Form a Texas LLC from South Korea: Complete 2026 Guide

Texas in one paragraph: $300 to file ($300 online), then $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 each year. The state imposes 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. For a South Korea-based owner the state choice mainly decides cost, privacy and paperwork, not your home-country tax result. If a large home market and a clear no-tax-due threshold is what you are optimizing for, Texas deserves a close look.

The cost side of a Texas LLC: $300 state fee ($300 online), a registered agent at typically $100-150 per year, a free IRS EIN, and a bank account that is usually free. Annual state requirement in Texas: $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. If you use EasyBrise, Global Launch is $295 for year one (registered agent included) and $149 per year after, and for a founder in South Korea the whole first year typically comes in well under $500.

Texas fits 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. Check the comparison table above before you commit, as switching later is not a simple amendment: the Texas LLC would be dissolved and a new one formed elsewhere.

Your Texas LLC exists once the state accepts the filing, but it is only ready to trade after these steps: sign the Operating Agreement; get the bank account open; apply for payment processors; calendar 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 federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120. On BOI: FinCEN's rule in force since August 14, 2026 permanently exempts all US-formed LLCs, so there is nothing to file there.

Here is how Texas formation works for someone in South Korea. File the Articles of Organization with the Texas Secretary of State, using a registered agent's physical Texas address. Request your EIN from the IRS, writing "Foreign" or "N/A" in place of an SSN (phone: 267-941-1099, about 45-60 minutes; fax or mail: 4-6 weeks). Then apply for Mercury or Relay online. Every step can be done remotely.

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 South Korean owner, the low threshold of the controlled-foreign-company rules is the central issue, so budget for a Korean tax adviser's written view alongside the US costs.

A South Korean 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.

Korea's rules cover a Korean national or company that directly or indirectly holds at least 10 percent of a foreign corporation. That is far below the 50 percent common elsewhere, and a sole owner holds 100 percent. The wording refers to a Korean national, so a resident individual appears to be covered, but the summary we reviewed does not define the term or address residency, which a Korean adviser should confirm for your own situation.

The test looks at the foreign corporation's average effective income tax rate over the three most recent consecutive years and applies where it is 17.5 percent or less. That figure is 70 percent of the 25 percent top marginal corporate rate and applies from tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2026. A non-resident-owned single-member LLC earning only non-US-source income usually owes no US federal income tax, so its effective rate can be near zero. The summary mentions no active-business exclusion, so ask your adviser whether one applies.

South Korea 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 South Korea. Won are converted to dollars when you fund the account, and Korean banks apply their own foreign exchange reporting, so ask your bank what documents it needs.

As a South Korean 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 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. Korean time in US standard time (7 p.m. to noon 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.

The United States and South Korea have an income tax treaty in force. 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 in practice because there is usually no US federal income tax for it to reduce.

PwC's Korea summary says a Korean national or company that directly or indirectly holds at least 10 percent of a foreign corporation is covered, so an individual is within the wording, although the page does not define national or address residency. The test is whether the foreign corporation's average effective income tax rate over the three most recent consecutive years is 17.5 percent or less, which is 70 percent of the 25 percent top corporate rate for tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2026. If it applies, undistributed earnings are deemed paid as a dividend to the Korean shareholder. A single-member LLC that bears little or no US federal tax sits on the wrong side of that test, so a Korean adviser must model it.