The company itself · A term for founders abroad
What is an LLC member?
An owner of an LLC, the LLC's equivalent of a shareholder; members may run the company themselves or appoint managers.
Checked against the IRS's instructions and the states' own rules. Reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
Term 64 of 105 in the glossary, filed under M.IRS: limited liability company
Member, for a founder abroad.
LLC owners are called members, the LLC's equivalent of shareholders. A member can be a person or a company, and live anywhere. Each member's share, and what they put in, is set out in the operating agreement, not in the state's records.
Member-managed or manager-managed
A member-managed LLC is run by its members; a manager-managed LLC appoints one or more managers, who don't have to be members. The operating agreement records which, and it affects who can sign for the company and what a bank asks for. In Delaware, members of a member-managed LLC can bind it by default, while in Wyoming being a member doesn't make you the company's agent on its own.
Sources: IRS: limited liability company.
Read next · guide · 3 minSingle-member or multi-member LLC: what changes when there are two of youWhat founders ask next.
- Can a foreign person be an LLC member?
- Yes. No state limits members by nationality or residence, and a member can be a person or a company.
- Should a single-owner LLC be member-managed?
- Usually. With one owner who runs the business, member-managed is simplest. Member-managed or manager-managed explains when appointing a manager helps.
- How do I add a member to my LLC?
- Amend the operating agreement and update your ownership records. In Wyoming and Delaware nothing is filed with the state, but a single-member LLC becomes a partnership for tax.
03 · See also
- The company itselfLLCA US company whose owners aren't personally liable for its debts, and whose profit is taxed once, to the owners, unless it elects otherwise.Read the term
- The company itselfOperating AgreementThe private contract among an LLC's members that sets ownership, management and what happens when someone leaves; it isn't filed with the state.Read the term
- The company itselfC-CorporationA US corporation taxed on its own profit, which issues stock and is what US investors' paperwork assumes; usually formed in Delaware.Read the term
- The company itselfS-CorporationA tax election that lets a US corporation or LLC pass its profit through to its owners; not available if any owner is a non-resident alien.Read the term
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