LLCs are primarily for personal liability protections... tax benefits only apply if electing to be

A lot of people on TikTok will tell you to register an LLC so that you can write off various business expenses, and some people on TikTok will even say to register an LLC so that you can write off personal expenses, which is very rarely the case. The fact of the matter is, is that you do not need an LLC to be able to write off business expenses. You can write off business expenses even if you're just operating as a sole proprietor with a DBA. The main point of registering the LLC is primarily to provide you with personal liability protections. Basically, that means if your business is ever sued and it's registered as an LLC, then the party suing you will only be able to go after the business's assets in most situations. However, a single or multi-member LLC can elect to be taxed as an S corporation, which could save you money on self-employment taxes, and electing to be taxed as an S corporation is not something that's available to sole proprietors. So overall, whether you have an LLC or not, you can still write off business expenses, but having an LLC could provide you with personal liability protections and give you the option of being taxed as an S corporation, which could save you some money on taxes.