Register a company in Virginia

Yes. We prepare and file the Articles of Organization with the State Corporation Commission for you, and the registered agent in Virginia is part of the package for the first year. The principal office on the articles may be outside Virginia. The EIN is free and needs no SSN: the IRS online form requires an SSN or ITIN, so a founder without one applies by fax, by mail or by phone on the IRS line for international applicants. A fintech account is applied for remotely; a traditional bank is realistic where you already have some US footprint.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the Virginia 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, Virginia charges an LLC a $50 annual registration fee, due by the last day of its anniversary month; expedited handling and a corporation's charter fee are quoted on top.

The SCC's review is the one step we cannot schedule. We confirm its current processing time when we file, and the SCC may charge an extra fee for expedited handling if you ask for it, which we quote at the time. A faxed EIN application is generally answered within 4 business days, a mailed one in about 4 weeks. If you also need an ITIN, the IRS asks you to allow 7 weeks to hear back, or 9-11 weeks when you apply from abroad or during tax season.

Virginia narrows the choice. An individual agent must live in Virginia and be a member or manager of your LLC, hold a similar role in an entity that is a member or manager, or be a member of the Virginia State Bar. Otherwise the agent is a corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorised to do business in Virginia, which names in a notarised writing at least one person at its office to receive legal papers. Either way, the agent must be available at the registered office during regular business hours. A founder living abroad cannot fill the role, so the package includes a professional agent for the first year.

This is Virginia's sharpest rule. The $50 annual registration fee is due by the last day of the LLC's anniversary month every year. Paid late, it carries a $25 penalty, and the SCC mails a notice of the penalty and possible cancellation. If the fee is still unpaid at the end of the third month after the due date, the LLC's existence is cancelled automatically as of that day. Reinstatement terms are confirmed case by case; it is easier never to need them.

A C-Corp pays 21% federal tax and 6% on its Virginia taxable income, and a Virginia corporation files Form 500 every year, even with no income. An LLC is taxed through its owners by default. A multi-member LLC is a pass-through entity in Virginia and files Form 502, with a composite return available for non-resident owners; single-member LLCs fall outside that definition. Dividends paid abroad carry 30% federal withholding unless a treaty lowers it. Sales tax is 5.3% in general and 6% to 7% in some regions, for example 6% in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Central Virginia and 7% in James City County, Williamsburg and York County.

An LLC suits founders who plan to take the profit out themselves. If one non-US owner holds all of it, the LLC files a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 each year, reporting dealings with the owner such as contributions and distributions, by fax or mail only; a missed filing costs $25,000. A multi-member LLC with members abroad pays federal withholding tax on their share of effectively connected income: 37%, or 21% for corporate members. A C-Corp suits a plan to raise money from investors. It pays 21% federal plus 6% Virginia tax, and S-corporation status is closed to non-resident alien shareholders.

No. FinCEN's final rule, issued on 11 August 2026 and effective from 14 August 2026, exempts US companies from beneficial ownership reporting, and a Virginia LLC or corporation is a US company whoever owns it. Reports are now due only from entities formed under foreign law that register to do business in a US state, and those report only their non-US beneficial owners.

Banks and fintech platforms decide after their own checks, so we never promise an account. What the $4,400 package does is prepare the case: a strategy for your file, fintech or traditional, application files for Mercury or Relay-class platforms, and payments set up for ACH, wires and Stripe. A traditional bank makes sense where you already have a US footprint. We apply once the EIN has arrived and the SCC has filed the articles.

Possibly, if it is going to do business here; we check your activity first. In US law a 'foreign' LLC is one formed in another state, and the word says nothing about where the owners live. An out-of-state LLC registers in Virginia with an application for registration ($100), keeps a Virginia registered agent and office, and then pays the same $50 annual registration fee as a Virginia LLC. Our state qualification add-on starts from $700.