What is a limited liability company (LLC)?

A limited liability company (LLC) is indeed a business structure that provides significant benefits to its owners, particularly in terms of liability and taxation. The defining feature of an LLC is that it offers limited personal liability protection to its owners, known as members. This means that members are generally not personally responsible for the business's debts and liabilities, protecting their personal assets from claims against the business.

In addition to liability protection, an LLC allows for flexible tax treatment. Owners can choose to tax the profits as a corporation, which may be beneficial for reinvestment, or as pass-through income, where profits are reported on the owners' personal tax returns, avoiding double taxation. This flexibility makes the LLC an attractive choice for many entrepreneurs and small business owners who wish to blend the protective features of a corporation with the tax benefits of a partnership.

Considering the other options, a hybrid structure that allows for unlimited liability would not accurately describe an LLC, as the key feature is indeed the limitation of liability. A structure exclusively raising capital from public offerings does not fit the definition of an LLC; typically, those are corporations. Lastly, a type of joint venture between companies also does not characterize an LLC, which is a distinct legal entity utilized for a variety of business activities