From the garage in Palo Alto to the studio in Los Angeles: California is where ideas become companies. A California LLC gives your project a structure that grows with it. Lean enough to get started, strong enough for whatever you build.
We handle your formation and ongoing support, in English. You bring your idea to market.
No trip to the US · Online in 5 days or less · Support 24/7
plus the $800 California tax and the $20 Statement of Information every two years
Form a California LLCCalifornia by the numbers
Why CaliforniaSources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (as of September 2026); U.S. Census Bureau (estimate as of July 1, 2025); California Secretary of State; California Franchise Tax Board.
The package
In your first year you get every service in the annual package. From the second year on, everything continues under the annual package. Your LLC is in good order from day one and stays that way.
We file your formation online with the California Secretary of State (bizfile Online) and prepare the document set for your route. We pass the state fee on with no markup.
We submit your Mercury application with you as soon as your documents and EIN are in. You also get euro account details with your own IBAN through Wise and, if you come to Austin, a personal introduction at a traditional US bank.
We apply for your Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS. And we file the mandatory BE-13 report with the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the filing many founders have never heard of.
California requires every LLC to have a Registered Agent with an address in the state. It's included in the package from day one: mail from agencies and courts reaches you by email, and if a letter comes with a deadline, we tell you what to do.
Our Austin address goes on your letterhead and invoices, plus a US phone number with call answering.
Members' meetings, resolutions and minutes, the member register, filings and taxes in California, and a calendar with every deadline. You sign, we do the rest.
The six points in detailContract templates under US law for your LLC's day-to-day business. From your first client contract to your first investor.
You ask, we answer, as often as you like. The only exceptions are custom documents drafted by the attorneys on the firm's team, and bookkeeping.
Included every year
With your LLC you become a member of the New Horizons Club. Membership starts with your order and is included in the formation package and every annual package, on both paths.
With free consultations.
Two paths, clear prices
The answer determines which documents your LLC needs from day one. Everything else is the same on both paths: the formation, the Registered Agent, the accounts, the annual compliance and our support in English.
Your parent company is the member of your LLC. On top of the LLC's document set come the documents for your parent company.
plus the $800 California tax and the $20 Statement of Information every two years
Choose this pathOn your own or with co-founders. The LLC belongs to you directly.
plus the $800 California tax and the $20 Statement of Information every two years
Choose this pathFrom the very first year, your LLC pays California the annual tax of $800, due in the fourth month after formation and every year after that; we pay it on time and pass it on at cost. Every two years the Statement of Information adds $20. Bookkeeping is only added if you book it: from $250 a month, starting when you begin doing business.
Not sure which path fits? Book a consultation or call our office: +1 512 647 1128. You can order directly on either path.
How it works
Everything runs remotely. The timings below reflect our experience, not guarantees.
Pick your path and extras on the order card. You see the total right away.
We file with the Secretary of State and prepare your document set.
California requires your LLC's Statement of Information within 90 days of formation. We file it; the fee is included in the state fees.
Without a US Social Security number, we apply for the EIN by fax. The IRS quotes about four business days.
We file the mandatory report with the Bureau of Economic Analysis on time.
With your formation documents and IRS letter (CP575 or 147C), we submit the application together with you. Mercury decides after its own review.
According to Mercury, no visit to the US is required. You only travel to Austin if you want an introduction to a traditional US bank. That is optional.
Accounts and credit history
Credit for your company and for you. The strongest business cards also check your personal credit history, so we build both.
Annual compliance
A California LLC has obligations, year after year. We take care of these six, in the formation package from day one and then with the annual package.
We set the date and prepare the agenda and resolutions: acknowledging the annual financial statements, confirming the managers (if any are appointed) and ratifying the year's business. In writing or by video: we write the minutes and collect signatures electronically.
We keep your LLC's resolutions and minutes, the member list and the list of managers (if any are appointed). Digital and always up to date.
Every California LLC pays $800 a year to the Franchise Tax Board, including in the first year and even with no business in California; the first payment is due on the 15th day of the fourth month after formation. If the first tax year begins in 2027, 2028 or 2029, the first year is $400. Once California income reaches $250,000, the LLC fee is added. The Statement of Information goes to the Secretary of State within 90 days of formation and then every two years, with a fee of $20.
Your California Registered Agent stays in the annual package. Mail from authorities and courts reaches you by email, and we flag the deadlines.
Every deadline with California, the IRS and the Bureau of Economic Analysis goes into your calendar, and we remind you in good time. Since March 2025, FinCEN reporting no longer applies to companies formed in the US, confirmed by a final rule of August 11, 2026. If it comes back, we handle it at no extra charge.
Unlimited support in English. Need a resolution for a new account, a contract or a loan? We prepare it, within the usual scope and at no extra charge. Custom documents drafted by the attorneys on the firm's team: $450 per matter.
Resolutions and minutes
When you want to work with a regulated supplier, take out a loan or sell your company, the first thing the other side asks for is your company's resolutions and minutes (the minute book). They show who owns the company, who runs it, who can sign and what was decided when.
If they are missing, they cannot be cleanly recreated after the fact. That is why we keep them from day one. When the moment comes, you just send a link.
BE-13
If a foreign person directly or indirectly holds at least ten percent of the voting rights, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis requires the BE-13 filing (15 CFR 801.7), even if it never contacts you. The deadline: 45 calendar days from formation.
We file it with every formation, as a short Claim for Exemption where total costs are up to $40 million. Above that, the full form applies, quoted individually.
Template library
Every template in English, from your first customer contract to your first investor. Your LLC's Operating Agreement, resolutions and minutes are already included in the package.
Once you've paid, sign in at mtbonnell.com/vorlagen with the email address you used for your order. No password needed: we send you a code by email. The templates are tailored to your LLC, with the LLC as the contracting party and members and managers built in. They don't replace advice on your specific case: where it really matters, one of the attorneys on the firm's team drafts the document.
Why California
California is the most populous state and the largest economy in the US. If you form a company there, know two things up front: every entity pays at least $800 a year, and its management appears in the public record.
Every California LLC and Limited Partnership pays $800 a year, including the first year and even if it does no business there. If the first tax year begins in 2027, 2028 or 2029, the first-year amount is $400.
The Statement of Information lists the managers or, if there are none, all members with their addresses.
California Secretary of State fees: formation $70, first Statement of Information $20. We pass them on with no markup and list them separately.
Sources: California Secretary of State; California Franchise Tax Board; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (as of September 2026).
Extras
The packages cover everything every LLC needs. You can add these services in the order form, or later at the same prices.
In writing: a clean structure between the parent and its US subsidiary, or between you and your LLC. Coordinated with your accountant at home.
Full detailsIn writing: which route to the USA fits you and your team, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team. Filing and government fees are separate.
Full detailsCertificate of Status (Good Standing) and a notarized Certificate of Incumbency, both with apostille and a certified German translation.
Full detailsCredit for your company and for you. The strongest business cards also check your personal credit history, so we build both.
Full detailsIf your LLC has a single member based outside the US, it files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 cover sheet for every year with reportable transactions with that member; we handle this for $600. If it has several members, it files a partnership return (Form 1065) for $1,500; for that amount we first review your documents, and it is credited toward our fixed-price quote.
Questions
Our office in Austin answers around the clock, in English.
+1 512 647 1128 Or book a consultationOrder
First choose your route, then the extras you need. You see the total instantly; state fees are shown separately.
Thank you. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.
