About to be self employed...should I go LLC?

The answer is "it depends". It is more paperwork, an additional tax return (you'll still file personal taxes, plus the corporate taxes), it will cost you to incorporate....but there are other, equally valid reasons to incorporate. Without knowing more about your line of work (liability exposure, operating environment, etc), your other assets, and how long you plan to work as an independent contractor, plus other variables, no one can give you a good answer.

A decent, small-business focused CPA can advise you of the various tax consequences of both scenarios. But tax consequences are only part of it...

In order to give any reasonable advice, I (and any other professional) would need to know more about your situation.

But, generally speaking...

1) LLCs offer you liability protection. Basically, this means if your business gets sued, generally, you can't be forced to sell your house to pay the judgement. It's not that simple, really, but it does serve to put a "shield" between your company and your other non-company assets.

2) If you are a sole owner (which I'm assuming you are because you say you are self-employed), for tax purposes, you can do one of three things. One, you can be taxed as a C Corporation. 2) You can be taxed as an S Corporation. 3) You can be taxed as a sole proprietor. A C corporation files a separate tax return and the corp itself pays taxes. An S corporation files a separate tax return, the shareholder files additional forms with his personal tax return, and he pays taxes as part of his personal tax return. A sole proprietor does not file a separate income tax return, but instead files additional paperwork with his individual tax return, and pays taxes as part of his individual tax return.

There are pros and cons to each of those options.