Opening a Texas LLC Without a Social Security Number: What You Need and What Comes After
An ITIN or a passport is enough to form your LLC in Texas. Here is what the state asks for, what the registration costs, how the EIN works without an SSN, and the filings that come due every year once the LLC exists.
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Yes, you can. Texas does not ask for a Social Security number anywhere on the form that creates an LLC. You identify yourself with your ITIN or with a valid passport from your country of origin, you name a Registered Agent with a physical Texas address, and you file a Certificate of Formation with the Secretary of State. The state filing fee is $300.
That is not the hard question, though. The hard question is the one almost nobody asks before filing: and then what? An LLC is not a piece of paper you put in a drawer. It is a live entity with filings due every year, whether or not it made a dollar. Below are both halves — how it gets opened, and what you owe after — so May does not catch you by surprise.
What do you need to register an LLC without an SSN?
The list is shorter than people expect:
- An available name with the Texas Secretary of State, ending in LLC, L.L.C. or Limited Liability Company.
- Valid identification: your ITIN, a valid passport, or a consular ID.
- A Registered Agent with a physical Texas address — a P.O. box does not count — available during business hours to receive official notices.
- The details of the owners or members of the LLC.
- To operate: your business EIN, which the IRS issues at no cost.
No ITIN yet? That does not block the registration — the passport is enough for the state filing. But you will need it later, once the LLC turns a profit and that profit has to land on a tax return. That is why a lot of owners run both tracks at the same time: the LLC and the ITIN.
What does the process look like, step by step?
- Confirm the name. It has to be distinguishable from every entity already on file in Texas. This gets checked before anything is filed, because a rejected name costs you a week.
- Name your Registered Agent. It can be a person with a physical Texas address or a service. It is included in the Right Step package.
- File the Certificate of Formation with the Texas Secretary of State, with the $300 filing fee. This is the document that creates your LLC.
- File for the EIN with the IRS on Form SS-4. One detail catches people here: if the LLC’s responsible party has no SSN and no ITIN, the IRS instant portal will not let you finish, so the application goes by fax or mail instead. It still arrives — it just takes longer. And do not pay anyone for an EIN: the IRS says on its own site that you never have to pay a fee for one.
- Sign your Operating Agreement. This is the internal agreement between owners: contributions, profit splits, who decides, what happens if a partner walks. Texas does not require it to register the LLC, but your bank will ask for it, and it is what keeps partner disputes out of court later.
- Open the business bank account with your filed Certificate of Formation, your EIN letter, your ITIN or valid passport, and one additional photo ID.
The full walkthrough, document by document, is on our page about opening your Texas LLC without an SSN.
What does it cost?
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Texas Secretary of State filing fee | $300 (state fee, fixed) |
| EIN with the IRS | $0 — the IRS issues it free |
| Registered Agent | Included in our package |
| Right Step fee for the filing | Quoted at your free consultation |
We do not post a flat rate for LLC formation, because the jobs are not the same: a single-member LLC and a three-partner LLC with a custom Operating Agreement are different pieces of work. What you do get is the order of operations — price and scope in writing before anything starts, at your free consultation.
What happens after the LLC is registered?
This is where most owners get tripped up. Registering is day one. What keeps the LLC alive is what comes due every year after.
Franchise Tax, every May 15
Every Texas LLC files a report with the Comptroller by May 15 — a month after the IRS deadline, and that gap confuses half the state. Most new LLCs owe nothing, because they sit well under the revenue threshold. But owing nothing and filing nothing are different things: the Public Information Report is required even when the tax is zero. Skipping it is the most common way an LLC ends up in forfeiture without the owner ever noticing. Thresholds and dates are in our Texas Franchise Tax guide.
Sales Tax, if you sell taxable goods or services
If your LLC sells products or certain services in Texas, you need a Sales Tax permit, you collect the tax, and you report it on whatever schedule the Comptroller assigns you. It applies the same whether you sell in a store, online, or over WhatsApp. The whole thing is laid out in our Texas Sales Tax guide.
Your personal taxes change
A single-member LLC is reported by default on your personal return, on Schedule C. That means the business profit is added to your income, and self-employment tax shows up — something you did not have on a W-2. Keeping the books current through the year, instead of rebuilding twelve months of receipts in April, is what turns this into paperwork instead of a problem.
When does an S-Corp election make sense?
An S-Corp is not a different kind of company. It is a tax election your LLC can make with the IRS. Instead of the whole profit flowing to your personal return as self-employment income, you pay yourself a reasonable salary and the rest comes out as distributions.
The general rule is simple, even though the exact number depends on your case: it is worth running the math once your net profit is consistent year over year, not when the business is just getting off the ground. The election brings new obligations with it — payroll, withholding, a separate business return — and that fixed cost has to come in under what it saves you. When income is still uneven, it usually does not pencil out. This is exactly the kind of decision you make with your own numbers on the table, not with a rule of thumb from the internet. The structure comparison is on our Texas LLC formation page.
What an LLC does not do
Same honesty in the other direction: owning an LLC does not grant immigration status or any immigration benefit. What it does is formalize your economic activity and build a tax history. If your immigration situation is part of the conversation, that belongs with an immigration attorney. We handle the registration and the tax side.
And it does not protect you on its own. The limited liability of an LLC holds up when you treat it like a company: separate bank account, filings in on time, books in order. Mix business money with your own and that protection gets thin.
Where do you start?
If the name and the line of business are settled, the filing can be underway this week. And if you are still weighing whether an LLC beats staying self-employed, that conversation is part of the free consultation too.
Book your free consultation and tell us what you want to open. You will get the requirements, the price, and the timeline — in writing, before anything gets filed. Prefer to ask first? Message us on WhatsApp at (512) 460-8222 or call (512) 460-8222. We are in Austin, TX, open Monday through Sunday, 8 AM to 8 PM.
Frequently asked questions.
Can I open an LLC in Texas without a Social Security number?
Yes. The Certificate of Formation filed with the Texas Secretary of State does not ask for a Social Security number anywhere on it. You identify yourself with your ITIN or with a valid passport from your country of origin, you need an available name, and you need a Registered Agent with a physical address in Texas.
What does it cost to open an LLC in Texas?
The Texas Secretary of State filing fee is $300, and that money goes to the state, not to us. The EIN costs nothing: the IRS issues it free. On top of that there is the fee of whoever handles the filing for you and the Registered Agent. We do not post a flat rate for the package because the cases are not alike, so you get the price and the scope in writing at the free consultation, before any work starts.
Do I need an ITIN to open my LLC, or is a passport enough?
For the state registration, a valid passport works. The ITIN matters at two later moments: when your LLC applies for its EIN through the IRS instant portal, and when it is time to report the business profit on your personal return. Plenty of clients run both at once, the LLC and the ITIN.
What do I have to file every year after the LLC exists?
Three things at minimum: your Franchise Tax report and Public Information Report with the Texas Comptroller every May 15, even when the tax comes out to zero; your federal return including the business profit; and Sales Tax collection and reporting if you sell taxable goods or services in Texas. Keeping the books current through the year is what keeps all three simple.
Does owning an LLC help my immigration status?
No. Forming an LLC is a business registration with the state. It does not grant immigration status or any immigration benefit. What it does create is formal economic activity and a tax history. If your immigration case is part of the picture, that belongs with an immigration attorney. We handle the registration and the tax side.
