Register a company in Wisconsin

Yes. DFI takes the Articles online through its "Create a Corporation or LLC" service, asks for a contact email with every online filing and usually accepts the filing on receipt. The EIN is requested from abroad by fax, phone or mail, because the IRS online application needs an SSN or ITIN. Fintech accounts are applied for remotely; a traditional bank is the route for founders who already have a US footprint.

Formation starts from $2,400 all-in, including the Wisconsin filing fee ($130 online), 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, Wisconsin charges $25 a year for the LLC's annual report filed online ($40 on paper); our renewal service is from $600 a year.

It depends on the form. A C-Corp pays the federal 21% and Wisconsin's 7.9% franchise or income tax, and dividends paid to you abroad carry 30% withholding unless a treaty lowers it. An LLC is a pass-through by default. With one owner it is disregarded for federal tax, and Wisconsin does not require it to withhold on its owner's income. With two or more owners it is a partnership: it withholds federal tax on foreign members' share of effectively connected income at 37%, or 21% for corporate members, and Wisconsin tax on nonresident members' Wisconsin income. How Wisconsin taxes your own share we confirm for your case.

The state part is short. In most cases DFI accepts an online filing on receipt and sends notice immediately; for a paper filing, $100 buys processing by the close of the next business day. The EIN then sets the pace: generally within 4 business days by fax, about 4 weeks by mail. An ITIN, if you need one, takes the IRS 7 weeks, or 9-11 weeks from overseas or in tax season.

That is the second package. We weigh a fintech platform against a traditional bank with you, prepare the application file for a Mercury or Relay-class platform and set up the payment rails: ACH, wires and Stripe onboarding. A traditional bank becomes realistic once you have a US footprint. Each bank or platform makes its own decision, so we prepare the file and do not promise an approval.

Yes. The agent must be resident in Wisconsin - an individual or an existing entity - and the physical address of its business office is the registered office. The LLC's annual report gives the agent's Wisconsin street address, name and email address. A founder abroad cannot be that agent, so ours is included for the first year; renewal after that is from $600 a year.

The company goes delinquent. DFI first writes by US mail, then publishes a notice on its website, and a company that stays delinquent for a long time risks administrative dissolution. The cure is to file the current annual report and pay the back fees; any late or reinstatement fee we confirm for your case. A report returned for missing information still counts as on time if it is corrected within 30 days.

Not to DFI: business entities are not required to reveal ownership information there. The LLC's annual report does name at least one member, or a manager if managers run the company, so a name appears every year. A corporation's report lists officers and directors, not shareholders. Under FinCEN's final rule, effective 14 August 2026, companies formed in the US file no BOI report. The IRS still learns who controls the company, because the EIN application names a responsible party, who must be an individual.

For a trading or service business with one or two owners, usually the LLC: it is a pass-through by default, and Wisconsin's 7.9% applies to an LLC that is taxed as a corporation. A C-Corp fits when investors will buy shares; it pays 21% federally plus Wisconsin's 7.9%, and its Articles of Incorporation cost $100. S-corporation status is closed to non-resident alien shareholders. We settle the choice on the first call, before anything is filed.

Only if something ties you to it. Wisconsin is quick to file and $25 a year to keep, but its 7.9% corporate rate sits in the upper part of the 1% to 10% range PwC gives for state corporate taxes. With premises or staff in Wisconsin, forming here is the direct route. An LLC formed in another US state that registers here - a "foreign" LLC in Wisconsin's terms - pays from $100 for the foreign registration statement and $65 a year online for its annual report, due in the first calendar quarter. With no Wisconsin link, look at Delaware, Wyoming or Nevada first.