Can You Relocate or Convert an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC?

Domesticating, Relocating, or Converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC to Pay Less on Taxes

Updated: October 17, 2023
Reading Time: 10 Minutes

Objectives:

• Domicile an Alaska Limited Liability Company (LLC) to Florida;
• Maintain the same EIN and identity of the LLC; and
• Enjoy tax benefits provided to Florida residents.

Entities:

• Alaska Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)

Table of Contents

• What is a Conversion or Domestication?
• Does Alaska Allow LLCs to Move Out of State?
• Is My Alaska Entity Dissolved?
• Do I Need To Get a New EIN if I Domesticate My Company to Florida?
• How Does FL Patel Law PLLC Convert My Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC?
• How Long Does It Take To Complete a Domestication or Conversion to the State of Florida?
• What Are the Costs Involved in Domesticating My Alaska LLC to the State of Florida?
• What Are Some of the Risks Associated With a Conversion Gone Wrong?
• Increase Your Chances of a Successful Conversion
• What Are the Benefits of Converting My Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC?
• What Are the Tax Implications of Converting My Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC?
• Should I Work With Attorney Patel to Convert My Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC?

Florida has a lot more to offer business owners from Alaska than a break from the cold. For instance, Florida has no state income tax and many other pro-business policies that can benefit entrepreneurs of all types. Those interested in moving their Alaska LLC to Florida can do so without breaking its continuity thanks to a legal process known as statutory conversion.

A transition as big as converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC can come with a lot of risks for both the business and its owners, but FL Patel Law PLLC’s guidance can make all the difference and help ensure a seamless transition. Our firm has successfully reorganized over 140 businesses into Florida entities, providing us with the necessary insight to prepare them for success in their new state.

This article will help you understand the basics of how our firm’s expertise can save time, money, and prevent legal issues when you hire us to convert an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC. It also has some important information about what can go wrong if this type of transition lacks an attorney’s oversight.

Even small mistakes can derail an LLC’s conversion from one state to another. In fact, the consequences include everything from additional costs to the accidental dissolution of your business. The good news is that our law firm is here to help guide our clients through this process while keeping everyone’s interests safe along the way.

Statutory conversion is a legal process available in Florida and some other locations that you can use to change an LLC’s formation state. An example of this would be using statutory conversion to change an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC.

This process is often referred to as “domestication,” “conversion,” or “transfer” when the entity is converting to a different state. These terms can often be used interchangeably.

Converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC offers many conveniences to relocating business owners, especially when compared with other methods for moving a business across state lines. In addition to minimizing disruptions, it can also help your LLC preserve important relationships, contracts, and licenses, which wouldn’t be possible if you dissolved your entity and started over from scratch. Rights, assets, privileges, and liabilities will be similarly retained during this process.

LLCs in Florida – whether they were initially formed here or in another state – are governed by the Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act, and this will be true for your converted business as well. It’s important to note, however, that the Alaska Revised Limited Liability Company Act will still apply to converting entities if they continue to have a foreign qualification or taxable connection (nexus) in Alaska after this transition. This is one of the topics that you should bring up when meeting with our attorney.

The conversion of an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC is authorized by the Alaska Statutes, Section 10.55.501. Alaska corporations are also allowed to become Florida corporations by using a similar process that you can read more about by clicking this link.

Dissolution is not in any way a part of a correctly managed conversion, despite what some incorrect and misleading sources say online. It is, however, a potential consequence of mistakes made during this type of transition. Working with our firm to convert an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC means that you’ll be supported by a legal team that knows how to prevent these mistakes from ever becoming a problem for your business, which is a critical part of protecting its continuity.

Whether a company will be allowed to continue using the same EIN after converting from an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC is will be decided on by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after they have reviewed the particular circumstances of your business’s relocation. One of the most important factors that will be considered is your LLC’s continuity, which must not be interrupted if you want to keep using your original EIN. Ensuring that no changes are made to the business’s identity (other than its new formation state) is also a key part of this.

Every conversion follows a similar process, but each individual project will have its own specific requirements that depend on factors specific to that particular move. Below, we’re going to review our firm’s general procedure for tackling these common requirements. Keep in mind that these are not instructions on how to perform a statutory conversion on your own, as the specifics of your company’s move cannot be accounted for in an article like this. Schedule your initial consultation with us now for that level of highly detailed and experienced assistance.

Converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC with our legal team starts with an initial consultation and a thorough review of the client’s business. We then take what we’ve learned and apply it towards drafting a personalized plan for relocating the business to Florida that’s designed to prevent potential problems before they can threaten the company or its owners.

The experience-backed support that our clients enjoy when they hire us for our LLC conversion services includes:

• Drafting the Plan of Conversion and other required documents
• Ensuring compliance with the laws and other legal requirements in both states
• Filing the necessary documents with Alaska and Florida state agencies
• Updating the LLC’s operating agreement and other corporate documents to reflect its conversion from an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC
• A comprehensive consultation to address final concerns and questions

Your company can be converted from an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC as quickly as possible when you hire our firm to handle its relocation. This speed is owed to our high level of experience, dedication, and a refined inner process that we’ve designed over the course of many transitions. We can complete this project for most of our clients in about two to three months, but some more time could be required depending on the size of the LLC and its assets.

An attorney’s oversight and guidance are the best way to prevent delays when converting a business into a Florida entity. This is because Alaska and Florida agencies will each need a minimum of several weeks to process the required documents. This timeline can be further extended if those agencies are facing delays of their own. As a result, any errors that are made when converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC have the potential to cause significant setbacks for your company’s relocation.

One of the first expenses that you should plan for when converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC will be your filing fees. Florida charges $155.00 and Alaska charges $25.00 which comes to a total of $180. That, however, is just the cost to process your initial documents. For example, additional fees will apply if you want to keep doing business in Alaska and under some other circumstances. Keep in mind that these fees are often not refundable, too.

We provide flat fees for clients relocating their LLCs to the State of Florida, the exact cost of which is based on the project’s specific requirements. Schedule your initial consultation with us now to review your company and get a quote to convert an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC.

Successfully navigating the varying and highly specific demands of each conversion and domestication project require a deep understanding of how the laws work in each state and intense attention to detail. Teaming up with a law firm like ours allows your company to benefit from our skills and expertise, which can help prevent the kinds of errors that could cause serious harm to your LLC.

Some of the dangers involved with trying to convert an Alaska LLC to Florida LLC without the benefit of reliable legal guidance include:

• Noncompliance with state laws
• Revocation of the LLC’s operating authority
• Damaged credit standing
• Damaged relationships with clients and vendors
• Disrupted contracts
• Loss of business continuity
• Loss of limited liability protection
• Tax implications and increased tax liabilities
• Legal disputes
• Dissolution or liquidation
• Missed opportunities
• Painful delays
• Taxes on Appreciated Assets – Depending on the LLC’s tax structure, its members could end up paying income taxes on appreciated assets if they make any errors during the conversion process. For instance, if an asset that was worth $100,000 at the company’s founding is now worth $1 million, and the company is mistakenly dissolved or liquidated, then the members could be taxed on the gained value.
• Title of Asset Issues – Another benefit of converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC is that asset titles will automatically transfer over to the domesticated entity – that is, assuming the conversion process was handled correctly. This can make it difficult to prove ownership of those assets, which can cause major headaches when trying to sell a company, among other problems.

Don’t forget that this isn’t even a complete list of the consequences that can come about from a mismanaged conversion from Alaska to Florida.

With over 140 business conversions and domestications to our credit, our firm’s proven track record means that you can rest easier knowing that your interests are in safe hands when we’re the ones in charge of converting your Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC.

Moving forward alone with converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC means that there’s no guarantee that the company will safely make it across state lines. Hiring us to manage your entity’s conversion allows us to lend our experience and expertise towards your relocation, which facilitates a more convenient and secure process that also comes with a higher chance of success.

1. Your business doesn’t need to file with the State of Alaska ever again unless it still has a nexus there after its transition into a Florida entity.

2. Becoming a Florida LLC member gives you the chance to work with Florida professional accountants, attorneys, and other service providers that could prove essential to your business’s future in the Sunshine State.

3. Working with our law firm to convert an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC is one of the best ways to ensure a smooth transition from state to state that’s free from delays and interruptions.

4. The LLC’s original formation documents will be seamlessly replaced by Florida Articles of Organization that are drafted and filed by our firm on our client’s behalf. It is also able to keep the same powers, rights, benefits, exemptions, privileges, and principles that it benefited from as an Alaska entity.

5. Membership interest in the LLC will stay the same when converting an entity from one state to another. Real estate and other property rights will also remain with the company. The same will be true for any pending lawsuits or liabilities, which can use the Florida LLC’s name as a substitution.

6. LLC members don’t need to live in Florida before or after converting their business into a Florida entity.

7. Your LLC doesn’t need to have a nexus in Alaska after completing its conversion to Florida. This has the potential to lower your tax burden at the state level. However, this won’t be true for all companies, so it’s important to check with your tax professional about the tax consequences of this type of move before converting an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC.

8. There’s no need to get a new EIN when you use statutory conversion to change an Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC. All that this process changes is the entity’s state of formation.

9. Your converted Florida LLC can keep using the same bank accounts, taxpayer ID, operations, and contracts that it used as an Alaska LLC. However, careful planning and legal consultation should be done to help ensure that this is the case.

Much like the requirements for statutory conversion, every state is in charge of setting their own tax laws. Because of this, you need to prepare for any tax consequences that could result from converting your Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC before making your move. However, our law firm can only provide limited guidance in these areas, so you’ll need to consult with your tax professional. Some things you might want to bring up during that meeting could include:

• State Income Tax: Neither Alaska nor Florida have a state income tax for individuals, but Florida doesn’t have a state income tax for any of its business entities, either. This is one way that many business owners from across the country can save money by relocating their operations to Florida.

• Franchise Tax: Another tax that both Alaska and Florida don’t impose on businesses is franchise tax. This is just another example of how our state minimizes tax burdens for LLCs and their owners.

• Nexus: Your Alaska LLC will still be subject to Alaska tax laws even after its conversion into a Florida LLC if it still has a nexus (taxable connection) in its original organization state.

Once we’ve successfully converted our client’s LLC into a Florida entity, Attorney Patel meets with them for a final consultation so that he can review the project with them and answer any remaining questions. We also give them a useful post-conversion checklist to help them adapt to their new responsibilities as Florida LLC owners.

The benefits of our legal team’s experience with business and legal matters doesn’t have to end with the completion of your company’s move to Florida. Remember that our corporate law firm offers many services tailored towards making life easier for Florida business owners, regardless of their size or chosen industry.

There’s no need to open your business up to the risks that come with proceeding with its conversion alone. By trusting your transfer to our Florida corporate law attorney, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on running your business while we tackle the legal complexities of its relocation. Schedule with us now to get started with converting your Alaska LLC to a Florida LLC.

Is your Alaska LLC ready for a new start on the east coast? Don’t risk breaking your business’s stride — get assistance from an experienced business conversion attorney by scheduling online or calling (727) 279-5037.

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