Register a company in South Carolina

Yes. The Articles of Organization are filed through Business Entities Online, which since 10 September 2026 verifies each filer's identity at login, or sent on paper by post. Our registered agent gives the company the South Carolina street address the law requires. The EIN comes from the IRS by phone, fax or mail when the founder has no SSN or ITIN, and the IRS charges nothing for it. Banking is the one step that depends on your file: fintech platforms take applications remotely, and a traditional bank is a route where the business has a US footprint.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the South Carolina filing fee ($110), 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, an LLC that keeps its default tax status files no state annual report and pays no License Fee, while a corporation pays a License Fee of at least $25 a year. For a corporation, the $25 CL-1 fee and the attorney's fee for signing the articles are quoted separately.

We have not found an official processing time or an expedite fee for South Carolina filings, so we confirm the timing when we file rather than quote a number now. If you are not ready to file, a $25 reservation holds the name for 120 days. The EIN follows the filing: by fax the IRS generally issues it within 4 business days, by mail in about 4 weeks. For an ITIN, if you need one, the IRS asks you to allow 7 weeks, and 9 to 11 weeks when you apply from abroad or in tax season.

An LLC suits most owner-run businesses: pass-through by default, with no state annual report and no License Fee. A C-Corp fits when investors will buy shares. It pays 21% federal tax and 5% state tax, needs a South Carolina attorney to sign its articles, files the $25 CL-1 with them and then reports to the Department of Revenue every year. S corporation status is closed to non-resident alien shareholders, so a founder who is one cannot use that election.

A C-Corp pays 21% federal and 5% South Carolina income tax. An LLC is pass-through by default. A multi-member LLC withholds 5% of non-resident partners' South Carolina income unless an I-309 affidavit or a composite return covers them, and on the federal side it withholds tax on non-US partners' share of effectively connected income at 37%, or 21% for corporate partners. Dividends to non-residents carry 30% federal withholding unless a treaty reduces it. Retail sales carry the 6% state sales tax plus local rates, up to 9% combined.

It taxes income, and the corporate route has extra steps. Corporations pay 5% and individuals up to 5.21% in 2026. A corporation's articles need a South Carolina attorney's signature, its annual report goes to the Department of Revenue, and it pays a License Fee of at least $25 every year, even when dormant. Retail sellers in South Carolina need a $50 Retail License for each location before the first sale, and that is separate from any county business licence. We also cannot quote an official filing time, because we have not found one.

It applies when one non-US person owns the whole LLC. The IRS then treats the LLC as a corporation for this reporting rule: each year it sends a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached, listing transactions with the owner, money paid in and money taken out included. Electronic filing is not allowed, so it goes by fax or mail, due with Form 1120, normally by the 15th day of the 4th month after year-end. The penalty for not filing is $25,000, and another $25,000 for every 30 days the failure continues beyond 90 days after an IRS notice.

We will not promise an account before a bank has seen your file. We choose the route with you instead: Mercury or Relay-class fintech platforms accept applications online, and a traditional bank is realistic where the business has a US footprint. The application goes in with the Articles, the EIN and the operating agreement, and once the account is open we set up ACH, wires and Stripe.

Not for a company formed in South Carolina. FinCEN's final rule, effective 14 August 2026, made permanent the exemption for US companies first introduced in March 2025, so a South Carolina LLC or corporation files no BOI report even when every owner lives abroad. Companies formed outside the US that register to do business in a state still report. BOI is not filed with the Secretary of State, which does not ask for members' names either.

With South Carolina: a single-member LLC taxed by default files no annual report and pays no License Fee. A multi-member LLC files the SC1065 by the 15th day of the 3rd month after year-end. A corporation files its SC1120 by 15 April for a calendar year, with the annual report and License Fee to the Department of Revenue. With the IRS: Form 5472 and a pro forma 1120 for a single-member LLC owned by a non-US person, Form 1065 for a multi-member LLC, Form 1120 for a corporation. Accounting and 5472 filing are available from $800 a year.