South Carolina. As resilient as a palm tree.

The character of the state

In 1776, the British fleet bombarded a fort built of palmetto logs off Charleston, and the cannonballs simply stuck in the soft wood: the palm tree bounced back the Empire, and South Carolina has carried it on its flag ever since. Resilience as a state principle. Today Charleston counts as perhaps the most elegant city in America: Rainbow Row, verandas with ceiling fans, a courtesy that makes contract negotiations gentler, and all around it the golf coasts of Hilton Head.

Part of elegance is not constantly checking in: in South Carolina, LLCs with standard tax treatment file no annual report. Once formed, all is quiet. Only the register is open: your name appears in it.

Who South Carolina makes sense for

For anyone who wants to combine minimal ongoing obligations with a stylish Southern address, with no need for anonymity. For quiet AND discretion: Wyoming or Ohio.

Do you really need a South Carolina LLC?

The honest counter-question before you order: if what draws you to South Carolina is mainly the look, you do not need a South Carolina LLC for it. Your business address is yours to choose, in any state, for any LLC. You can get a Charleston 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 "South Carolina" to appear there explicitly, you really do need the South Carolina LLC. Second: an address is appearance, not substance. If you actually keep premises, staff or ongoing business operations in South Carolina, 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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, $2,610, done.

Formation and taxes

Formation takes about 2 to 5 days. Set up correctly, the South Carolina 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

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