How do I register a new business in Virginia and what filings are required?

The first decision is your entity type. Most Virginia small business owners choose between a sole proprietorship, an LLC, or an S-Corp. Each one has different tax implications, liability protections, and ongoing filing requirements. A sole proprietorship is the simplest to start but offers no personal liability protection. An LLC provides liability separation with relatively low maintenance. An S-Corp can offer tax advantages on self-employment taxes once your income reaches a certain level, but comes with additional requirements like payroll and corporate filings. This choice affects everything that follows, so it’s worth getting right before you file anything.

If you’re forming an LLC or corporation, your next step is registering with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. You can file Articles of Organization for an LLC or Articles of Incorporation for a corporation through the SCC’s online portal. Filing fees are typically $100 for an LLC. Sole proprietors skip this step since there’s no separate legal entity to register.

Once your entity exists, apply for an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. This is free and can be done online at irs.gov in about ten minutes. You’ll need an EIN for opening a business bank account, filing taxes, and hiring employees. Even single-member LLCs with no employees should get one to avoid using a personal Social Security number on business documents.

Next, register with Virginia Tax. If you’re hiring employees, you’ll need to set up a withholding account and file VA-5 forms for payroll tax deposits. If your business sells taxable goods or certain services, you’ll also register for a sales tax certificate and file ST-9 returns. Virginia Tax handles both of these through a single online registration process.

The step that catches many new business owners off guard is the local business license, known as the BPOL license. In Northern Virginia, every locality handles this differently. Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun County, and Prince William County each have their own requirements, tax rates, and renewal deadlines. The BPOL tax is based on your gross receipts once you exceed the locality’s threshold. You’ll need to register with your specific jurisdiction before you start operating, and you’ll renew annually.

If you plan to hire employees, you also need to register with the Virginia Employment Commission for unemployment insurance. This is a separate registration from your Virginia Tax account and comes with its own quarterly reporting requirements.

Beyond the registrations, don’t overlook the practical setup that makes everything run smoothly. Open a dedicated business bank account, set up your accounting software, and establish a system for tracking expenses from day one. Working with bookkeepers in Fairfax from the start means your books are clean when tax season arrives instead of scrambling to reconstruct a year of transactions.

The process isn’t complicated, but missing a step can create headaches down the road. A forgotten local license can result in penalties. Filing as the wrong entity type can cost you thousands in unnecessary taxes over time. If you want help getting all of this set up correctly, ATS offers business formation services that handle the state registration, EIN acquisition, and entity structuring so you can focus on actually running your business.