Form a Texas LLC from Belgium: Complete 2026 Guide

What makes Texas worth a look for someone in Belgium: the state fee is $300 on paper ($300 online), and after that the state-level upkeep is $0 franchise tax for LLCs with revenue below the no-tax-due threshold ($2.65 million for the 2026-27 report years), but a Public Information Report (PIR) must still be filed every year by May 15 regardless of revenue — a full franchise tax return is only required above the threshold. The state levies no personal or corporate state income tax. Texas requires a public information report but does not always require individual member names to be listed depending on management structure. None of this changes your Belgium tax position, which sits on top of the US picture, but it does mean Texas itself adds little friction. Among the five states we cover, Texas is the state with the highest upfront fee but a generous no-tax-due threshold.

Choose Texas when you expect meaningful revenue and want a state with no personal or corporate income tax and a straightforward no-tax-due threshold, and you don't mind a higher upfront filing fee. If your priorities lean another way, compare the other four states first, because moving a Texas 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 Texas annual obligation ($0 franchise tax below the $2.65 million no-tax-due threshold, plus a Public Information Report every May 15 regardless of revenue) 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.

Forming from Belgium is a five-step job. One: choose and check the name. Two: appoint a registered agent with a physical Texas address. Three: file the Texas 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.

A Belgian founder expecting large US revenue may prefer Texas: no state income tax and no franchise tax below $2.65 million. The Public Information Report is due every May 15 even when no tax is owed.

A Belgian law firm's note says Belgium's controlled-foreign-company rules apply to corporate taxpayers, and that individuals are covered by the Cayman tax rules instead. From 2024, a Belgian resident individual who holds a low-taxed entity can be caught whatever percentage is held. The note says an entity is low-taxed where it is not subject to income tax, or is subject to tax of less than 15 percent of taxable income if outside the European Economic Area, measured under Belgian rules. The entity must be disclosed in the personal tax return, the assessment period extends to 10 years, and income can be taxed directly in your hands unless you show economic substance. Whether a particular LLC counts as a covered entity is a question for a Belgian adviser.

Over five years, the state-level cost of a Texas LLC is a $300 filing fee and nothing recurring, so $300 in total, before the registered agent. That makes Texas the second cheapest of the five states on this measure. The same arithmetic across the five states runs from $50 to $2,110. For a Belgian owner, the Cayman tax rules are the main tax question, because they reach individuals who hold low-taxed entities.

Here is the first-year budget for a Texas LLC owned from Belgium. State filing: $300 ($300 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: $0 franchise tax for LLCs with revenue below the no-tax-due threshold ($2.65 million for the 2026-27 report years), but a Public Information Report (PIR) must still be filed every year by May 15 regardless of revenue — a full franchise tax return is only required above the threshold. Most founders land well under $500 all-in for year one.

Belgium 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 Belgium. Euros are converted to dollars when you fund the account, so compare the rate and any fee at your Belgian bank.

As a Belgian owner, your recurring dates look like this. State: the Texas Public Information Report is due every May 15, even when no franchise tax is owed. 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. Belgian 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.

Belgium 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.

Under the note, an entity outside the European Economic Area is low-taxed where its tax is below 15 percent of its taxable income as computed under Belgian rules, and an entity that bears no income tax is low-taxed too. A single-member LLC with only non-US-source income usually owes no US federal income tax, so it sits below that line on a simple reading. This is why the economic-substance point matters.

The Belgian law firm's note describes the CFC regime as applicable to Belgian corporate taxpayers and says individuals fall under the Cayman tax rules. KPMG's summary of Belgian CFC guidance likewise refers to the corporate tax return. So an individual owner of a US LLC should not look to the CFC safe harbours, and should ask a Belgian adviser how the Cayman rules treat the LLC.