Register a company in Hawaii

Yes. BREG takes filings online, by email, mail or fax, and a founder abroad without an SSN applies for the EIN by phone, fax or mail. The registered agent has to be physically present in Hawaii; ours is included for the first year. Banking is where your own documents matter most, and we build that file with you.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the Hawaii filing fee ($51), 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, Hawaii's yearly registry fee is the annual report: $12.50 online, with a $10 late fee for each year it is delinquent.

BREG publishes no processing time and handles filings in the order received, so we do not put a date on the state's part. Its fee schedule lists a $25 expedited review; whether it is available we check when we file. The EIN follows the filing: about 4 business days by fax, about 4 weeks by mail.

Federally, a C-Corp pays a flat 21% and an LLC is a pass-through by default. Hawaii adds corporate income tax of 4.4% to 6.4% on a corporation, and its general excise tax applies by activity: 4% for most, 0.5% for wholesaling, plus the 0.5% county surcharge on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii County. How Hawaii taxes your LLC's income, and any withholding on non-resident members, we confirm for your case. Dividends from a C-Corp to non-residents carry 30% withholding unless a treaty lowers it.

No, and better to hear it now. The fees are low - $51 to form, $12.50 a year to report - but corporate income tax reaches 6.4% and GET is 4% on most activities, professional services included. Personal income tax runs from 1.4% to 11%. Hawaii makes sense when the business is in the islands: customers, staff, stock or property there. If it is not, we will say whether another state fits better.

The general excise tax is charged by business activity, goods and services alike: 4% for most activities, professional services included, and 0.5% for wholesaling and producing. A business may pass it on to customers, at most 4.712% where the county surcharge applies. The licence is a one-time $20 from the Department of Taxation; DOTAX Tax Facts 37-1 sets out who must hold one, and we confirm it for your activity.

That is what the second package is for. We pick the route with you: a fintech platform of the Mercury / Relay class for a remote file, or a traditional bank where you have a US footprint. The $4,400 pays for the banking strategy and the application file, with onboarding to ACH, wires and Stripe. The bank makes the final decision, so we promise a well-built file, not an approval.

An LLC formed outside Hawaii, such as a Delaware or Wyoming LLC. It has nothing to do with where the owners live: a Hawaii LLC owned from abroad is a domestic Hawaii LLC. An out-of-state LLC that wants to do business here files Form FLLC-1 for a Certificate of Authority ($51), with a good standing certificate dated within 60 days.

If it has a single owner who is not a US person, Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120, due by the 1120 deadline and sent by fax or mail, because it cannot be e-filed. Money you put in or take out is a reportable transaction, and not filing costs a $25,000 penalty. FinCEN is simpler: under its final rule, effective 14 August 2026, a company formed in a US state files no BOI report, whoever owns it.

For an owner-run business we usually start from the LLC: it is a pass-through for federal tax, and S-Corp status is closed to non-resident owners anyway. A multi-member LLC with non-US members withholds on their share of US business income: 37%, or 21% for corporate members. A C-Corp pays 21% federal plus Hawaii's 4.4%-6.4%, and dividends paid to non-residents carry 30% unless a treaty applies; we suggest it when you plan to raise money.