Register a company in Kentucky

Yes. The articles go to the Secretary of State online through FastTrack, and the organizer who signs them need not be a member. Your registered agent signs its consent on the form, so nobody has to fly to Frankfort. Kentucky wants an agent who lives in the state or an entity authorised there, which rules out a founder abroad; ours is included for the first year. The EIN comes from the IRS by fax, usually within 4 business days, or by phone on its international line, with no SSN needed. Fintech accounts are applied for remotely; a traditional bank may want a US footprint first.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the Kentucky filing fee ($40), 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, Kentucky's yearly minimum is the $15 annual report plus at least $175 of LLET on the state return, and our renewal, from the second year, starts at $600 a year.

An LLC suits founders who will take profit out rather than raise equity: by default it is disregarded for federal tax with one member and a partnership with two or more. A C-Corp pays the flat 21% federally plus Kentucky's 5%, and it is the usual choice when investors are coming. In Kentucky, count the shares before you file: on top of the $40 fee, the organization tax is 1 cent a share for the first 20,000 authorised shares, half a cent for the next 180,000 and 0.2 cents above that, with a $10 minimum. Ten million authorised shares would mean $20,700 of organization tax. S-corp status is closed to you, because non-resident aliens cannot hold S-corp shares.

Federally, a C-Corp pays 21% and an LLC normally passes its profit to the owners. In Kentucky, every LLC and corporation owes the LLET, $175 a year where gross receipts or gross profits are $3 million or less, and a corporation also pays the flat 5% income tax, reduced by its LLET above $175. A single-member LLC owned by an individual files Form 725; if the member lives outside Kentucky, the LLC withholds on the member's share on Form 740NP-WH at the top state rate, 3.5% for 2026. Kentucky taxes non-residents on their Kentucky-source income. Taxable sales carry the 6% sales tax, with no local rates added. Dividends a C-Corp pays to non-US shareholders carry 30% federal withholding unless a treaty lowers it.

The Secretary of State usually processes documents the same day it receives them, though it may take up to three business days, and the company exists from the date and time of filing. By fax, the EIN generally arrives within 4 business days; by mail, in about 4 weeks. Kentucky's tax registration and the bank account come after it. If you need an ITIN, allow about 7 weeks, or 9-11 weeks when you apply from overseas.

Your US footprint decides the route. A company run from abroad usually starts with a fintech platform of the Mercury or Relay type, applied for online; a traditional bank becomes realistic once the company has a real presence in the US. We pick the route with you, build the application from the company papers and your KYC file, and connect ACH, wires and Stripe once the account is open. The decision is the bank's, and if your file has a weak spot, you hear it from us first.

Not for the company or the EIN. The articles ask for no owner numbers, and the IRS issues an EIN to a founder abroad by fax, phone or mail. The catch is the state: Kentucky's tax registration form (10A100), which opens the LLET and other tax accounts, asks for the Social Security Numbers of responsible parties and says nothing about ITINs or owners outside the US. We confirm the route for your case before filing, and ITIN support is available from $900 if it turns out to be needed.

The articles say whether members or managers run the LLC; the statute does not ask for member names there. Each manager of a manager-managed LLC is named on the annual report, and the Secretary of State describes the report as updating the company's members and managers, so do not plan on anonymity. At the Department of Revenue, the registration form asks for the people responsible for the company, and the EIN application names a responsible party, who must be an individual. Federally, FinCEN's final rule, in force since 14 August 2026, exempts companies formed in a US state from BOI reporting.

Treating it as a $40 company. Registration alone counts as doing business for the Department of Revenue, so a Kentucky return with at least $175 of LLET is due for the year it registers, by the 15th day of the fourth month after year-end. The federal Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 falls due on the same date for a calendar-year company wholly owned by a non-US person. Money the owner puts in or takes out counts as a reportable transaction, so a year with no sales still needs the form; it goes by fax or mail only, and missing it costs $25,000. Then comes the $15 annual report by 30 June, or the state starts dissolving the company. Our accounting add-on files the 5472 from $800 a year.

It depends on where the business runs. Kentucky law calls a company formed in another state, a Delaware LLC for example, a foreign entity - the word is about where the company was formed, not where its owners live - and such a company pays $90 for a Certificate of Authority and keeps a Kentucky registered agent of its own. If your warehouse, plant or staff are in Kentucky, forming here saves paying for two states. If nothing ties the business to Kentucky and you plan to raise money, Delaware is usually the better fit.