Register a company in Arkansas

Yes. The Certificate of Organization is filed online and paid by card, so nobody has to visit Little Rock. The EIN does not need an SSN either: international applicants can get it by phone, or by fax, generally within 4 business days. What the state does insist on is a registered agent at an Arkansas street address, and our package covers that for the first year.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the Arkansas filing fee ($45 online), the registered agent for the first year, the EIN and the operating agreement. With a fintech or bank account set up, from $4,400. After that, Arkansas charges every LLC a $150 franchise tax each year, due by 1 May, starting the year after formation.

The state is the quick part. Online filings are normally updated within 48 hours, with the documents emailed back; mailed filings are normally filed and returned within 72 hours. The EIN follows: by phone for international applicants, generally within 4 business days by fax, or about 4 weeks by mail. Banking runs to the bank's own review, and that is the one step nobody can put a date on.

A C-Corp pays 21% federal tax and 1% to 4.3% Arkansas corporate tax, and dividends it pays you carry 30% withholding unless a treaty lowers it. An LLC is taxed by its IRS classification; for a non-US owner, US tax on its profit turns on whether the income is effectively connected with a US trade or business, which we raise in the triage. An LLC with Arkansas-source income and nonresident members withholds Arkansas tax for them at the top individual rate, unless an exception applies. Every LLC pays the $150 franchise tax, and taxable sales in Arkansas carry 6.5% plus local rates.

Usually through a fintech platform first: we prepare application files for Mercury- or Relay-class accounts, using the formation documents and the EIN. A traditional bank is realistic where you have a US footprint. We also set up ACH, wires and Stripe onboarding. The approval decision stays with the bank.

The franchise tax calendar. The report and payment are due by 1 May with no extensions, and lateness adds a $25 penalty plus interest of about 10% a year. Unpaid tax keeps accruing even after the state revokes a company, and the Secretary of State accepts no other filing until it is cleared. Closing the LLC also takes a final $150 report. A small bill, but it punishes forgetting, which is why it heads the compliance calendar in our banking package.

An LLC suits most owner-run businesses: a single owner is disregarded for income tax, two or more members are taxed as a partnership, and Arkansas charges a flat $150 a year. A C-Corp fits a plan to raise equity: 21% federal plus 1% to 4.3% in Arkansas, and a franchise tax of 0.3% of apportioned capital stock, $150 minimum. S-corporation status is closed to non-resident alien shareholders, so a non-US owner living abroad cannot use it.

The annual franchise tax report filed with the Secretary of State says whether members or managers run the LLC and lists their names. The Secretary of State's materials mention no separate ownership register. Federally, a company formed in a US state files no beneficial ownership report with FinCEN: the exemption began with the March 2025 interim rule and became permanent with the final rule in force since 14 August 2026.

Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120, by the Form 1120 due date including extensions - generally the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends. It cannot be filed electronically, so it goes by fax or by mail to the IRS in Ogden, Utah. Not filing costs $25,000, plus another $25,000 for each 30-day period, or part of one, that the failure continues beyond 90 days after an IRS notice. Our accounting and 5472 add-on starts from $800 a year.

Possibly, if the company does business there. Arkansas itself requires a company formed elsewhere that does intrastate business here to register (an LLC files form FL-01, $270 online), and other states have similar rules; our state qualification add-on starts from $700. For sales tax, permits come from the DFA, and remote sellers must register once sales into Arkansas exceed $100,000 or 200 taxable transactions.