There are complete details of how the company will function and grow in that operating agreement, which acts as a comprehensive guide. There is also a dissolution process, which is added to your agreement. The common dissolution steps that almost every LLC follows are:-

First of all, the dissolution vote will take place among the LLC members in the dissolution meeting. If the majority is with the YES, then the process goes into legal proceedings.

• All the dissolution votes will be noted down and recorded with the minutes of the meeting or a consent form.
• After that, a formal date for dissolving the LLC will be decided.
• The next step is counting the LLC assets and dividing them among the stakeholders and members accordingly.
• Finally, the creditors of the business are notified, and the debts of the business are settled.

This is a general process. However, it is strongly recommended to seek professional help to avoid any complications when it comes to terminating an LLC.

Get a Professional Agent Service

When it comes to a limited liability company dissolution, it is important to get professional help. The Washington State registered agent will guide you with everything you need to close your limited liability company. While choosing a registered agent make sure they have a physical street address in the state. A professional service provider helps you to file the Article of Dissolution and close your various tax accounts without any hassle. Below are the best LLC services we strongly recommend for you.

Step 2: Close All Tax Accounts

Every action that an official business takes is legally bound to some minimum business taxes. For that, various accounts, especially business entity tax account, are maintained by the state government with the help of various departments. You should consider all the taxes that you have paid for your LLC’s duration and make a list of them. 

You must contact all government entities and clear the amount of outstanding taxes due until the date you have decided for dissolution. All the taxes must be paid in advance so that you don’t face any issues in the further process of shutting down your LLC.

Some of the common taxes that limited liability companies have to pay are:

• Unemployment insurance tax
• Employee withholding tax if your LLC has employees.
• If your LLC is engaged in selling taxable goods then they are liable to pay the sales and use tax.

Most of these taxes are normally filed, but some departments require official paperwork, without which it is impossible for the business to close their accounts. Apart from business taxes, federal taxes, personal income taxes, and franchise taxes are to be considered. For the franchise taxes, a franchise tax form is required.

That is why the LLC owner should go through the sales tax guide and hire an accounting service. If you want to do the accounting yourself or make accounting easy, try FreshBooks.

Tax clearance

While dissolving the Washington State LLC, the owner does not require to obtain a tax clearance certificate. However, if you have filed federal taxes, then you must go through the final return option on your IRS form. 

The IRS form for the LLC that are classified as partnerships is form 1065, and those LLC’s who have registered themselves as corporate should check IRS form 1120.

Step 3: File Articles of Dissolution

There is a list of dissolution documents that you, as an LLC owner, have to file. Once these articles are filed, the legal existence of the LLC will be over. Like a Washington State Articles of Organization, one has to file Washington State LLC Articles of Dissolution. The dissolution procedure and filing the articles of dissolution form is very easy and is discussed below.

• First of all, the LLC owner(s) has to file the Article of Dissolution. There are multiple methods of filing available, such as file by mail, in-person drop, or/and online filing. To get the application form you need to visit the Secretary of State Website of Washington State.
• You can follow the filing instruction on the official portal so that the steps for dissolution will be easier to complete.
• In that particular SOS website, the LLC owner has to look for the Domestic LLC Articles of Dissolution page.
• If you want to dissolve Washington Foreign LLC then look for the Foreign LLC Dissolution process.
• There is a form available on this page, which is the article of dissolution you are looking for. You have to download that pdf form and start filling it.
• You must fill in all the important and legal information in the form, so you should be extra careful.
• After filling in all the important information, you must choose the mode of payment you want to use to pay the LLC dissolution filing fees.
• After filling in every detail, one should submit the form through an official mail address and make a payment.
• It takes 3-5 business days after filing of articles of dissolution if you are filing it by mail or in-person.

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The LLC you owned is dissolved, and you are free from all the liabilities linked with the LLC and its taxes. A copy of both original articles and recorded articles should be submitted in front of the probate judge. Now it’s his call that he accepts your expedited dissolutions or not.

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Points to Be Noted When Dissolving Washington State LLC

Apart from these three steps, no major dissolution rules are there in Washington State. However, there are some other tasks one has to keep in mind while dissolving an LLC legally.

Winding Up

There are some purposes of LLC that require some attention even after dissolution, known as winding up. The task of winding up includes.

• For a certain period, the property of a business requires preservation.
• If there is any civil case against the LLC, then the owner needs to finish them.
• Settle all the existing disputes of LLC.
• Transfer all the property of LLC to the names of partners.
• Release all the liabilities that the LLC owes to others.
• Rightful distribution of all the assets among members, according to their percentage of partnerships.

Cost of Dissolving LLC

LLC cost in Washington State includes the formation as well as dissolution fees. To dissolve an LLC in Washington State, LLCs have to file an Article of Dissolution. The filing fee is $20. The details are mentioned on the second page of the article dissolution filing form. Following are the ways to pay for the dissolution,

• You can select a payment pick-up option.
• There is an option of direct account transfer through your prepaid accounts.
• LLC owners can also use their Credit cards, providing their complete details and types. Along with that, an original signature is required to authorize the transaction state will make.

After Dissolving Your LLC

After you formally dissolve your LLC, your business name will not be reserved anymore. Any other business entity will be eligible to use your Washington State LLC name immediately after 120 days of dissolving your LLC. On the other hand, if you have a foreign LLC in other states, then you must comply with the SOS of the state after the dissolution of your LLC in Washington State. A registered agent can help you do the needful.

Reasons Behind Dissolving Washington State LLC

To make the dissolution of the company successful, the owners or the members of the company must do it legally. Without the legal actions and fulfilling the obligations, the company cannot turn dissolved. So, if you need to dissolve an LLC in Washington State, be sure to consider all the government’s duties and obligations. Okay, now we know it is essential, but what is the reason for that? Let’s check them out!

• The business is not able to cope up with the losses. 
• It can also depend on the will of the company owners if they don’t want to continue. 
• The business is not that good like it was in the past. 
• The clients are shifting to other brands of the products. 
• The company is not paying the taxes, honestly. 

Top Businesses in Washington State!

To start an LLC in Washington state, the person needs to gather all information that he can. The data will allow that person to be able to make the best decision based on interest too. People cannot just get into the facts of creating a business, and they need to research it. So that is pretty much why we have provided you with the information below. Use that and understand which industry is better for your new LLC.

1. Information: If we check out Washington’s economy, it is filled with funds from this sector. The contribution is $103.88 billion, and that helps the state a lot. People in the industry are the ones that have a pool of information regarding this industry. It is only information and communication technology that has brought us a lot of great aspects.
2. Finance industry: The finance and insurance industry contributes $89.57 billion to the GDP of Washington state. The state is home to many banking and insurance companies, which have an astonishing reputation too. 
3. Manufacturing: No other industry adds value to the material that is of no use at the initial stage. So if the industry can do that, how can it leave the development of the state behind. The industry taps the GDP with a contribution of $56.91 billion too. There are so many products that the state is known for and one of them is processed food. There is a significant contribution in the aircraft and space industry of this sector too.

Washington State LLC Dissolution Review

What is the Cost to Dissolve an LLC in Washington

To dissolve an LLC in Washington you need to file the Certificate of Dissolution with the Washington Secretary of State Corporation Division through mail, in-person free of cost or online by paying a filing fee of $20.

An LLC (limited liability company) is a business structure that offers limited personal liability to its owners, known as members. This means that the members of an LLC are not personally liable for any debts or obligations of the LLC. In Washington, LLCs are created by filing articles of organization with the Washington Secretary of State. If an LLC wishes to dissolve, it must follow certain steps as outlined by the Washington State Secretary of State.

The cost to dissolve an LLC in Washington depends on the type of LLC and the services requested. The most basic dissolution cost is the filing fee. The filing fee for dissolving a standard LLC in Washington is $30. However, if the LLC has unpaid taxes, fees, or penalties owed to the state, an additional fee may be charged. Additionally, the LLC may need to pay any applicable fees related to the dissolution of its business license.

In addition to filing fees, the cost to dissolve an LLC may include other services. For example, the LLC may need to hire a professional to prepare the dissolution documents, including the articles of dissolution, which must be filed with the Secretary of State. The LLC may also need to publish a notice of dissolution in a local newspaper, which may require additional fees.

The dissolution process can also take up additional costs if the LLC has outstanding debts or obligations. Before the LLC can be officially dissolved, it must pay any outstanding debts and resolve any pending lawsuits. Additionally, the LLC must notify any creditors and claimants of the dissolution. It must also make sure that any remaining assets are distributed to the members of the LLC.

Finally, the LLC must also make sure to cancel any outstanding contracts or agreements. This includes cancelling insurance policies and closing any accounts with third parties. The LLC may need to pay any applicable fees related to the cancellation of these contracts or accounts.

In summary, the cost to dissolve an LLC in Washington can vary depending on the type of LLC, the services requested, and any outstanding debts or obligations. The filing fee for dissolving a standard LLC in Washington is $30, but additional fees may be charged for unpaid taxes, fees, or penalties. The LLC may also need to pay for other services, such as the preparation of dissolution documents and publication of a notice of dissolution. Finally, the LLC may need to pay any applicable fees related to the cancellation of contracts or accounts.

F.A.Qs

In Conclusion

Limited liability companies reduce owners’ personal liability. Having an LLC is quite cost-effective. However, if it is required to close down the business, then the dissolution process should be done legally. Get a professional service to get everything done. We hope this article helps you to close your LLC in Washington State. If you have any query do let us know in the comment box.