South Dakota. Discretion carved in stone.

The character of the state

For fourteen years, an obsessed sculptor carved the heads of four presidents into the Black Hills, sixty metres high: Mount Rushmore, America's face in granite. And as if the state had decided that permanence would be its business model, it quietly became the trust capital of the world: families from every continent have their wealth managed here, drawn by laws that think in centuries and by a state that levies no income tax. As early as 1981, Citibank moved its credit card business here; since then Sioux Falls has understood more about money than its skyline lets on.

For your LLC, things are more down to earth: solid fees, a fast register, but your name appears in it. South Dakota's famous discretion belongs to the trusts, not to the LLCs.

Who South Dakota makes sense for

For clients who think in structures built around asset protection and trusts and want to locate the LLC in the same state. For the classic zero-tax LLC: favourites.

Do you really need a South Dakota LLC?

The honest counter-question before you order: if what draws you to South Dakota is mainly the look, you do not need a South Dakota LLC for it. Your business address is yours to choose, in any state, for any LLC. You can get a Sioux Falls 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 Dakota" to appear there explicitly, you really do need the South Dakota LLC. Second: an address is appearance, not substance. If you actually keep premises, staff or ongoing business operations in South Dakota, 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 Dakota 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 Dakota 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, $2,650, done.

Formation and taxes

Filed online, a South Dakota formation takes about 1 to 3 days. Set up correctly, the South Dakota zero-tax LLC pays no income tax in the United States, and the state itself has no income tax anyway. Questions about your country of residence are for your tax adviser or for a consultation, held in English.

Transparency in the register

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