Form a Florida LLC from Norway: Complete 2026 Guide

Start with the numbers. A Florida LLC costs $125 to file (or $125 online), and the recurring state cost is $138.75 mandatory annual report fee, due every year. State tax treatment: no personal state income tax. Privacy treatment: Florida is the only one of these five states that discloses member names on its public annual report. For a founder in Norway the practical reading is that Florida is the only one of the five that publishes member names, so the question to ask is whether that trait matches how you plan to run the business.

Florida state fees are $125 to file ($125 online where available). The other line items are the same wherever you form: a registered agent at roughly $100-150 a year, a free EIN straight from the IRS, and a free business bank account at Mercury or Relay. What differs by state is the recurring cost, and for Florida that is $138.75 mandatory annual report fee, due every year. With EasyBrise Global Launch ($295 in year one, registered agent included; $149 a year to renew) the typical first year stays well under $500.

A Norway-based founder should lean toward Florida if 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. Weigh it against the other four states on cost, privacy and reporting now, since a later switch is a dissolve-and-reform exercise, not an amendment.

Housekeeping for a new Florida LLC owned from Norway. 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. What you do need: an Operating Agreement, a business bank account, payment-processor accounts if you will take cards, and two recurring dates, your Florida annual obligation ($138.75 mandatory annual report, due every year) and the annual federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120.

The IRS international EIN line (267-941-1099) answers from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Norway is six hours ahead of Eastern Time for most of the year, so the window runs from noon to 5 a.m. Norwegian time, with a shorter gap for a few weeks when the US and Europe change clocks on different dates. Call in your afternoon or early evening and plan on 45-60 minutes.

Nothing about Florida formation requires you to be in the US. Your registered agent supplies the Florida address and receives official mail, the Articles of Organization go to the Florida Secretary of State, and the EIN comes from the IRS afterwards. Since a Norway resident has no SSN, Form SS-4 gets "Foreign" or "N/A" in the SSN line. The international phone line (267-941-1099) takes roughly 45-60 minutes and is the quickest route; fax and mail take 4-6 weeks.

Florida appeals to Norwegian founders with customers or relatives in the state. Its public annual report names members, and the $138.75 annual fee recurs every year.

Norway 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 Norway. Kroner are converted to dollars when you fund the account, so compare the exchange rate and any fee at your Norwegian bank.

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 Norwegian owner, the NOKUS rules reach individuals and tax profit whether or not it is distributed, so budget for a Norwegian adviser's written view alongside the US costs.

Skatteetaten says the NOKUS rules apply to Norwegian private individuals and companies that hold a foreign company, alone or with other Norwegian taxpayers, with control generally starting at ownership of at least half of the shares or capital. A Norwegian law firm's guide adds that the foreign entity's effective tax rate must be below two-thirds of the tax that would apply if it were resident in Norway, and that NOKUS does not apply to an entity resident in a treaty country, provided its income is not mainly of a passive nature. Where NOKUS applies, owners are taxed on their share of profit whether or not distributed. The United States is a treaty country, so the passive-income question is the one to put to a Norwegian adviser.

If NOKUS applies, owners are taxed on their proportionate share of the profit, computed under Norwegian rules and converted to kroner, whether or not any dividend is paid. Losses can be carried forward only against future profits of the same entity. A foreign tax credit is available, limited to the Norwegian tax on that income, and for individuals only 78 percent of dividends from a NOKUS entity are taxable, adjusted by a factor of 1.44. These mechanics are a reason to model the numbers before you decide how to structure the business.

As a Norwegian 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 noon to 5 a.m. Norwegian 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.

The guide says NOKUS does not apply to entities resident in a treaty country, provided that the entity's income is not mainly of a passive nature, and it does not define passive income. That makes the content of your LLC's revenue the key fact. An LLC that earns fees for services or product sales is a different case from one that holds investments or licenses intellectual property, so ask a Norwegian adviser how your revenue is classified and keep records that show it.