North America Common Law
Founders physically based in California, California, USA
If you live in California, the state will tax your business regardless of where it is incorporated (under the franchise tax doing business standard). Forming directly in California simplifies compliance, eliminates Delaware franchise tax stacking, and provides clean access to LLC under the Beverly Killea Act or Inc. under the Corporations Code. The Secretary of State filing in Sacramento takes 5 to 7 business days standard.
CA Corporations CodeBeverly Killea LLC Act5 to 7 day filing
Start setup {placement} 4 min · no card required
Corp tax
21%
Fastest setup
5-15 days
Tax treaties
68
Region
North America
What you'll need
- No resident director required
- Remote-friendly, no local office
- No substance requirement
- Minimum capital: No minimum capital
- Administrative language: English
- Legal system: Common law
Tax and treaty profile
- Corporate tax 21%
- Effective rate ~28%
- Tax treaties 68
- VAT rate 7.25%
- Withholding on dividends 30%
Key treaty partners
UKCanadaGermanyFranceJapanAustralia
Banking and payments
- Banking is straightforward
- Stripe supported
- Mercury supported
- Wise supported
- Crypto banking available
- EMI license framework available
Considerations
If you want to minimise US state tax
California has one of the highest state tax burdens in the US: 8.84% CIT (10.84% for banks), $800/year minimum franchise tax even on $0 revenue LLCs, plus LLC gross receipts tax above $250K. For zero or low state tax US bases:
$800/year minimum franchise tax8.84% CITLLC gross receipts tax