Should I Start an LLC for My Dating Service?

Starting a limited liability company (LLC) for your dating service can provide several benefits.

Most importantly, an LLC structure offers limited liability to its owners, which can protect their personal assets from lawsuits and creditors.

For a dating service, lawsuits can arise from things like misrepresenting the benefits of a premium version of your service or failing to adequately protect a customer’s personal information following a hack.

LLCs are also affordable, highly flexible (from a tax point-of-view), and can make your dating service seem more credible.

Recommended: Use Northwest to form an LLC for $29 (plus state fees).

a table set up for a date with two glasses of red wine

Do I Need an LLC for a Dating Service?

LLCs are a simple and inexpensive way to protect your personal assets and save money on taxes.

You should form an LLC when there's any risk involved in your business and/or when your business could benefit from tax options and increased credibility.

LLC Benefits for a Dating Service

By starting an LLC for your dating service, you can:

Protect your savings, car, and house with limited liability protection
Have more tax benefits and options
Increase your business’s credibility

Limited Liability Protection

LLCs provide limited liability protection. This means your personal assets (e.g., car, house, bank account) are protected in the event your business is sued or if it defaults on a debt.

Dating services will benefit from liability protection because of the risk of being sued for data breaches, libel, breach of contract, and even workplace accidents.

Example 1: You have a website that matches single individuals based on their compatibility. A disgruntled customer sues you for failing to find them the perfect match and claims that this was due to racial bias and negligence on your part. If found guilty, only the business assets will be used to cover any damages awarded by the court.

Example 2: Your dating service is sued by a former customer for invasion of privacy. The customer claims you failed to protect their sensitive data from potential attackers and decides to sue your company. Should the court find your business guilty in the case, only the business’s assets will be used to cover any compensation or damages awarded by the court.

Example 3: A customer signs up for a premium subscription to your dating service and finds that the services you delivered to them depreciated in quality barely one week after purchase. They state that you supplied a service that was not satisfactory in the first place and file a lawsuit against you. Should the court find the business guilty, only the business’s assets will be used in providing compensation.

An LLC will also protect your personal assets in the event of commercial bankruptcy or loan default.

To maintain your LLC's limited liability protection, you must maintain your LLC's corporate veil.

LLC Tax Benefits and Options for a Dating Service

LLCs, by default, are taxed as a pass-through entity, just like a sole proprietorship or partnership. This means that the business's net income passes through to the owner's individual tax return.

The business’s net income is then subject to income taxes (based on the owner's tax bracket) and self-employment taxes.

Sole proprietorships and partnerships are taxed in a similar way to LLCs, but they do not offer limited liability protection or other tax options.

S Corp Option for LLCs

An S corporation (S corp) is an IRS tax status that an LLC can elect. S corp status allows business owners to be treated as employees of the business (for tax purposes).

S corp tax status can reduce self-employment taxes and will allow business owners to contribute pre-tax dollars to 401k or health insurance premiums.

The S corp status requires that the business pay the employee-owner(s) a reasonable salary for the work they perform.

In addition, the business might need to spend more on accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll services. To offset these costs, you'd need to be saving about $2,000 a year on taxes.

We estimate that if a dating service owner can pay themselves a reasonable salary and at least $10,000 in distributions each year, they could benefit from S corp status.

You can start an S corp when you form your LLC. Our How to Start an S Corp guide will lead you through the process.

Credibility and Consumer Trust

Dating services rely on consumer trust. Credibility plays a key role in creating and maintaining any business.

Businesses gain consumer trust simply by forming an LLC.

A growing business can also benefit from the credibility of an LLC when applying for small business loans, grants, and credit.

Northwest will start an LLC for you for just $29 (plus state fees).

Get Started

How to Form an LLC

Forming an LLC is easy. There are two options for forming your LLC:

You can hire a trusted LLC formation service to set up your LLC for a small fee
Or, you can choose your state from the list below to start an LLC yourself

Select Your State

For most new business owners, the best state to form an LLC in is the state where you live and where you plan to conduct your business.

Do LLCs Need Insurance?

All businesses need insurance to protect their business assets — even LLCs. This is because limited liability protection from being an LLC protects your personal assets, not your business assets.

Dating services need insurance to protect themselves in the event of any unforeseen circumstances. This could include any number of risks, such as lawsuits brought against them by disgruntled clients or members, cybersecurity breaches, or any other type of financial loss.

Common Situations Business Insurance May Cover for a Dating Service

Example 1: During a date, a client feels threatened by the person with whom your business paired them and sues you for emotional damages. General liability insurance would cover your legal costs to fight or settle the claim.

Example 2: During a meeting in your office, a client trips on some loose carpet near the building entrance. General liability insurance would cover the injured client’s medical costs.

Example 3: A dating service in another state claims your business logo is similar to its logo. Despite the distance, the other company sues you for lost income and copyright infringement. General liability insurance would cover your legal costs and any court-awarded damages.

Other Types of Coverage Dating Services Need

While general liability is the most important type of insurance to have, there are several other forms of coverage you should be aware of. Below are some other types of insurance all dating services should obtain.

Commercial Property Insurance

If you own the building in which you operate, commercial property insurance helps protect your business-related property from a variety of events, such as theft, vandalism, and extreme weather. It covers the cost of repairing the physical structure as well as repairing or replacing any equipment you store there.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Most states require businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their part-time and full-time employees. This coverage protects your employees if they become injured at work or fall ill after a work-related accident. It not only covers an employee’s medical bills and lost wages if they need time to recover but also any disability or death benefits stemming from a work-related accident.

Professional Liability Insurance

This insurance applies to the quality of advice you give your clients. If a client on a date suffers a physical assault, for example, professional liability insurance would cover your legal costs if they file a lawsuit.

Data Breach Insurance

Because your business collects and stores a high volume of personal information about your clients online, you face the risk of a cyberattack. Data breach insurance covers damages resulting from a successful hack of your business information, including your clients’ biographical and financial data as well as your company’s proprietary data.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

While your general liability insurance policy covers most claims, some accidents or lawsuits may be so catastrophic that they threaten to exhaust the limits of your primary coverage. Commercial umbrella insurance protects you from paying out-of-pocket for any legal fees and awarded damages that exceed your primary policy.

Home-Based Business Insurance

If you operate your company from your home, you may need home-based business insurance to safeguard your equipment and space in your home devoted to your business. A typical homeowners insurance policy may not cover business-related items if you don’t disclose you use your home for business purposes.

Should I Start an LLC FAQ

Choosing the right business structure depends on your business’s unique circumstances and needs. However, unless your business is very low risk (like a hobby), an LLC is likely the better option.

Visit our LLC vs. Sole Proprietorship guide to learn more.

At a minimum, you’ll need general liability insurance and professional liability insurance.

Read our Dating Service Business Insurance article for more info.

The startup costs for a dating service depend on the type of website you want to have. You can create a basic dating website with about $1,000 or choose to invest $15,000 to $30,000 for a more sophisticated website that can compete with existing websites. You should also consider investing in online advertising since your business revolves around online customers.

Visit our How to Start a Dating Service guide to learn more about the costs of starting and maintaining this business.

The primary ongoing costs of running a dating service include employee salaries, website hosting fees, and advertising.

Learn more about running a dating service.

A dating service makes money by charging clients a monthly membership fee and possibly additional fees for special events.

Learn more about starting a dating service.

A dating service helps connect people who may be interested in a romantic relationship. Some dating services are entirely online and match people who have similar profiles. Others arrange in-person meetups such as speed dating events.

The profits of a dating service depend on how many members or clients it has and how much they pay in fees.

Learn more about starting a dating service.