Rhode Island. The smallest broke away first.

The character of the state

In 1636, Roger Williams was banished from Puritan Massachusetts for insisting on freedom of conscience, so he simply founded a community of his own: Rhode Island, the New World's first refuge for dissenters. The smallest state remained the most headstrong: on 4 May 1776, two months before all the others, it renounced the English king, and when it came to the Constitution, it stubbornly ratified it last of all. Being small here does not mean being quiet.

In Newport the Vanderbilts later built their summer palaces by the sea, the Ocean State sails for all it is worth, and the administration is as compact as the state itself. The register is open: your name appears in it, and there is no special advantage for a zero-tax LLC.

Who Rhode Island makes sense for

For clients with ties to New England or a soft spot for the small state that dared first. Everyone else: favourites or a consultation (held in English only).

Do you really need a Rhode Island LLC?

The honest counter-question before you order: if what draws you to Rhode Island is mainly the look, you do not need a Rhode Island LLC for it. Your business address is yours to choose, in any state, for any LLC. You can get a Providence address from one of the many virtual business address providers for around $20 to $150 a month; you book that yourself, directly with the provider, and it is not part of our package. Combined with a Wyoming LLC you get the same presence, plus anonymity in the register and the strongest statutory asset protection in the US.

There are two things an address cannot replace, though, and they belong to the full picture. First: your contracts and invoices state the company's state of formation. If you need "Rhode Island" to appear there explicitly, you really do need the Rhode Island LLC. Second: an address is appearance, not substance. If you actually keep premises, staff or ongoing business operations in Rhode Island, you create a real connection there with reporting and tax consequences, regardless of where the LLC was formed. Set-ups like that belong in a consultation (held in English only) beforehand.

And if your reason for Rhode Island is a personal or business tie: good choice. That is exactly what this page is for.

No hidden fees, no surprise bills for extra work

Our flat fee covers every service you need to form your Rhode Island LLC and run it for the first 12 months. You will find a detailed description of the services here. Bought one by one, these services cost over $6,500. With us: one flat fee, $3,050, done.

Formation and taxes

Formation takes about 2 to 5 days. Set up correctly, the Rhode Island zero-tax LLC pays no income tax in the United States. Whether, and to what extent, the profits are taxable in your country of residence is a question for your tax adviser or for a consultation, held in English.

Transparency in the register

Rhode Island's register names the people responsible for your LLC. For discretion, look for example to Wyoming or New Mexico. More under anonymity.