Your personal assets stay yours
If something goes wrong inside the LLC, your house, your car and your personal savings sit on the other side of the line.
LLC formation · Texas
Open your LLC in Texas — filed in 7–10 business days.
We file the Articles of Organization with the state, get your EIN from the IRS and hand you a business that’s ready to open a bank account and take payments. One team, one price, quoted in writing before anything gets filed.
What’s in the package
- State filing (Articles of Organization)
- EIN with the IRS
- Operating Agreement
- Registered Agent — first year
The basics
What is an LLC, and do you actually need one in Texas?
An LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a legal structure that separates your business from you personally. Instead of invoicing under your own name and putting your personal assets on the line, you operate through an entity with its own EIN, its own bank account and its own legal identity with the state of Texas and the IRS.
Texas is one of the better states to form one in: no state income tax, a flat and public filing fee, and the whole process can be done remotely — whether you’re in Austin, in another state or outside the country.
What Texas requires to form an LLC
The list is shorter than most people expect. Four things:
- A name that’s available — not already registered by another Texas entity, and it has to end in "LLC" or "L.L.C."
- A Registered Agent with a physical Texas address, available during business hours to receive legal notices.
- The members (owners) identified — one person or several partners.
- An EIN from the IRS to open the bank account, hire, and file taxes under the business name.
None of those four require citizenship, Texas residency or a Social Security number. That’s why founders form Texas LLCs from other states — and from other countries — every day.
You get taken seriously
Clients, vendors and banks deal differently with a registered company than with someone invoicing "on the side".
You choose how it's taxed
Single-member, partnership or S-Corp election — whichever costs you less, not whichever is easiest to explain.
What you’ll pay
How much does it cost to open an LLC in Texas?
The state fee is fixed and public. Our package covers everything else, so you’re not chasing five filings across three agencies.
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Texas Secretary of State filing fee | $300 — set by the state, same for everyone |
| Registered Agent (first year) | Included |
| EIN with the IRS | $0 government fee — we handle the filing |
| Operating Agreement | Included |
| Right Step package | Flat price — quoted in your free consultation |
No surprises: you get the price and the scope in writing before we start. The only cost that moves is the one the state charges, and we show it to you exactly as Texas charges it.
How this works
Eight steps. You give us the information once.
You talk to one person. We deal with the state, the IRS and FinCEN.
1
Free consultation
We settle the two decisions that matter: single-member or multi-member, and how it gets taxed.
2
Name check
We check your business name against the Texas Secretary of State before anything gets filed.
3
Articles of Organization
We prepare and file the document that legally creates your LLC with the state.
4
EIN with the IRS
We get your business tax ID — with or without a Social Security number.
5
Operating Agreement
The internal document that says how your LLC actually runs. Every serious LLC has one.
6
Comptroller registration
If you're going to collect Sales Tax, we register you with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
7
Bookkeeping from day one
Optional, and the one people skip: clean books starting at your first sale, not next April.
Staying compliant
Opening the LLC is the easy part. Keeping it is the part people miss.
Forming it takes ten days. Keeping it in good standing with the state and the IRS is what protects it year after year — and it’s where most LLCs get into trouble.
- File your Franchise Tax Report with the Texas Comptroller every May — the filing happens even in years you owe nothing.
- File your federal taxes the way your structure requires: Schedule C, Form 1065 or Form 1120-S. See tax preparation →
- Collect and report Sales Tax monthly or quarterly if you sell taxable goods.
- Keep the books current — bank reconciliation and financial reports every month. See monthly bookkeeping →
Special case
See what an ITIN lets you do
No Social Security number? Texas doesn’t require one.
You do not need an SSN to form an LLC in Texas. Your ITIN or your passport works for the state filing, and we get your EIN from the IRS without a Social Security number too. That applies whether you’re here in Austin or running the company from another country.
The decision that costs money
Single-member, S-Corp or C-Corp? How to pick.
There’s no "best" structure. There’s one that fits the size and the stage your business is at right now.
| Structure | When it fits | How it’s taxed |
|---|---|---|
| Single-member LLC | One owner who wants simplicity and asset protection. | Pass-through — it lands on your personal Schedule C. |
| Multi-member LLC | Two or more partners who want profits and responsibilities in writing. | Pass-through — filed as a partnership (Form 1065). |
| LLC with S-Corp election | Net profit is consistently there (usually $40,000+ a year) and you want to cut self-employment tax. | Reasonable salary plus distributions — Form 1120-S. |
| C-Corp | You're raising outside money, taking venture capital, or planning to go public someday. | Double taxation — the corporation pays, then you pay on dividends. |
In your free consultation we run your actual numbers instead of a generic table, and we’ll tell you straight if the switch isn’t worth it yet. Making the S-Corp election too early costs more in payroll and accounting than it saves.
Frequently asked
Questions we get about Texas LLCs.
The ones that come in over email and in the office — answered without the jargon.
How long does it take to get my LLC?
Seven to ten business days, counted from the moment we confirm your name is available and have your information. Texas usually processes the filing within a few days; the EIN from the IRS can take a little longer if you're applying without an SSN.
Do I need a physical address in Texas?
You need a Registered Agent with a physical Texas address — it doesn't have to be yours. That service is included in our package for the first year, so you don't need to rent an office to form the LLC.
Can I be my own Registered Agent?
Yes, if you have a physical Texas address (not a P.O. Box) and you're available during business hours to receive legal notices. Most of our clients would rather we do it, so a lawsuit notice never sits in a mailbox for three weeks.
Do I have to pay Franchise Tax the first year?
You have a Franchise Tax filing with the Texas Comptroller every May, and most small LLCs land under the revenue threshold and owe no tax at all. Owing nothing and filing nothing are two different things — the filing still has to happen.
What happens if I never file the Franchise Tax Report?
The Texas Comptroller can forfeit your LLC's registration and add penalties. A forfeited LLC loses its liability protection and can't operate formally until it's brought current — which is the exact opposite of why you formed it. We put the date on the calendar with you every year.
Can I form a Texas LLC if I live in another state or another country?
Yes. Texas doesn't require the owner to live in the state or in the United States. We're your Registered Agent and your local point of contact, and the entire process runs remotely — filing, EIN, Operating Agreement and signatures.
When does it make sense to switch from single-member to S-Corp?
When your net profit starts clearing $40,000–$50,000 a year consistently. Past that point the S-Corp election usually saves real money on self-employment tax, because you split a reasonable salary from your distributions. Below it, the extra payroll and accounting can cost more than it saves — we run your numbers before you decide.
What does it cost, all in?
Texas charges a flat $300 filing fee for the LLC itself, and the IRS charges nothing for the EIN. Our package — state filing, EIN, Operating Agreement, Registered Agent for the first year and the BOI Report — is a flat price on top of that, quoted in writing in your free consultation before any work starts. We quote your actual situation instead of posting a "starting at" number, so nothing gets added at the end.
Can't I just file it myself on the Secretary of State website?
You can, and for a simple single-member LLC plenty of people do — the state form is public and the $300 is the same either way. What you're paying us for is the part after the form: choosing the tax structure before it's expensive to change, the EIN (which is where filings without an SSN stall), the Operating Agreement, and someone who's still on the hook for your Franchise Tax deadline next May. If you only need the filing, we'll tell you that in the consultation.
Take the right step
Start your LLC this week.
Tell us what the business does and we’ll tell you which structure fits, what the state charges and what we charge — in writing, before anything gets filed.
