Form a Florida LLC from Hong Kong: Complete 2026 Guide

What makes Florida worth a look for someone in Hong Kong: the state fee is $125 on paper ($125 online), and after that the state-level upkeep is $138.75 mandatory annual report fee, due every year. The state levies no personal state income tax. Florida is the only one of these five states that discloses member names on its public annual report. None of this changes your Hong Kong tax position, which sits on top of the US picture, but it does mean Florida itself adds little friction. Among the five states we cover, Florida is the only one of the five that publishes member names.

Choose Florida when 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. If your priorities lean another way, compare the other four states first, because moving a Florida LLC to another state later means dissolving it and forming a new one.

Checklist once the EIN letter arrives: (1) Operating Agreement signed and stored; (2) bank account application submitted; (3) Stripe and/or PayPal applications, subject to their own review; (4) your Florida annual obligation ($138.75 mandatory annual report, due every year) in your calendar; (5) Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 on the federal calendar. 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. Hong Kong is twelve hours ahead of Eastern Time while the US is on daylight time, so the window runs from 6 p.m. to 11 a.m. Hong Kong time, and thirteen hours ahead in US standard time, so it runs from 7 p.m. to noon. Call from your evening or early morning and plan on 45-60 minutes.

Forming from Hong Kong is a five-step job. One: choose and check the name. Two: appoint a registered agent with a physical Florida address. Three: file the Florida formation documents. Four: obtain the EIN, entering "Foreign" or "N/A" where Form SS-4 asks for an SSN or ITIN; by phone on 267-941-1099 it takes about 45-60 minutes, by fax or mail 4-6 weeks. Five: open the business bank account online. No US trip is needed at any point.

Florida's trade links appeal to some Hong Kong founders. Its public annual report names members, and the $138.75 annual fee recurs every year.

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 Hong Kong owner, the main question is where the LLC's profit is sourced, so budget for a Hong Kong adviser's view alongside the US costs.

Here is the first-year budget for a Florida LLC owned from Hong Kong. State filing: $125 ($125 online). Registered agent: typically $100-150 a year, or included in EasyBrise Global Launch at $295 for year one ($149 a year after that). EIN: free if you apply to the IRS yourself. Bank account: usually free at Mercury or Relay. Recurring state requirement: $138.75 mandatory annual report fee, due every year. Most founders land well under $500 all-in for year one.

Hong Kong 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 Hong Kong. Because the Hong Kong dollar is linked to the US dollar, conversion costs on funding are usually small, but compare the rate and any fee at your Hong Kong bank. Hong Kong takes part in the Common Reporting Standard, so its banks exchange account information automatically.

As a Hong Kong 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 6 p.m. to 11 a.m. Hong Kong time in US daylight time (7 p.m. to noon in US standard 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.

Hong Kong's government has said its foreign-sourced income exemption regime upholds the territorial source principle of taxation and that the regime applies only to multinational enterprise entities carrying on business in Hong Kong. Its 2022 announcement states that individuals and local companies will not be affected. That means the regime does not reach an individual who owns a US LLC. It does not decide whether the LLC's profit counts as Hong Kong-sourced, which turns on the facts of where the profit-producing work is done. Ask a Hong Kong adviser for a written view if you work from Hong Kong. The remaining compliance is American: the LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, with a $25,000 minimum penalty for a missed or incomplete filing.

The Hong Kong dollar is linked to the US dollar, which removes most of the currency risk from funding the LLC's account and from invoicing in dollars. You still convert when you move money, so compare the exchange rate, any wire fee and any intermediary charge at your Hong Kong bank, and keep records of each transfer in case your accountant needs to show the source of funds.

Hong Kong keeps its territorial source principle, so what matters is whether profit arises in or is derived from Hong Kong. A founder who performs the work from Hong Kong, signs the contracts there and serves clients abroad should ask a Hong Kong adviser how the source of the LLC's profit is analysed, and keep records that show where the services are performed. Do not assume that having US clients settles the question.