Form a Texas LLC from Norway: Complete 2026 Guide

Start with the numbers. A Texas LLC costs $300 to file (or $300 online), and the recurring state cost 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. State tax treatment: no personal or corporate state income tax. Privacy treatment: Texas requires a public information report but does not always require individual member names to be listed depending on management structure. For a founder in Norway the practical reading is that Texas is the state with the highest upfront fee but a generous no-tax-due threshold, so the question to ask is whether that trait matches how you plan to run the business.

Texas state fees are $300 to file ($300 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 Texas that 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. 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 Texas if 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. 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 Texas 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 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) and the annual federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120.

Nothing about Texas formation requires you to be in the US. Your registered agent supplies the Texas address and receives official mail, the Articles of Organization go to the Texas 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.

A Norwegian 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

As a Norwegian 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. 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.

Norway appears among the partners with a US income tax treaty, and that treaty is what makes the treaty-country exemption in NOKUS available. 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.

As described, NOKUS control is typically established where Norwegian taxpayers own or control at least half of the shares or capital at both the start and the end of the income year, directly or indirectly. The tax test compares the entity's effective rate with two-thirds of the tax it would pay if resident in Norway, using effective rates and not nominal rates. A sole owner of a single-member LLC meets the ownership test, and an LLC that bears little or no US federal income tax is below the rate test, so the exemptions decide the outcome.

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.