Form a Delaware LLC from Austria: Complete 2026 Guide

Delaware is a common choice for Austrian founders who want a US LLC without moving to the US. Filing costs $110 by mail ($110 online where available), and the yearly state obligation is $400 flat annual franchise tax (raised from $300 under Delaware House Bill 400, signed May 21 2026, effective retroactively for the 2026 tax year; first billed with payments due June 1, 2027), no separate annual report required. Delaware has no tax on LLC income earned outside the state, though the flat annual tax applies regardless of activity, which keeps state-level compliance simple, although what Austria does with the LLC's profits is a separate question. On privacy: Delaware does not require member names on the public formation certificate. In short, Delaware is the state most recognised by US investors and lawyers.

Forming in Delaware costs $110 in state fees ($110 online where available). Add a registered agent, which every state requires and which typically runs $100-150 a year, a free IRS EIN application, and a US business bank account that is usually free with Mercury or Relay. Ongoing state cost: $400 flat annual franchise tax (raised from $300 under Delaware House Bill 400, signed May 21 2026, effective retroactively for the 2026 tax year; first billed with payments due June 1, 2027), no separate annual report required. EasyBrise's Global Launch plan is $295 for year one including a registered agent, then $149 a year to renew, so most founders in Austria budget well under $500 for the first year, state fee included.

Austrian freelancers, developers, consultants and online sellers form US LLCs to invoice international clients in dollars, hold a US business bank account and present a domestic US vendor to American customers. Austria is in the euro area, so a founder funds the LLC with an ordinary international transfer in euros converted to dollars. The Austrian tax analysis turns on how the LLC is classified, so plan to get a written view from an Austrian adviser.

Delaware tends to be the right fit if you're planning to raise US venture capital or want the state most investors and legal counsel are already familiar with, and you're comfortable with the flat $400 annual tax (raised from $300 by 2026's House Bill 400) regardless of your LLC's size. Compare it with the other four states on cost, privacy and reporting before filing; switching states later means dissolving and re-forming rather than a simple amendment.

After your Delaware LLC and EIN are in place: sign an Operating Agreement (banks and payment processors ask for it even where the state doesn't), skip BOI reporting because FinCEN's rule in force since August 14, 2026 permanently exempts all US-formed LLCs, open the bank account, apply to Stripe or PayPal (each runs its own eligibility review), and put your Delaware annual obligation ($400 flat annual franchise tax (House Bill 400, raised from $300), first billed with payments due June 1, 2027) plus the federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 deadline in your calendar.

The steps are the same for any Austria-based founder: pick a name, file Articles of Organization with the Delaware Secretary of State (yourself or through your registered agent), appoint a registered agent with a physical Delaware address, then apply for an EIN. You have no US Social Security Number, so on Form SS-4 you enter "Foreign" or "N/A" in that field. The phone route (267-941-1099, international callers) usually takes 45-60 minutes on the line; fax or mail takes 4-6 weeks. With the EIN in hand you apply for a US business bank account remotely.

An Austrian founder planning to raise US capital or sell to a US acquirer may choose Delaware despite the $400 annual tax, because investors know the law. The $400 is a fixed amount for an Austrian budget.

Over five years, the state-level cost of a Delaware LLC is a $110 filing fee plus $400 a year for five years, so $2,110 in total, before the registered agent. That makes Delaware the most expensive of the five states on this measure. The same arithmetic across the five states runs from $50 to $2,110. For an Austrian owner, the first question is how Austria classifies the LLC, because that decides whether profit is taxed as it arises or only when you take it out.

As an Austrian owner, your recurring dates look like this. State: Delaware's $400 annual tax is first billed with payments due June 1, 2027, and there is no separate annual report. Federal: Form 5472 with the pro forma Form 1120 is due on the return due date, April 15 for a calendar-year LLC, extendable with Form 7004. For the one-off EIN call, the IRS line (6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern) is open noon to 5 a.m. Austrian time for most of the year (the gap shrinks to five hours for a few weeks when US and European clock changes fall on different dates). Put the state date and the federal date in your calendar when the EIN arrives, because a missed Form 5472 carries a $25,000 minimum penalty.

BDO's summary describes rules, effective 1 January 2019, for Austrian corporations holding more than half of a foreign company where more than one third of its income is passive and its effective foreign tax rate is 12.5 percent or less, with an exemption for substantial economic activity. The summary says the rules apply to corporations and does not mention individuals. If you own the LLC through an Austrian company, ask your adviser whether they apply.

Austria appears among the partners with a US income tax treaty. It covers dividends, interest, royalties and tie-breaker rules for residency, and you can confirm the details in the IRS treaty tables. For a typical founder whose LLC earns only non-US-source income, the treaty changes little for US tax because there is usually no US federal income tax for it to reduce.

If Austria treats the LLC as transparent, profit is attributed to you as it arises, whether or not you withdraw it, at progressive rates that the note says can reach 55 percent. If it treats the LLC as opaque, you are generally taxed on distributions, where the note mentions a flat rate of 27.5 percent. The difference can be large for an LLC that keeps profit inside, which is why classification comes before any other planning.

An Austrian tax adviser's note says Austria classifies a foreign entity by comparing it with the closest Austrian entity type, and that only Austrian law decides comparability. If the LLC is treated as transparent, its income is attributed directly to the owners. If it is treated as opaque, owners are generally taxed when profits are distributed. For individuals the note mentions progressive rates of up to 55 percent and, for distributions, a special flat rate of 27.5 percent, depending on classification. Separate Austrian rules on low-taxed passive income, in force from 1 January 2019, are described in a BDO summary for Austrian corporations, and that summary does not mention individuals.