Form a Florida LLC from Costa Rica: Complete 2026 Guide

Why do Costa Rican founders look at Florida? Mostly because the state-level side is predictable. The filing fee is $125 ($125 online), the ongoing requirement is $138.75 mandatory annual report fee, due every year, and the state applies no personal state income tax. Florida is the only one of these five states that discloses member names on its public annual report. Keep in mind that the state says nothing about how Costa Rica taxes you; that depends on Costa Rica law and is covered further down this page. What Florida offers is a well-known state with strong business infrastructure.

The case for Florida: you want a well-known state with strong US business infrastructure and don't mind that Florida is the one state on this list requiring member names on the public annual report. The case against is simply that another state may suit your priorities better, and changing states after formation means closing the LLC and starting a new one.

Three things to do straight after formation. First, the paperwork: an Operating Agreement, and a note of the EIN letter's location (if it is lost, ask the IRS for Form 147C). Second, the money side: bank account, then Stripe or PayPal subject to their review. Third, the calendar: your Florida annual obligation ($138.75 mandatory annual report, due every year) and the federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120. Federal Beneficial Ownership Information reporting is not something you need to do: FinCEN's rule in force since August 14, 2026 permanently exempts all US-formed LLCs.

The IRS international EIN line (267-941-1099) answers from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Costa Rica stays on UTC-6 all year, so the window runs from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Costa Rican time in US standard time and from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. in US daylight time. Any daytime call is comfortable. Plan on 45-60 minutes.

For a Costa Rica-based owner the order of operations is: registered agent first (you need their Florida address for the filing), then the Articles of Organization, then the EIN, then the bank account. The EIN application is Form SS-4; leave the SSN field as "Foreign" or "N/A". Calling the IRS international line (267-941-1099) is the fast route at about 45-60 minutes; faxing or mailing the form takes 4-6 weeks. Once you hold the EIN letter, bank and payment applications can begin.

Florida's links with Latin America appeal to some Costa Rican founders. Its public annual report names members, and the $138.75 annual fee recurs every year.

PwC's Costa Rica summary says income tax applies to local income whatever the taxpayer's nationality or residency, and defines Costa Rican-source income as income derived from assets used, goods located or services rendered within Costa Rican territory. That definition looks at where a service is rendered, so a founder who does the work while living in Costa Rica should ask an accountant whether the income is Costa Rican-source even when the clients are abroad. In 2023 Congress approved an amendment to clarify the treatment of passive foreign-source income, and the President partially vetoed it the same month, so check the current position. The American side is fixed: Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 each year, with a $25,000 minimum penalty.

Over five years, the state-level cost of a Florida LLC is a $125 filing fee plus $138.75 a year for five years, so $818.75 in total, before the registered agent. That makes Florida the second most expensive of the five states on this measure. The same arithmetic across the five states runs from $50 to $2,110. For a Costa Rican owner, the key question is whether the LLC's income counts as Costa Rican-source, so plan for a written view from a Costa Rican accountant before you form.

If income is Costa Rican-source and you are self-employed, PwC lists 2026 bands in colones of 0 percent up to 4,094,000, 10 percent up to 6,115,000, 15 percent up to 10,200,000, 20 percent up to 20,442,000 and 25 percent above. These matter only if your LLC income is treated as Costa Rican-source, so test the source question before you plan around the rates.

Budgeting for a Florida LLC from Costa Rica? The one-time state fee is $125 ($125 online). Every LLC then needs a registered agent (typically $100-150 a year); the EIN itself costs nothing when you apply to the IRS directly; and Mercury or Relay accounts are usually free. The yearly state-side item is $138.75 mandatory annual report fee, due every year. Bundled, EasyBrise Global Launch costs $295 for year one with a registered agent included and $149 a year to renew.

Costa Rica is not on Mercury's prohibited-countries list, which is based on country of residence, and it is not on Relay's list, which looks at the citizenship and residency of the owners. Both banks run their own reviews, so approval is never guaranteed. Neither bank's published rules restrict international wires involving Costa Rica. Colones are converted to dollars when you fund the account, so compare the rate and any fee at your Costa Rican bank.

As a Costa Rican owner, your recurring dates look like this. State: Florida's $138.75 annual report is due every year between January 1 and May 1. 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 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Costa Rican time in US standard time (4 a.m. to 9 p.m. in US daylight time). 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.

In September 2023 Costa Rica's Congress approved an amendment to the first article of the Income Tax Law to clarify how passive foreign-source income is taxed under the territorial system. The President partially vetoed the amendment on 14 September 2023, and Congress would have needed 38 votes to override. We could not confirm what happened afterwards, so do not rely on this guide for the current rule. Ask a Costa Rican accountant how dividends, interest and similar income from abroad are treated now.