To transfer assets to an LLC, you move legal title from yourself to the company by preparing the right instrument for each asset type, executing it under your state’s formalities, recording or filing it with the correct agency, and then updating your tax, insurance, and internal records so the LLC — not you personally — appears as the owner everywhere it should. The mechanics differ for real estate, vehicles, equipment, and intellectual property, but the pattern is the same in every case.
What to Gather Before You Start
Every transfer needs two pieces of information about the receiving company: the LLC’s full legal name exactly as it appears on the Articles of Organization filed with the state, and its Employer Identification Number (EIN). A minor variation in the name can cause a filing to be rejected.
Beyond that, the paperwork depends on what you are moving:
- Real estate: the current deed, which contains the legal description (parcel numbers, lot and block, or township and range). Your county recorder can provide a copy if you don’t have one.
- Vehicles and equipment: the Vehicle Identification Number or serial number from the title, and any original bill of sale.
- Intellectual property: registration numbers for patents, trademarks, or copyrights registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or the U.S. Copyright Office.
Confirm every name, number, and description matches the underlying agency record before drafting anything. Existing proof of ownership — a title, deed, or registration certificate — is what shows you have the authority to transfer.
Transferring Real Estate
Real property moves by deed. You generally choose between a quitclaim deed, which transfers whatever interest you hold with no guarantees about title quality, and a warranty deed, which guarantees clear title and defends the LLC against future claims.1Farm Office. Different Deeds Mean Different Things Because you are transferring to your own company rather than selling to a stranger, a quitclaim deed is the more common choice, though some lenders and title insurers prefer a warranty deed.
Copy the legal description from the existing deed exactly. A small discrepancy can create a title cloud that is expensive to fix later. If your state uses a preliminary change of ownership form or a transfer tax declaration, complete and attach it before recording.
Nearly every state requires the grantor’s signature on a deed to be notarized, and some also require one or two witnesses. Once executed, deliver the deed to the county recorder or county clerk where the property sits. Many offices accept filings in person, by mail, or through an electronic recording portal. Recording fees range from around $15 flat in some states to several hundred dollars where fees scale by page count or property value, and the fee must accompany the filing.
The stamped copy with a recording number is your proof the transfer is complete. An unrecorded deed can leave the LLC’s ownership vulnerable to later claims from creditors or subsequent buyers.
Transferring Vehicles and Equipment
Vehicles move by signing the existing title over to the LLC at your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or equivalent agency. Expect a title transfer fee, and bring the LLC’s formation documents in case the counter clerk asks for them.
Heavy equipment and other tangible personal property without a government-issued title move by bill of sale. The bill identifies the item by serial number, states a transfer price (often a nominal amount like one dollar, or the fair market value), and is signed by both you and a representative of the LLC.
Transferring Intellectual Property
Registered intellectual property requires a signed written assignment plus a recording with the appropriate federal agency.
- Trademarks: file the assignment through the USPTO’s online Assignment Center. You will need the registration or serial number for each mark, the names of the assignor and assignee, and the signed assignment uploaded as a PDF. The recording fee is $40 for the first mark and $25 for each additional mark in the same document.2USPTO. USPTO Fee Schedule
- Patents: record electronically through the USPTO’s Assignment Center at no charge. Paper filings cost $54 per property.2USPTO. USPTO Fee Schedule
- Copyrights: submit the signed assignment with a completed Recordation Document Cover Sheet (Form DCS) to the U.S. Copyright Office. The base electronic filing fee is $95 for one work, with additional works adding to the cost. If you submit a copy rather than the original signed document, include a sworn certification that the copy is accurate.3eCFR. 37 CFR 201.4 – Recordation of Transfers and Other Documents Pertaining to Copyright4U.S. Copyright Office. Fees
Contracts, licenses, and other intangible rights that aren’t federally registered move by a written assignment of interest signed by both sides. Read the underlying agreement first. Some contracts contain anti-assignment clauses that require the other party’s consent before you can transfer them.
If the Real Estate Has a Mortgage
Read the loan agreement before you record a deed. Most residential mortgages include a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand immediate repayment of the full balance when ownership changes.5The Florida Bar. Transferring Real Property Into Limited Liability Companies in Florida – Benefits and Considerations
Federal law limits when lenders can enforce due-on-sale on residential property with fewer than five units, but the listed exemptions (transfers to a spouse, to a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary, or resulting from the borrower’s death) do not specifically cover transfers to an LLC.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions A lender can, in theory, call your loan due if you transfer to an LLC without permission.
Fannie Mae permits transfers to an LLC where the original borrower controls or holds a majority interest in the LLC, provided the mortgage was purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae on or after June 1, 2016. Refinancing later requires transferring the property back to a natural person to meet underwriting guidelines.7Fannie Mae. Allowable Exemptions Due to the Type of Transfer Contact your lender or servicer in writing before recording and request approval.
Federal Tax Treatment
How the IRS treats the transfer depends on how many members your LLC has.
Single-Member LLCs
By default the IRS treats a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity, meaning it isn’t a separate taxpayer. Transferring property to your own single-member LLC is not a taxable event, and you continue to report income and deductions from the property on your personal return.
Multi-Member LLCs
A multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership by default. When you contribute property in exchange for your membership interest, neither you nor the LLC recognizes gain or loss at the time of transfer.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 721 – Nonrecognition of Gain or Loss on Contribution The LLC takes your adjusted basis in the property (carryover basis).9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 723 – Basis of Property Contributed to Partnership If the property has appreciated, that built-in gain stays attached to you and will be allocated back to you when the LLC eventually sells.
The nonrecognition rule does not apply if the LLC would be classified as an investment company, for example one whose assets are primarily marketable securities. In that case you may owe tax on gain at the time of transfer.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 721 – Nonrecognition of Gain or Loss on Contribution
Gift Tax
If you contribute property to a multi-member LLC and another member receives a membership interest without paying fair value, the IRS may treat the difference as a taxable gift. The annual gift tax exclusion shelters a set amount per recipient each year; transfers above that threshold require filing a gift tax return. This does not arise when every member contributes property proportional to the interest they receive.
State Transfer and Property Taxes
Many states and localities charge a real estate transfer tax, sometimes called a documentary stamp or recordation tax, when a deed is recorded. Rates run from zero in states that don’t levy one to around 3% of the property’s value in the highest-tax jurisdictions. Several states offer partial or full exemptions when property moves to an LLC the same owner controls, but the rules differ: some require the transferring individual to own at least 50% of the LLC, others tie the exemption to whether money changed hands. Check your state’s transfer tax statute or ask the county recorder before filing to confirm the exemption and the documentation needed to claim it.
Property tax reassessment is a separate question. Some states treat a transfer to an LLC as a change of ownership that triggers reassessment even when you are the sole member. Others exempt these transfers or provide relief when beneficial ownership stays substantially the same. Call your county assessor before you record.
After the Transfer: Keep the Records Consistent
Filing the deed or assignment is not the final step. Several updates keep the LLC’s records aligned and its liability shield intact.
- Have your accountant record the value of the contributed asset in the LLC’s capital account ledger. In a multi-member LLC, this entry drives ownership percentages and profit and loss allocations.
- Notify your insurance carrier so the policy is reissued or endorsed in the LLC’s name. A policy that still names you individually may not cover claims tied to an asset the LLC now owns.
- Ask your title insurer about an endorsement (sometimes called an additional insured endorsement) that extends your existing owner’s policy to the LLC. Transferring the deed can otherwise void the coverage. The cost is typically a fraction of the original premium.
- Amend the LLC’s operating agreement if the transfer changes any member’s ownership percentage or capital contribution, and document the transfer and amendment in the minutes of a member meeting.
Courts asked to disregard an LLC’s liability protection look at whether the entity was operated as a genuinely separate structure. Sloppy recordkeeping and commingled insurance are the kinds of gaps that undermine that protection, so treat the post-transfer paperwork as part of the transfer itself.