LLC taxes in 2026: how an LLC is taxed and what it files
By default an LLC pays no federal income tax itself: its members do. Enter the profit, the number of members and the state to see the bill.
Tax on the LLC profit
$23,199
No LLC return: Schedule C on your Form 1040
| Self-employment tax | $12,602 |
| Federal income tax | $6,467 |
| California income tax | $3,320 |
| California LLC fees and minimum tax | $810 |
Computed by Radif Partners from IRS documents for tax year 2026 · How we calculate · no email asked, nothing sold
An LLC is not a tax category of its own. The IRS taxes a one-member LLC as a disregarded entity, so the owner reports the profit on Schedule C of Form 1040, due April 15, 2027 for 2026, and an LLC with two or more members as a partnership, which files Form 1065 by March 15, 2027 and gives each member a Schedule K-1. In both cases the LLC pays no federal income tax: each member pays income tax on their share and, as an active owner, self-employment tax of 15.3 % on 92.35% of it. On $90,000 of profit, a single owner without state income tax owes $12,717 of self-employment tax and $6,599 of income tax; two equal members owe $8,580 each. Members pay through four estimated payments, the first on April 15, 2026. The state adds its own fees and, in some states, a minimum or franchise tax. An LLC can instead elect to be taxed as an S or C corporation.
The IRS page on limited liability companies sets out the rule in two sentences. A domestic LLC with at least two members is classified as a partnership for federal income tax unless it files Form 8832 and elects to be treated as a corporation. An LLC with only one member is disregarded as separate from its owner, unless it makes the same election. Everything else about LLC taxes follows from which of these boxes the company falls in. For an owner with no other income, the estimated payment that results can be checked here.
This year’s quarterly payment, the quick way
Each quarter
$3,000
| Rule | 100% of 2025 tax |
| Year total | $12,000 |
Which return the LLC files
| LLC and tax status | Return | Due for calendar 2026 | Who pays the tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| One member, default | Schedule C (and Schedule SE) on the owner's Form 1040 | April 15, 2027 | The owner |
| Two or more members, default | Form 1065, Schedule K-1 to each member | March 15, 2027 | Each member, on Form 1040 |
| Elected S corporation (Form 2553) | Form 1120-S, K-1s, payroll returns | March 15, 2027 | The members, on salary and K-1 |
| Elected C corporation (Form 8832) | Form 1120, payroll returns | April 15, 2027 | The LLC at the corporate rate, then members on dividends |
The partnership return comes a month before the personal one because the members need their K-1 to file. The Instructions for Form 1065 set it at the 15th day of the 3rd month after the tax year, March 15 for a calendar-year partnership, and Form 7004 extends the time to file. Missing it costs $255 for each month or part of a month, up to 12 months, multiplied by the number of persons who were partners during the year, even when the partnership owes nothing. A two-member LLC that files three months late owes $1,530.
Two other filings can apply whatever the classification. An LLC that pays employees files the payroll returns in its own name and with its own employer identification number, even when it is disregarded for income tax, because the IRS treats it as a separate entity for employment taxes. And an LLC that wants to leave its default classification files Form 8832, whose election generally cannot take effect more than 75 days before the filing date or more than 12 months after it. Choosing S corporation status goes through Form 2553 instead, with its own deadline of 2 months and 15 days from the start of the tax year.
The taxes the members pay
Self-employment tax
The profit of a default LLC is self-employment income for a member who runs the business, whether or not it is withdrawn. It is taxed at 12.4 % for Social Security up to $184,500 of net earnings in 2026 and at 2.9 % for Medicare on all of it, after the 92.35% adjustment. Half of the tax is deducted from income. For a one-member LLC this is the line that surprises people most, and it is where an S election can help once profit is high enough.
Income tax and the QBI deduction
The member's share is added to their other income and taxed at the 2026 brackets. Before that, most LLC owners take the qualified business income deduction, up to 20 % of the business profit after the half-SE-tax and other related deductions, in full below $201,750 of taxable income for a single filer or $403,500 joint. On $90,000 of profit the single owner's deduction is $13,508. The QBI deduction guide covers the limits above those thresholds.
When the tax is paid
No one withholds tax from LLC profit, so members pay during the year through quarterly estimated taxes on Form 1040-ES. For 2026 the dates are April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027 (Form 1040-ES 2026). Paying 100 % of last year's tax, or 110 % when last year's AGI exceeded $150,000, protects against the underpayment penalty.
One member or two: the same profit
Splitting the same $90,000 between two equal members does not change the LLC's own result, but each member's tax is computed separately on $45,000.
| One member | Each of two members | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of profit | $90,000 | $45,000 |
| Self-employment tax | $12,717 | $6,358 |
| QBI deduction | $13,508 | $5,144 |
| Federal income tax | $6,599 | $2,221 |
| Federal total | $19,316 | $8,580 |
Tax benefits of an LLC, without the myths
The LLC does not create deductions that a sole proprietor lacks: business expenses, the home office and mileage work the same way on Schedule C. Its tax benefits are structural. Profit is taxed once, on the members' returns, rather than at the corporate rate and again as dividends. A loss passes through to the owners and can offset other income, within the usual limits. The members can split profits as their agreement provides. And the LLC can change its tax status later: elect S corporation status to put the owners on payroll and take the rest as distributions (the S election guide explains how), or elect C corporation status if it will keep its profit.
Your QBI deduction under the threshold
QBI deduction
$13,508
| Income tax saved | $2,972 |
| Limited by taxable income | yes |
State taxes and fees
States add their own layer. Most charge an annual or biennial report fee; some charge a minimum or franchise tax every year, even at a loss; a few tax LLCs on gross receipts or margin. The member's share is also subject to the state's personal income tax where there is one. These amounts vary too much to summarize in one figure, so the calculator above reads them from the state data and shows only figures verified on the state agency's site. The LLC cost by state page totals them over several years, and the single-member LLC guide covers the EIN and W-9 questions for one-owner companies.