Register a company in New Jersey

Yes. The Certificate of Formation is filed online through the DORES portal with our registered agent named in it, and the registered office need not be a place where the company does business. The EIN comes from the IRS by fax or phone with no SSN needed, and NJ-REG and the annual report are online as well. A fintech account is applied for remotely; a traditional bank becomes a route once the business has a US footprint.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the New Jersey LLC filing fee ($100), 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 the state charges $75 a year for the annual report. A C-Corp also owes at least the Corporation Business Tax minimum: $500 with New Jersey gross receipts under $100,000, rising to $2,000 at $1 million or more.

For a services or online business owned from abroad we usually start with an LLC. A single-member LLC pays no income tax itself and files no New Jersey business return, though Form 5472 is due every year. If investors are coming, form a C-Corp and budget for 21% federal tax plus New Jersey's 9% on net income over $100,000, with dividends to non-residents withheld at 30% before treaties. The S-corporation election is closed to you, because the IRS does not allow non-resident alien shareholders.

A C-Corp pays 21% federal tax and the Corporation Business Tax: 9% when entire net income exceeds $100,000, 7.5% above $50,000 and 6.5% up to $50,000, never less than the $500 to $2,000 minimum. Above $10 million of allocated taxable net income, the 2.5% Corporate Transit Fee applies through 2028. A single-member LLC pays no income tax itself. A non-resident individual owner pays federal tax on effectively connected income at graduated rates and reports the profit to New Jersey on NJ-1040NR. New Jersey's top personal rate is 10.75%, on income of $1 million and over. A multi-member LLC withholds federal tax on its foreign members' share of effectively connected income: 37%, or 21% for corporate members. It also pays New Jersey tax for non-resident partners at 6.37% (9% for corporate partners) and can owe the $150-per-partner filing fee. We confirm how these apply to yours. Taxable sales carry 6.625% sales tax.

The certificate is filed online, and we confirm the state's current timing when we file. After that the EIN sets the pace: by fax the IRS generally issues it within 4 business days, by mail in about 4 weeks. Plan the opening date too, because New Jersey expects the NJ-REG registration at least 15 business days before the business opens. Banking starts once the EIN is in hand.

That is what the $4,400 package is for. We choose the route that fits your file, either a Mercury- or Relay-class fintech platform applied for remotely or a traditional bank where you have a US footprint. We prepare the application and then connect ACH, wires and Stripe. Every application is the bank's decision. Our part is a clean file: the certificate, the EIN and the operating agreement.

New Jersey requires every individual or company doing business in the state to be registered. Forming the LLC is one filing; NJ-REG, the tax and employer registration, is a second one, filed online after the certificate. The Division of Taxation's guide says to register at least 15 business days before the business opens. Once both filings are done, the company can obtain a Business Registration Certificate, used for public contracting and for applying for state grants and tax credits.

It does if one foreign person owns the whole LLC. For this filing the IRS treats a foreign-owned single-member LLC as a corporation. Every year it sends a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached, reporting its dealings with the owner, money put in or taken out included. It is due with the 1120, generally by the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year ends, and goes by fax or mail because electronic filing is not allowed. Missing it costs $25,000, plus $25,000 for each further 30 days once 90 days have passed after an IRS notice.

No. An interim final rule of 26 March 2025 exempted US-formed companies, and FinCEN's final rule, effective 14 August 2026, made the exemption permanent. A New Jersey LLC or C-Corp therefore files no BOI report, even when every owner is foreign. Reporting now covers only entities formed under a foreign country's law that register to do business in a US state.

Because of where the business will run. An LLC formed in another state that does business here registers in New Jersey for $100 and uploads a good standing certificate from its home state. It also names a registered agent and files the New Jersey annual report on top of its home-state filings. If the office or the staff will be in New Jersey, forming here avoids that second layer. If nothing ties you to the state, start with Delaware or Wyoming.