Frequently Asked Questions About Starting an Alaska LLC

There are a few different options when it comes to forming a business in Alaska. From a legal perspective, there are three main types of Alaska 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 Alaska, 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 Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. 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 Alaska business.
• Write an Operating Agreement that covers how you will run your LLC.

After you’ve created your Alaska 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 Alaska, you register a business by completing and filing your Articles of Organization with the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED). You will need to gather information about your business, fill out the form and send it to the Alaska DCCED along with your filing fee. This will formally create your LLC in Alaska.

You can file your Articles of Organization on the DCCED website or mail it in. Alternatively, Bizee 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 Alaska state filing fee.

At the time of writing the fee charged by the Alaska Department of State is $250. You can always check the latest Alaska filing fees here. Some states provide the option to pay an additional fee for expedited filing through Bizee, 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 Bizee, 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 Bizee do it for you), it can take 10-15 business days for the Alaska DCCED to legally create your LLC if you've filed a hardcopy in person. If you choose to file online, the process is immediate and for that reason Alaska does not offer an additional expedited process to form your LLC faster.

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

There are a few ways to register your Alaska LLC name.

• If you’re creating a new business and your business name is unique in Alaska 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 Articles of Amendment with the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
• If you just want to do business under a different name, complete a DBA Business Name Registration with the Alaska DCCED, or have Bizee do it 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 Alaska, this document is called your Articles of Organization, and it performs the same functions as the Articles of Incorporation.

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

If you wish to change your Alaska Registered Agent you can do so by filing a Statement of Change with the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Here at Bizee, we provide a free Alaska 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 Bizee, we’ll file the Statement of Change on your behalf.

If you need to know the Registered Agent of a specific Alaska business, you can perform an Alaska 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

Alaska does not levy a statewide sales and use tax, however many municipalities, towns and cities in Alaska do charge their own sales tax. If you sell physical products or certain types of services, you may need to collect sales tax and then pay it to your local or regional authority. You can find more information about the Alaska sales tax here.

If you are a business entity subject to sales taxes within the state of Alaska, you will need to contact your local municipal government for their specific sales tax regulations and forms.

The sales rates in Alaska range from 2-5%, which may fluctuate 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 registrations with your local municipal government is approved, you should receive information regarding 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 Alaska, however it does not apply to LLCs unless your LLC is treated as a C Corporation for tax purposes.

If you own a business in Alaska and wish to operate and remain in compliance with the state, you'll likely need a business license of some kind in order 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.