Register a company in North Carolina

Yes. The Secretary of State takes new filings online, and the registered agent we provide gives the company the in-state registered office the law requires. A founder with no SSN or ITIN gets the EIN from the IRS by phone, fax or mail, because the online EIN form needs one of those numbers. Banking is the step that depends on your file: we prepare applications for Mercury or Relay-class platforms, and take the traditional-bank route where the business has a US footprint.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the North Carolina filing fee ($125), 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's yearly charge for an LLC is the $200 annual report, due by 15 April, while a corporation pays for its own report plus a franchise tax of at least $200.

The Secretary of State quotes 5-10 business days to create a new entity and says online filing is always faster. For $100 the Articles are filed within 24 hours of receipt; for $200, by the end of the same business day. Then comes the EIN. The IRS generally answers a fax within 4 business days, and a posted application in about 4 weeks. The bank application goes in once the EIN is issued.

An LLC suits most owner-run businesses: it is pass-through by default, and its yearly state filing is the $200 annual report. A C-Corp makes sense once investors will hold shares. It pays 21% federal tax and 2% North Carolina tax (2026), plus a franchise tax of at least $200 and a $25 annual report. An S corporation cannot have a non-resident alien shareholder, so that election is closed to a founder who is one.

A C-Corp pays 21% federal income tax and North Carolina corporate income tax of 2% for taxable years beginning in 2026, plus the franchise tax. An LLC is pass-through by default: disregarded with one member, a partnership with two or more. In a partnership LLC, the company withholds federal tax on foreign members' share of effectively connected income - 37%, or 21% for corporate members. We confirm North Carolina's own rules for non-resident members for your case. Dividends paid to non-residents carry 30% withholding unless a treaty lowers it, and taxable sales in the state carry the 4.75% state sales tax plus local rates.

The yearly report. At $200 it is the highest of the five states in our comparison: Georgia charges $60, Virginia $50, and South Carolina asks nothing yearly of an LLC that is not taxed as a corporation. A corporation's report costs $25, but the franchise tax adds at least $200 a year. The low corporate rate also matters less than it looks. Federal tax is 21%, so North Carolina's 2% is the small part of a C-Corp's bill.

It applies if one foreign person owns the whole LLC. For this rule the IRS treats a foreign-owned single-member LLC as a corporation: each year it files a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached, reporting transactions with its owner, including money paid in and taken out. It cannot be e-filed, so it goes by fax or mail, due with Form 1120, generally the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends. A missed filing costs $25,000, and $25,000 more for each 30 days the failure runs on beyond 90 days after an IRS notice.

No adviser can guarantee an account before the bank has reviewed the file. What we control is the route and the paperwork. Mercury or Relay-class fintech platforms are one route; a traditional bank is the other, where the business has a US footprint. We build the application around the Articles, the EIN and the operating agreement, and set up ACH, wires and Stripe once the account is open.

Not for a company formed in North Carolina. FinCEN's final rule, effective 14 August 2026, made permanent the exemption for US companies first introduced in March 2025, so a North Carolina LLC or corporation files no BOI report, even when every owner lives abroad. The Secretary of State does not administer beneficial ownership filings either. The duty stays with companies formed outside the US that register to do business in a state, and they report their foreign owners.

With North Carolina: an LLC's annual report, $200 on paper or $203 online, by 15 April. A corporation files a $25 report ($21 online) and pays franchise tax by the 15th day of the fourth month after its year-end. With the IRS: a foreign-owned single-member LLC files a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472, a multi-member LLC files Form 1065, and a C-Corp files Form 1120. Accounting and 5472 filing are available from $800 a year.